Study Quantifies Compliance Costs for Community Banks
A study released using data compiled in surveys by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) shows that the burden of regulatory compliance for community banks declined in 2016 after increasing in the previous year.
Compliance expenses as a share of noninterest expense rose from 5.5 percent in 2014 to 8.1 percent in 2015 before dropping to 7.7 percent in 2016. The study suggested that this pattern of expenses may have been related to implementation of mortgage regulations under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In 2016, compliance with mortgage-related regulations accounted for about one-third of all regulatory costs.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has announced a record number of college student teams have submitted case studies for the 2018 Community Bank Case Study Competition. This year’s competition focuses on how community banks are using technology.
Fifty-one student teams from 45 colleges and universities across the nation met the April 9 deadline. Last year, 33 teams participated. This is the fourth year of the competition, which is open to undergraduate students in all fields of study as an opportunity to gain valuable first-hand knowledge of the banking industry.
In July 2017, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System approved a new voluntary survey of U.S. commercial banks on their small business lending activities. The survey is being managed and administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. This report summarizes the results from the first survey period, which covers lending activity in the fourth quarter of 2017.
The Small Business Lending Survey is a quarterly collection of quantitative and qualitative information that will be used to understand credit market conditions for bank lending to small businesses. The survey captures detailed, comprehensive information that is not otherwise available about small business lending and how it changes from quarter to quarter. Specifically, quantitative information is collected on commercial and industrial (C&I) loan amounts, interest rates, maturities, and lending terms for term loans and lines of credit with fixed and variable interest rates, and applications received and approved. In addition, qualitative information is collected on changes in credit standards and terms and loan demand, as well as reasons for those changes.
Applications for the Community Banking in the 21st Century Emerging Scholars program are due Friday, June 8, 2018. First introduced as part of the 2015 conference, the Emerging Scholars Program is intended to support Ph.D. students who are considering or working on a dissertation on a banking-related topic. Three scholars will be selected to attend and participate in the 2018 conference, with their travel and lodging expenses paid by the program. Previous scholars have found attending the conference to be a very valuable experience.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal K. Quarles will deliver one of the keynote addresses during the sixth annual Community Banking in the 21st Century research and policy conference that will be held Oct. 3-4 at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.The conference, hosted by the Federal Reserve System and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), brings together community bankers, academics, policymakers and bank supervisors from across the country to discuss the latest academic research on community banking, as well as important policy issues facing the sector.