— Jodi Eich, Vice Chairwoman of ICBSD, Chief Operating Officer, Rivers Edge Bank
Attending the ICBA Capital Summit in Washington, DC in May as a first-time attendee was a valuable experience. The passion, energy and support for community banks and bank customers in South Dakota as well as across the nation was astounding! In addition to Jack Hopkins, the ICBA national chair, and Josh Hogue, our federal delegate, the local representation at the Summit was remarkable.
Lobbying efforts were focused on areas such as tax legislation, the Access to Credit for Rural Economies (ACRE) Act, taxation of larger credit unions, repeal or reform of Section 1071 Rule, the Farm Bill, the Stablecoin framework and restricting the sale of mortgage trigger leads to name a few. Also noted was a bill to increase to the Bank Secrecy Act’s currency transaction report (CTR) and suspicious activity report (SAR) thresholds to $30,000 and $10,000, respectfully. The CTR threshold was last changed in 1972, so an increase is long overdue!
The legislative priorities impact not only the banking industry, but in many cases our South Dakota communities and our local customers. To keep up to date on the advocacy at the national level, please visit this link
In addition to the lobbying efforts, there was also time for networking and learning during our time in DC. During one session, bankers were asked the question, “What is the best advice you have received in your career?” Advice that one banker shared was, “Bloom where you are planted.” The meaning of this advice was two-fold for me. First, as a young banker, it may be easy to be overly eager to move up the ladder rather than mastering the task at hand and understanding the value of the process. Blooming where you are planted generally leads to opportunity for advancement and greater learning along the way. Second, the advice represented an outlook that we have so many opportunities available to us right here at home, in our communities. And if the opportunity doesn’t exist, we can create them!
We all likely have experiences like the ICBA Capital Summit, received valuable advice as we started out in banking or learned meaningful lessons throughout our careers. At the ICBSD Retreat in Deadwood this summer, let’s share those insights. There should be a great mix of experienced bankers and Level Up attendees to learn from one another. I hope to see you there!