January 19, 2023 

Smith, Graves To Chair House Committees

Luetkemeyer, Wagner to chair House Financial subcommittees

With the start of the 118th Congress in Washington, D.C., several Missouri representatives will chair House committees and subcommittee for the next two years.

Rep. Jason Smith will chair the House Committee on Ways and Means, which oversees public policy initiatives, including changes to the tax code and trade policies. He is the youngest person to serve as chair.

Rep. Sam Graves will chair the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. For the past four years, Graves has served as the committee’s ranking member.

“These are critically important leadership roles in the House and ensure Missouri’s voice is strong in Washington, D.C.,” said MBA President Jackson Hataway. “We look forward to working with Congressman Smith and Congressman Graves as they take the reins of their committees.”

Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer and Ann Wagner, members of the House Financial Services Committee, will chair House Financial subcommittees. Luetkemeyer will chair the Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, and Wagner will chair the Subcommittee on Capital Markets.

“We appreciate the leadership of Congressman Luetkemeyer and Congresswoman Wagner in championing the banking community’s vital role in strengthening our economy,” Hataway said. “We look forward to continuing our work with them to ensure strong, vibrant prosperity.”

Hitting the Right Mark

Rethink your strategy for attracting candidates, retaining staff

What must an employer do to attract great prospective candidates while simultaneously ensuring current employees are enjoying their work environment? It’s a question that weighs heavily on the minds of employers across all industries.

In a recent article for The Missouri Banker and podcast episode for “Our Two Cents with MBA,” Karen Shannon, vice president with Ollis/Akers/Arney in Springfield, Missouri, shares her insights on how banks can stand out in today’s job market and how to keep current employees motivated and engaged. She also shares how LinkedIn plays a key role in both recruitment and employee engagement. In addition, MBA Chairman J.R. Buckner, president and CEO of First Federal Bank of Kansas City, encourages bankers to view recruitment and retention from different angles.

Credit Unions File Bill to Expand Field of Membership, MBA Requests Member Engagement with Target Banker Visits

MBA needs your help to push back against a credit union bill that would allow a massive expansion to the current field of membership law. Sign up today for a Target Banker visit so you can voice your concern about this legislation. MBA will provide a briefing and talking points ahead of legislative visits.

“Defeating this bill is our top priority for this session,” said MBA Senior Vice President David Kent. “To accomplish this, we need bankers from across the state at the Missouri Capitol so your representatives can hear directly from you about this bill and the consequences it creates for our industry and your customers.”

Dates for 2023 Target Banker visits are posted online. For questions, please contact Emily Lewis.

Fed Provides Additional Details on Climate Scenario Exercises

The Federal Reserve released additional details on how its upcoming pilot climate scenario analysis exercise will be conducted and the information on risk management practices that will be gathered from the program. The nation’s six largest banks will participate in the exercise, starting this year.

Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said “Decisions about policies to directly address climate change should be made by the elected branches of government and thus reflect the public’s will as expressed through elections.” MBA supports Powell’s position and hopes the stress testing of the nation’s six largest banks is as far as the Federal Reserve’s efforts on climate requirements for banks will extend.

The Fed will collect qualitative and quantitative information over the course of the pilot, including details on governance and risk management practices, measurement methodologies, risk metrics, data challenges and lessons learned. The exercise will include physical risk scenarios with different levels of severity affecting residential and commercial real estate portfolios in the northeastern U.S., with each bank also considering the impact of additional physical risk shocks for their real estate portfolios in another region of the country. In addition, the banks will be asked to consider the effect on corporate loans and commercial real estate portfolios using a scenario based on current climate policies and one based on reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The Fed plans to publish insights gained from the pilot at an aggregate level, reflecting what has been learned about climate risk management practices and how insights from scenario analysis will help identify potential risks and promote effective risk management practices. No firm-specific information will be released.