National News

Credit union bill on the shelf.The banking industry caught a break on April 23 when Senate Democratic leadership decided to delay a vote on the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act (S. 2231/H.R. 1418). The act would have more than doubled the credit union lending limit for member business loans to 27.5 percent from 12.25 percent of total assets. The Senate's full schedule has been cited in explaining the delay. According to the American Bankers Association, the bill remains on the Senate calendar and can be recalled for a vote at any time. The Independent Community Bankers of America still placed the credit union bill as its top priority as nearly 1,000 bankers gathered on Capitol Hill on April 25. Credit union industry officials remain hopeful that a vote will occur this session. "The fact is…Senate leadership remains committed to a floor vote on this bill, a promise Sen. Schumer reiterated," said Bill Cheney, president of the Credit Union National Association..Growth continues at modest pace.The latest Beige Book report from the Federal Reserve indicates overall economic activity continued to expand at a modest pace from mid-February through late March. St. Louis reported continued growth, while Minneapolis expanded at a solid pace. Chicago reported growth at a moderate rate driven by consumer and business spending. Construction activity increased as well. Minneapolis reported strength in consumer spending, professional services, construction, manufacturing, energy and mining, and agriculture. Residential real estate had an unexpectedly large increase in sales activity and hiring activity outpaced layoffs. Kansas City reported a faster pace of growth due to improvement in consumer spending, residential real estate, and commercial real estate. Bankers noted steady loan demand, better loan quality, and rising deposits..April a big month for banking, financial literacy.April was Community Banking Month, an event commemorated by members of the Independent Community Bankers of America; April 24 was Teach Children to Save Day, an event coordinated by the ABA Education Foundation. Thousands of community banks participate in the events. Some partner with volunteer organizations to do civic projects, others organize customer-appreciation events or teach local students financial skills. On Teach Children to Save Day, 1,622 banks led financial education events across the country. Since 1997, the program has reached some 5.1 million children with the help of more than 100,000 banker volunteers..Minnesota bank closes.Inter Savings Bank, fsb, whose condition has been deteriorating for more than four years, was closed by the Comptroller of the Currency. It was the largest Minnesota-based financial institution to fail since the financial crisis of 2008. The bank, which operated under the name InterBank, fsb, was based in Maple Grove, Minn., and had four branches. With the FDIC acting as receiver, Great Southern Bank, Reeds Spring, Mo., assumed virtually all of the failed institution's $473.0 million in deposits and $481.6 million in assets. The FDIC and Great Southern agreed to a loss share transaction on $413.0 million of the assets. The FDIC estimates the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $117.5 million. InterBank was one of five banks to fail on April 27, making it the FDIC's busiest date for bank resolutions this year.