In Brief: Session a Mixed Bag for Small Ind. Banks

This year's Indiana legislative session yielded mixed results for community bankers.

Bankers again failed to win new insurance powers, and lost their bid to prevent out-of-state banks from holding municipal deposits. But they did prevent the use of additional nonbank alternatives for such deposits.

A bill giving banks life insurance powers is dead, said S. Joe DeHaven, executive director of the Community Bankers Association of Indiana.

He said, however, that some legislators have indicated the state's banking and insurance industries should try to compromise on the issue later this year so it can be dealt with next year.

Additionally, the community bankers group had hoped to prohibit out-of- state banks from accepting municipal deposits.

Branches of out-of-state banks won the right to do so, but with a caveat that their in-state loans be equal to or greater than the amount of public funds on deposit.

"That sort of took the wind out of our sails," Mr. DeHaven said, referring to community bankers' argument that the money would go out of state.

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