Pub. 5 2016 Issue 2

The CommunityBanker 6 Chairman’s Message M E S S A G E President’s Message By Mike Ewing VACB Chairman Oak View National Bank By Steve Yeakel, CAE VACB President & CEO wo energizing words. Refreshing and reinvigorating are two adjectives that bring enthusiasm to whatever activity they modify. Hopefully, the overabundance of spring precipitation will have ceased by the time you read this, and Virginia’s special brand of nature will be revealing all of its refreshing and reinvigorating beauty. At VACB, we also see refreshing and reinvigorat- ing as verbs. We see it as our job to constantly refresh and reinvigorate. You see that in our targeted education programs, where we bring new material to address new needs and concerns. You see that in our uncompromised advocacy, where we bring new approaches, new people and new energy to our federal lobbying efforts, on both the Congressional and regulatory fronts. And you see it in our quality collaboration, where there are constant efforts to connect the new solutions of new and longtime partners with our banks, and to facilitate bank to bank collaboration. You may have even noticed evidence of our efforts to refresh and invigorate in the small but significant “tune-up” in our VACB logo. And why do we so heartily engage in refreshing and reinvigorating? We learned it from you. You teach us every day, by your example, to retain that which is of constant and lasting value, and meld into it the new ap- proaches and technologies that keep us available for, and invested in, our customers. Have a great summer! orking together collaboratively can help community banks thrive. Community banks working together may improve quality, spread costs, accelerate delivery of new products and services, share specialized expertise, and refocus limited internal resources on core functions. Yes, there are risks and inconveniences to collabora- tive relationships, but there are also risks to doing something alone without the proper expertise or in an inefficient or ineffective manner. Collaboration is a cooperative arrangement in which two or more banks work jointly toward a com- mon goal while remaining separate entities. It could take the form of a cooperative legal entity, a joint venture, a consortium, or just informal networking and exchanging of information and ideas. There are some basic functions of community banks that lend themselves to more cost-efficient execution, such as sharing costs for compliance, audit, and BSA/AML reviews. Other examples include accounting, appraisal reviews, clerical support, data processing, loan participation consortiums, marketing, mortgage processing, procurement, and many others. Community banks can share resources and expertise to the mutual benefit of all involved. Some community banks may have excess capacity or may have developed platforms and expertise that enable them to provide shared services to other community banks that may not have sufficient resources or demand. As a group of like-minded institutions, community banks may find the benefits of collaboration outweigh competitive challenges and could strengthen the future success of our industry. Together, we can be a “com- munity of banks” that look to each other, and thereby support each other, as we explore ways to face the chal- lenges of today. Refreshing! Reinvigorating! A Community of Banks in Virginia T W