With this week marking the start of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, the American Bankers Association has unveiled policy recommendations from its task force on hurricane preparedness.
The recommendations, announced Wednesday during a press conference, include improving emergency communications, promoting the development of regional coalitions among financial institutions, and allowing the private sector to offer direct disaster loans through the Small Business Administration.
"We think that getting the banking industry into … [SBA disaster lending] will make a vital difference and speed the recovery," said Guy Williams, a member of the task force and the president of the $694 million-asset Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Co. in New Orleans.
The task force was organized in October to help the banking industry apply the lessons learned in past disasters to future ones. It will forward its recommendations to the Treasury Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the SBA, and bank regulators.
