By Steve Cocheo, executive editor

[This article was posted on May 14, 2010, on the website of ABA Banking Journal, www.ababj.com, and is copyright 2010 by the American Bankers Association.]

“I’ve not personally read the entire regulatory reform package. I’ve only been briefed about it.”

“Which of course qualifies me to vote on it.”

That’s a joke that never fails to get a laugh, though perhaps with a grimace, when Insignia Bank’s Charles Brown III adds it to a speech or a question-and-answer period.

Many executives both in the business and nonprofit sectors share trepidation and cynicism about the federal health care package, and the notorious lack of informed voting that its approval was based on. This rings a sympathetic bell, then, when Brown taps into that frustration when he speaks to groups about the pending financial regulatory reform legislation.

“I do think that elected officials are trying to do the right thing,” says Brown. “But with every move, there is a result, and there are reactions.” Brown feels it is important for the public to have the industry’s side of the debate, something not always brought out in the general media and other forums.

Brown, chairman and CEO at the $133.7 million-asset Sarasota, Fla., bank, has been speaking before civic and service groups, foundations, and other organizations seeking topical presentations in recent months. He’s given close to a dozen speeches, presenting a banker’s-eye view of what’s gone on nationally and locally; where things are headed; and how industry outsiders can understand the significance of the daily swirl of events.

Brown, who is a member of ABA’s America’s Community Bankers Council and of FDIC’s Advisory Committee on Community Banking, serves a market hit hard by the state’s banking difficulties. He says community organizations “are always hungry for speakers” and that those who can address banking and credit issues are especially sought after. He brings extensive banking experience in both Florida and Ohio to the task. His current institution is a three-year-old de novo.

Among the themes Brown touches on: the impact of the regulators’ commercial real estate guidance on the availability of CRE credit in his bank’s markets; the potential effect seen from the agencies’ CRE workouts guidance; the return that the Treasury Department has been getting from its TARP investments; and the breadth and depth of regulatory reform legislation.

“I offer my prognostications of what I think is going to happen in our local markets,” says Brown. This brings the big picture down to a level that every listener can relate to, Brown explains.

Of the questions he receives, one that particularly stands out in his memory concerns the likelihood that life insurance companies will be wound up in final reform legislation. Why does Congress see this as necessary, Brown’s been asked. He says his answer is, “I’ll give you a three-letter answer: A…I….G.”

For the most part, Brown says, what he reaps from his efforts is a clearer understanding among his listeners about the issues bank lenders face today.

But on occasion, Brown finds there’s a direct bonus to his bank, beyond the benefit of civic leaders who better understand what’s going on in the industry.

“We have picked up deposits from businesses, because their owners or managers have heard me and met me,” says Brown. He finds that his getting out in front of his audiences builds his credibility, and adds a face to the bank’s market presence.

He says listeners and event bookers alike tell him plainly, “We don’t want an informercial about your bank. We want information about banks.” Brown finds that playing things straight gives the listeners what they need, and the direct benefits come along in the wake of the good will he’s generated.

“Any banker who’s a member of ABA could be giving such speeches right now,” says Brown. “It’s a huge positive.”

ABA member banks can obtain assistance with speeches on the ABA website. Go to www.aba.com/commtoolshome.htm

[This article was posted on May 14, 2010, on the website of ABA Banking Journal, www.ababj.com, and is copyright 2010 by the American Bankers Association.]