Why Am I Doing This

You might reasonably ask: Who is oward McMillan and why did e agree to become the 1994-95 president of the American Bankers Association? It's a good question. I'd like to try and answer it. Like many ABA members, I'm a career banker. I've been in the business--at the same bank, as a matter of fact--for more than 30 years. And like many bankers, I love the banking franchise we've been given and the opportunity to do something worthwhile with it. I'm fascinated by the idea of being able to build a healthy financial institution at the same time we're building healthy communities. If there's another business like that in America, I don't know what it is. Also, I'm an optimist. To me the banking-industry glass is always at least half-full. Sure, I've seen the frustration that can result when industry differences and Washington roadblocks get in the way of our industry's progress. But I've also seen what the industry can do when we're all working together. There are always more customers to win over, more nonbank competitors to beat out, more government red tape to cut, and more under-served populations to reach. Challenges like those keep the business of banking fresh and exciting. Again, there's no business like it in America. As an ABA volunteer over the years, I've had a firsthand look at how bankers from many banks and regions of the country can work together on issues and projects that matter to them and their industry. Bankers and their trade associations worked together to get a red-tape relief bill out of the 103rd Congress, for example, and an interstate banking bill that a majority of bankers could support. Neither effort was easy, but together we accomplished both. With ABA and the state bankers associations working together more closely today than ever before, we will see more such opportunities to demonstrate that banking has gotten its act together in Washington. That's why industry unity is high on my agenda this year. In fact, it's at the top of the list. I'm convinced that we'll never get the additional banking reforms we've asked for without going after them together. That includes expanding the bank franchise to include more insurance and securities activities, achieving competitive equity with credit unions and the nonbank financial giants, and re-inventing a more efficient federal regulatory structure. It also includes working as an industry on the deposit-insurance premium issue, potentially one of the biggest issues to face us in 1995. …