Pub. 7 2018 Issue 1

The CommunityBanker 20 I t’s a dog-eat-dog world. Every organization needs to keep evolving to stay relevant and on top of its game, particularly in the finan- cial sector. So, I wasn’t entirely surprised to read that one of the trade associations representing large financial institutions has reorganized its membership structure. The Financial Services Roundtable (FSR) has whittled itself down to represent only commercial banks with more than $25 billion in assets and major payments companies, such as Visa and Mastercard. That cuts the organization’s membership nearly in half—to roughly 40 institutions—and eliminates insurers, asset managers and other nonbank financial providers. Now, let’s not shed any tears for those who are now on the outside looking in. These are some of the nation’s largest financial services companies. And as I know all too well, they have plenty of other powerful organizations to represent their interests in Washington. They’ll be just fine, believe me. In fact, I completely understand the FSR board’s decision. We at ICBA are lucky to serve only one constituency: community banks. Unlike other ma- jor financial trade groups, we can truly speak with one voice. While our membership is nationwide, our voice is not diffuse but concentrated on the issues affecting community banks and only com- munity banks. It’s an ancient truth: No one can serve two mas- ters. ICBA is fortunate that our voice is not diluted by the various competing segments of the financial services industry. Rather, we are driven by our unique mission: to create and promote an environ- ment where community banks flourish. Serving One Master By Camden R. Fine, President and CEO of ICBA F I N E P O I N T S