The California Bankers Association, led by the association’s volunteer Chairman Rick Sanborn and President and CEO Rodney Brown, and supported by EVP and Chief Operating Officer Maurine Padden and PAC/GR Administrator Mary Boruff, gathered last week with the Florida and North Carolina Bankers Associations, September 9-11, in Washington, D.C. for the 12th annual joint visit. This was the first occasion where the California and Florida bankers were joined by their North Carolina colleagues.

The trip started out on Tuesday with a welcoming dinner and briefing on key federal legislative issues delivered by ABA President and CEO Frank Keating. On Wednesday, attendees met with a number of congressional leaders including Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and several additional committee members including Reps. Patrick Murphy (D- FL), Robert Pittenger (D- NC), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R- MO), and Bill Posey (R- FL). Additionally the group met with Senate Banking Committee Member Kay Hagan (D- NC), Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R- TX), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and also Rep. Juan Vargas (D- CA), who prior to his election to Congress, served several terms in the California Legislature, including a term as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. These meetings were important opportunities to hear updates from these key elected officials, and also to discuss issues of concern to the California banking community including the potential of passing legislation that would provide important regulatory relief to banks, changes to the qualified mortgage rule, the credit unions’ federal tax exempt status and their efforts to expand their business lending authority, reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, the liquidity coverage ratio and Operation Choke Point. That evening bankers attended a dinner hosted by the Federal Home Loan Banks of San Francisco and Atlanta.

On Thursday, the FDIC and the Treasury conducted two separate briefings for the bankers. FDIC Director Jeremiah Norton spoke about the ongoing rulemaking process with respect to Dodd-Frank, and also engaged in an open dialogue with bankers who expressed concern about the ever increasing regulatory burden and the impact on their respective banks. The bankers also engaged in similar dialogue during the Treasury briefing with Amias Gerety, acting assistant secretary for financial institutions.

CBA would to thank all of the California joint visit attendees whose participation made it a worthwhile and successful event: Jeff Ball, Friendly Hills Bank; Steve Buster, Pacific Mercantile Bank; Joseph Eisele; Wells Fargo Bank; Bob Flautt, Folsom Lake Bank; Sean Foley, U.S. Bank; Malcolm Hotchkiss, United Labor Bank; Rick Sanborn, Seacoast Commerce Bank; Bill Schrader, Exchange Bank; Virginia Varela, Golden Pacific Bank; Paul Woolway, Charles Schwab Bank and Dwight Alexander with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.