The end-of-year rush to pass legislation can be bad for the nerves. Just ask James Watt and Lisa McGreevy of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. They suffered a panic attack last week after hearing rumors that Republican budget negotiators would grant President Clinton's wish to levy federal examination fees on bank holding companies and state-chartered banks and thrifts.
For weeks Ms. McGreevy, top lobbyist for the conference, and Mr. Watt, the group's president, have urged Rep. John Kasich and Sen. Pete V. Domenici to fight the President's plan. State-chartered institutions already pay examination fees to the states, and the White House plan would add $1 billion in costs to the banking industry during the next four years, they argued.
After intense lobbying by the conference and other banking trade groups, joined by support from House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach, the President's proposal appeared dead.
But hours before Rep. Kasich and Sen. Domenici were scheduled to discuss banking issues with the White House negotiators, rumors were rampant: The Republicans were ready to cave.
The Dec. 20 scare prompted the conference, along with the American Bankers Association and the Independent Bankers Association of America, to barrage the Senate and House budget committees with calls.
Despite the heroics, the alarm was false, apparently sparked when Rep. Kasich asked the House Banking Committee to remind him why the White House plan should be opposed.
But better safe than sorry, Mr. Watt said. "We're in the stage where the big boys are negotiating, and you can get your head handed to you real easily," he said.
A small army of healthy banks will save a bundle when it comes time to replenish the thrift deposit insurance fund - courtesy of Congress. Banks that own thrift deposits will see their share of a one-time special assessment cut by $300 million. Some individual powerhouses, First Union Corp. and Amsouth Bancorp in particular, also will enjoy additional breaks designed especially for them.
But not only the rich and powerful get special treatment. One gristly bone thrown to Democrats on the House Banking Committee gives special treatment to a minority thrift in San Francisco. At the urging of Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Congress agreed to let Pan American Bank escape the assessment of 85 cents per $100 of deposits. In return, however, Pan American must continue to pay its current insurance premiums while other thrifts see their payments drastically reduced.
Pan American is a Hispanic-owned institution established in 1994 when investors acquired five branches from the Resolution Trust Corp. Since then, Pan American has acquired a branch in Los Angeles. All the thrift's operations are in minority neighborhoods.
Pan American, with $16.1 million in capital, including an $11 million RTC loan, describes itself as "very thinly capitalized."
After helping his boss craft a regulatory relief bill that is now poised for Senate approval, John "Buz" Gorman is leaving the office of Sen. Connie Mack to join the lobbyist ranks. As assistant vice president and legal counsel for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors Mr. Gorman will spend his time prowling Capitol Hill and visiting state regulators around the country to let them know what's going on in Washington.
Mr. Gorman said he's making the move because he needs "a new experience." He joined Mr. Mack in 1986 when the Florida Republican was in the House.
Despite enthusiasm for his new post, Mr. Gorman said he's sorry he won't be on Capitol Hill early next year when the Senate is expected to pass legislation cutting banks' paperwork. "I've been working on that for six years, and I'd love to be there when a big bill goes through. But the conference was too good an opportunity to pass up," he said.
Sen. Mack coauthored the regulatory relief bill with Sen. Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala.
