The FDIC Board met a short while ago and voted to cut the proposed 20-basis point special assessment to five basis points, a tremendous win for OBA-member banks! In addition, the Board voted 4-1 to base that assessments on total assets minus Tier 1 Capital, which is significantly different than originally proposed.

"This is a huge win for our banks," said OBA Chairman Marty Hansen. "Following the industry's victory earlier this week in securing passage of S. 896 increasing the FDIC's borrowing authority, this decision shows what can happen when bankers work together on a common goal like this one: reducing the impact of the special assessment."

Hansen is president and CEO of the First State Bank of Fairfax, with approximately $40 million in total assets.

The new assessment base will include Federal Home Loan Bank advances and that may be good news or bad news for community banks, depending on the extent to which they rely on such advances to fund loan demand, said OBA President and CEO Roger Beverage.

"Individual bankers will view this result from different perspectives, depending on the extent to which they use (FHLB advances) as a major funding source," he said. "My guess is there will be some bankers who will not be happy about this change, but I have no way of knowing how many or otherwise quantifying it right now.

"The most important thing is that bankers worked together and 'got 'er done', as they say. At the end of the day, this action is a savings to OBA member banks of more than $86 million. That's pretty significant by any measure, and it means that at least $500 million more will now be available to loan to Oklahomans. What a great way to end the week before the Memorial Day holiday.

"Our banks work every day to make their customers and their communities better." Beverage said. "It's appropriate that the FDIC has finally figured out that while traditional banks didn't cause the nation's problems, they are the solution to them."

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