president’s office Striking Boldly into the Future MICHAEL P. AFFUSO, ESQ., PRESIDENT/CEO, NJBANKERS As I conclude my second year as CEO of NJBankers I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together. Together, we have broadened our reach in advocacy through expanded government and public affairs, and have grown our political presence. We have evolved our programming based on member feedback in order to continue to be the first source of professional development for our members. From this launchpad, we will move forward through 2024 and 2025. Our industry is strong and resilient. We will continue to tell the story and amplify it. You will see us highly visible in the media and social media speaking forthrightly about the collective strength of the industry and its value to our customers. Furthermore, we will continue our efforts to educate our elected officials about the strength of the industry and the harm that overbroad and overreaching regulations pose to our customers and their constituents, as well as to the system itself. We will also demonstrate the strength of the industry through our commitment to our communities. You will see NJBankers community efforts on behalf of the industry with ubiquity in the coming months with veterans, small businesses, and other community service organizations. The message in both word and deed is that our industry is here, and we are strong. While the events of March 2023 were one year ago, NJBankers will not view the events as a crisis in the rear-view mirror. The NJBankers Board of Directors, after robust discussion, sought to even the playing field between all institutions in the area of both implied and actual government backstops of deposits. The issue may be dormant, but it continues to be of great import to our members. Solutions range from careful monitoring, private insurance, a state insurance fund and/or increased FDIC insurance on certain accounts. The NJBankers Board of Directors has created a working group to fully vet the issue for the membership and recommend paths forward. While a working group does not signal quick action, it will create consensus which will allow for decisive action. In 2018, the Board took decisive action to bring a suit to enforce our First Amendment rights. We prevailed. In June 2024, the Supreme Court is poised to overturn a forty-year-old legal precedent that allowed great deference to administrative agencies when a statute was vague. This doctrine, Chevron deference, has been used as a shield from lawsuits by agencies to promulgate rules far beyond the scope of the authorizing legislation. This shield is likely to be greatly reduced. Therefore, regulated entities will have a greater chance of relief from courts where before there was none. NJBankers will begin to seek viable injuries to remedy through legal action. Such legal action may be individual or may be as part of a larger coalition. It is with great anticipation that we await the Court’s ruling. With similar anticipation we have launched a partnership with an Endorsed Service Provider, Keystate. Keystate, in close collaboration with Solar Landscape, the community Solar leader in New Jersey, and NJBankers members, will create a solar tax credit purchase program. The tax credits will reduce tax liabilities for purchasing institutions and the funding will be used to provide solar energy to low- and moderate-income households. In addition to the financial value to our members, program participants may be eligible for CRA credit. While this CRA portion of the program is not yet guaranteed, we may be on the precipice. These four initiatives are of long-term strategic value to our members. These efforts will not come to fruition overnight and will require the investment of both human and physical capital. We believe they will be worthy investments. While we will continue the advocacy and professional development efforts that you come to expect from NJBankers with a focus on what our members need in the here and now, we will also vault ahead into the future. OUR INDUSTRY IS STRONG AND RESILIENT. WE WILL CONTINUE TO TELL THE STORY AND AMPLIFY IT. YOU WILL SEE US HIGHLY VISIBLE IN THE MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA SPEAKING FORTHRIGHTLY ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE STRENGTH OF THE INDUSTRY AND ITS VALUE TO OUR CUSTOMERS. FURTHERMORE, WE WILL CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS TO EDUCATE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF THE INDUSTRY AND THE HARM THAT OVERBROAD AND OVERREACHING REGULATIONS POSE TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR CONSTITUENTS, AS WELL AS TO THE SYSTEM ITSELF. WE WILL ALSO DEMONSTRATE THE STRENGTH OF THE INDUSTRY THROUGH OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITIES. 6 from the njbankers president’s office
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