CBA wishes to thank all of you who attended our annual Bank Presidents Seminar, January 9-11. We had nearly 300 attendees this year and a very robust program, including keynote addresses by Thomas Hoenig, vice chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and John Stumpf, chairman, president and CEO of Wells Fargo & Company, as well as a luncheon address by the American Bankers Association Chairman, Jeff Plagge. Hoenig’s remarks addressed specific challenges facing California bankers, the examination process, as well as other key industry issues. Stumpf addressed attendees on the current regulatory environment and the impact of the Volcker rule, as well as the need for diverse types of financial institutions, the future of technology in banking and GSE reform.

Teresa Curran, SVP and director of banking supervision and regulation with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco moderated an informative panel discussion on cybersecurity in banking which featured Doug Johnson, VP and senior advisor, risk management policy with the American Bankers Association, Gary Owen, director of Promontory Financial and Kenneth Proctor, managing director, risk management and compliance with Abound Resources.

Spirited discussion was also abound in our roundtable discussions, which focused on topics including accelerating trends in M&A and litigation trends and developments. The program closed Saturday morning with remarks from author and former banker Richard Parsons, who delivered an outlook on the banking industry, and with U.S. Bank’s Chief Economist, Keith Hembre, who provided an economic forecast for the state and the nation.

We would also like to thank everyone who contributed to our federal PAC by donating items or bidding on those items during our silent and live auctions, two very important sources of donations for our PAC. We raised more than $32,470, surpassing the impressive amount we raised last year. A special thanks to Jim Glines, who did a fantastic job as our auctioneer. We also would like to thank our many sponsors, who had a direct impact in making this annual seminar a success.

Finally, congratulations to Don Mullane, who was recognized as the Distinguished Banker of the Year for his longstanding service to the banking industry and to the CBA. We hope to see you all next year for the 2015 seminar, January 8-10, 2015, at the Four Seasons Biltmore, Santa Barbara.