Reeves Discusses Role as NJBankers Chairman

COURT HOUSE – Gerald L. Reeves, President, CEO and Director of Sturdy Savings Bank, paid a visit to the Herald Sept. 3 in order to discuss his recent appointment as chairman of the board of directors of the New Jersey Bankers Association.
The association, also known as NJBankers, represents 111 banking institutions in New Jersey. Reeves was elected by the association’s board of directors, and sworn into his new position during the NJBankers’ annual meeting in May.
His primary role is to lead advocacy efforts in the areas of regulation, legislation and public relations for New Jersey banks. Reeves has quickly acclimated to his role as chairman and has established a personal goal of fostering the most possible support for the association.
“My main goal is to provide support and encouragement to committee members and to solicit representatives from our member banks to serve on our committees. My focus for the year is to find ways to support those individuals participating on a daily basis and making good things happen within our Association. At the end of the year, I hope to be able to say that I’ve helped our committees be more vibrant, active, engaged, and relevant to the issues at hand,” he stated.
President and CEO of NJBankers, John McWeeney, as well as Michael Affuso, senior vice president/director of government relations, were also on hand to discuss the association’s latest activity and initiatives.
McWeeney recounted both his and Reeves’ recent trip to Washington, D.C., during which a delegation of approximately 30 NJBankers’ officers met with the nation’s major regulatory agencies, such as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), Office of Comptroller Currency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “It’s very important to us as an organization to talk to these senior regulators about the issues on the minds of bankers.”
Reeves agreed, expressing his professional appreciation for the degree to which such regulators understand the issues faced by the banking industry in our state. “There’s a tendency to think that maybe these national regulators are not in tune to what we’re facing, but I was particularly impressed by the responses I received. I think it was a great interchange of information.”
Those recent interchanges also served to renew Reeves’ faith in the strength and recovery of the banking industry. He discussed the security of the FDIC’s insurance fund, and the FDIC’s serious commitment to maintaining its status as a firm “safety net.”
“No matter how bad the economy got to be in the recession of 2008, no bank customer lost his/her money. Americans are lucky that they can say that,” stated Reeves. “This recession was absolutely brutal…But we in the industry are seeing signs of strong recovery.”
Reeves and fellow NJBankers representatives briefly discussed foreclosure, one of the major consequences of the recent “brutal” recession, and its continued effects on our local market.
“NJBankers has been helpful in providing input to state legislation, Mike’s (Affuso) office in particular,” began Reeves. Affuso discussed the association’s recent role in the passing of legislation that formally outlines the necessary steps to be taken in the case of foreclosure on an out-of-state investor’s property.
“One of the most sensitive yet pressing issues we see in foreclosure cases is the maintenance of the condition of said property…Under the previous law, there was a duty on lenders to maintain properties that were vacant, but it failed to clarify what ‘maintenance’ was and how it was to take place.” In the Association’s probe of such vacant, unkempt properties, “the feedback that we received was that vast majority of ‘problem’ properties were not funded by loans that were serviced by NJBankers members.” Rather, they were failed ventures by out-of-state investors.
NJBankers was instrumental in supporting Gov. Chris Christie’s signing of the ordinance that requires these out-of-state entities to designate in-state representatives to act on their behalf. This expedites the foreclosure process and prevents the degradation of local property values. “New Jersey has the highest percentage of mortgages in foreclosure of any state in the country simply because the process takes so long. This in turn has a bad effect on surrounding housing markets,” added McWeeney.
“As bankers, our goal is to support the communities we serve. If they are damaged by vacant or damaged properties in foreclosure, it doesn’t serve us well because we rely on a strong real estate market,” finished Reeves.
This is merely one example of NJBankers Association’s recent efforts to improve our local markets and thus raise New Jersey residents’ standard of living. The association as well as its 111 individual members is involved in charitable efforts of state residents. For information on their committees and projects, visit www.njbankers.com.