Meeting

Report

JEFFREY KANE
Senior Vice President,
Charlotte Branch Federal Reserve
By: John Galles

The first meeting of December certainly delivered colder weather to the community, but there was the always-warm presence of Rotary members to brighten the day. David Zimmerman introduced our speaker, Jeffrey Kane, Senior Vice President in charge of the Charlotte Branch of the Federal Reserve. He is relocating to Charlotte from Richmond, Virginia in spite of the names that President Tom did not call him. He, too, has plans to live in the Center City and spoke frankly about asking for the leadership opportunity with the Federal Reserve in Charlotte.

Mr. Kane’s previous experience was as Bank Examiner and in charge of Bank Supervision. He believes that Charlotte’s strategic location is extremely important to the future of banking especially in light of the important banking activity near Trade and Tryon. While he admits that he is no Alan Greenspan nor an economist, he doesn’t believe all the media claims that we were in a recession and that the recession is over. He suspects that while the numbers are good, we still have some hurdles to clear. He said that his sense of economic direction comes largely from his interaction with his local Board consisting of seven members, four from North Carolina and three from South Carolina.

The Federal Reserve office is at 530 E. Trade Street and employs nearly 450 workers. As a major processor of checks for all the banks in this region and with the changing laws and technology, he expects that their operations will continue to grow while they tackle consumer complaints, consumer protection and mortgage fraud as well as ATM communication. He expects that there will be increased attention given to the rising rate of identity theft. He even mentioned that we might have a computer chip implanted in our finger to accompany our credit cards in the near future.

With many changes in banking laws including the Check Truncation Act and the Fair Reporting Act among others, he knows that he will be busy. One of his major concerns is handling consumer complaints, although he acknowledges that 90% are probably covered in the “fine” print of bank documents.

He expected a few questions and tried to answer them before the Q and A period. About rates, he said that the fed is still very focused on the jobs picture. Regarding the cost of processing checks, he said that it is substantial and that huge questions remain to be worked out including the absolute cost of transportation and the cost of the float that banks rely upon. About service on bank boards of directors, he commented that these are very difficult positions that require substantial training and attentiveness. He urges Boards that are continually voting “yes” to start asking in depth questions.

From the membership, Mr. Kane was asked about cash flows to China and his response was that the Fed was more concerned about the flow of jobs out of the U.S. He was also questioned about why the federal government spent tax dollars advertising the new currency. In reply, he said the reason was more for the benefit of vendors and consumers who might receive the new bills and not recognize them or accept them. Nevertheless, he said that the new currency was being counterfeited as frequently if not more than previous currency. In closing, Jeffrey Kane said that he looked forward to becoming part of the community and possibly joining Rotary.
 
Head Table:
John Snyder, David Lewis, David Zimmerman, Tom Robertson, Paul Solitario, George MacBain; Invocation: Lamar Thomas
 
Visitors and Guests:
Gene Bratek; Health & Happiness: Tony Marciano; Song: Thomas Moore


 

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MAKE-UPS

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