Florida Banking May 2023

CHAIR’S MESSAGE

RELATIONSHIPS ARE CRITICAL TO OUR ADVOCACY

BY BILL PENNEY, FBA CHAIR

I could write about our recent advocacy efforts — our 67th Annual Washington, D.C., Trip or Capitol Day + Capitol Night — but when thinking of the challenges our industry has faced (and still faces) these past months, I’ve been reminded of the importance of relationships. Advocacy is essential, and we do it well, but our advocacy and outreach efforts are only as strong as our industry relationships. We are in the relationship business. But it’s not only

grateful for our White House Briefing with Bharat Ramamurti, who we’ve continued to engage despite our differences of opinion. Our association has warm relationships with legislators on both sides of the political aisle. During our time at the Florida Capitol on Capitol Day, we met with leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties. We split up into small groups according to our regions and sat down with our local representatives.

our relationships with customers, employees and communities that matter, but also our relationships with policymakers, regulators, our fellow bankers and the media. Relationships open doors. When the FBA organizes our many events, it’s often thanks to the association’s professional relationships — nurtured over the course of years — that score us time with busy legislators or regulators. During our

Events like Capitol Day + Capitol Night are critical for building and nurturing these relationships… because when it comes time to reach out to our leaders about critical issues, we want them to know our names. The point is, we don’t want to have a reputation for reaching out only when we need something. If that were the case, how willing would our legislators be to help? Luckily that’s not our

"ADVOCACY IS ESSENTIAL, AND WE DO IT WELL, BUT OUR ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH EFFORTS ARE ONLY AS STRONG

AS OUR INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIPS."

67th Annual Washington, D.C. Trip, FBA President and CEO Alex Sanchez spotted Sen. John Cornyn in the hallway and invited him to say hello to our group. Sen. Cornyn spoke with our entourage of 100-plus bankers for at least 15 minutes (which is pretty significant in D.C. time!), and he was not even scheduled to meet with us on this trip. We met with Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, as well as 10-plus other Representatives. We had an informative meeting with Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu. And we were especially

reputation. I’m grateful every day for the passion of our Florida bankers and more so for the history and dedication of our association. Building relationships takes time, but we are consistent and communicative. Relationships are built on trust. And this is a time to inspire trust and confidence in what we do. How can you help us nurture our relationships with our regulators and policy makers? Attend our events to network with your fellow banking colleagues and industry leaders. Reach out to your local legislators to build a relationship and earn the right to share your

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