Lobbying and Leadership in the Capital: ABA GR Summit Attendees Hear Key Messages from Policymakers

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] OFTEN, YOU HAVE TO BRING a lot of firepower to the front to make a dent in the opposition's lines. ABA's 2014 Government Relations Summit did that and more. Among the Summit's most valuable opportunities for the 1,000 bankers in attendance is the chance to meet, in early morning sessions, with officials from the industry's four major regulators: the three traditional banking agencies and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Bankers ask questions or make statements, and officials field both. Highlights from this year's sessions: * Guidance isn't optional. Bankers asked about examiner focus on best practices and guidance. FDIC said compliance with guidance is expected, though guidance isn't enforceable. Best practices represent the distillation of good ideas seen by examiners. * Vendor management. In many sessions, traditional regulators stressed their ongoing concern about banks' third-party risks, and expectations that banks will adopt strong controls. * De novo banks possible. FDIC's Doreen Eberley, director of risk management supervision, said the agency stands ready to consider new applications for deposit insurance. We are absolutely open for she said. There hasn't been a lot of business, though, that we've heard about. As prices for existing banks rise, she speculated, interest in de novo banking may pick up. * Keep loan loss methodology on radar. OCC's John Lyons, senior deputy comptroller and chief national bank examiner, noted that the Current Expected Credit Loss model proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been endorsed by the prudential regulators. (ABA supports an industry-devised model.) * HELOC watch. Darrin Benhart, deputy comptroller for credit and market risk, continued OCC's warnings to evaluate how home equity lines of credit in portfolio will behave when they hit the end of their draw periods. That's when repayment must begin if the loans aren't refinanced. * More revisions to mortgage regulations possible. CFPB speakers said that bankers' concern about rough spots in the new mortgage regimen, and other potential revisions, need to be addressed. They said the bureau halted revisions so bankers could have closure during the implementation stage. The Summit included the new Emerging Leaders Forum and the 2014 ABA Women's Leadership Forum. Fortune Senior Editor at Large Patricia Sellers (see sidebar, right) discussed career strategies. Panelist Leslie Andersen, president of $72.9 million-assets Bank of Bennington, Neb., told of her own moment of decision, warning fellow bankers not to put up their own career barriers. When Andersen was incoming chairman of the Nebraska Bankers Association, she found out she was pregnant with her third child. She called George Beattie, NBA's president, to ask if continuing would be appropriate. …