Regional President Speech

FROM: RELEASED A3? 11:00 A.M. THE AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1962 THE NEWS BUREAU George J. Kelly, Director A.B.A. Convention Headquarters Room 1337, Haddon Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey Phone: 3^-01*a, Ext. U98 REMARKS OF ACCEPTANCE Of M. Monroe Kimbrel, Upon His Inauguration as President of The American Bankers Association at the Second General Session of the Association^ 88th Annual Convention, Convention Hall, Atlantic City, Wednesday Morning, September 26, 1962. Mr. Kimbrel, who was advanced from the vice presidency of the Association, is chairman of the board of the First National Bank, Thomson, Georgia. This is a singular honor you bestow on me. As the 77th president of the A.B.A. and as president during the Centennial year of the dual banking system, I pledge you my best efforts. During the past year I have had the good fortune of working closely with Sam Fleming, Charlie Walker and the staff, and many of the bankers who serve on the various A.B.A. committees. This experience has been both inspirational and instructive. It gave me a preview of some of the challenges confronting us. It also increased my appreciation for those who are serving the Association so well. I am impelled to express genuine gratitude to Sam and Josephine Fleming for their constant and generous thoughtfulness throughout the year. It has been a wonderful experience to be a part of the team with Sam. He is a great leader, meticulous planner, tireless worker, delightful gentleman, and loyal friend. Obviously, his prime asset is his lovely and gracious wife, Josephine. Nita and I will always cherish our association with these splendid people. Banking grows more competitive and more complex each day. The American Bankers Association, through its studies, reports, surveys, publications, conferences, schools, and supervisory services, seeks to supplement the work of your own specialists. In this sense, the A.B.A. is really an extension of the facilities of your own bank. I hope you will utilize fully the growing number of Digitized Afo.r BFR.AAS.E Rs ervices during the coming year. http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ (More) Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis REMARKS OP ACCEPTANCE 2 May I comment briefly on two areas of general interest: First is the Centennial. This year-long celebration represents the greatest opportunity, ever, to tell the story of banking to the publics In turn, the need for public understanding of the role of banking in our economy has never been greater. I know every banker in the country will do his utmost to make the Centennial a tremendous success. Secondly, judging from all indications, this year will be a busy and decisive one for banking legislation. I am confident bankers will continue to provide aggressive leadership. The experience banking has gained through the successful fight to establish the principle of tax uniformity will be useful. Bankers will not hesitate to support legislation strengthening our banking system, nor will we hesitate to offer constructive opposition to legislation which we feel would be detrimental to banking and therefore to the public interest. Let me make one point crystal clear: we will continue to meet these issues squarely and objectively. We will also continue to speak out on broad economic questions. Banking cannot grow and prosper if the economy is not growing and prospering. If we shy away from the responsibility of making the views of bank­ ing known, then we must share the responsibility for economic decisions which are not in the best public interest. Aloofness is a luxury we can ill afford. Things worthwhile and of large magnitude are not done by individuals but by cooperative action. The American Bankers Association moves forward to its destiny. In that destiny you and I have an important part to play, I .ask you to do your part. For my part, I pledge to you that during the coming year I will give to you and to The American Bankers Association everything that is in me. Nita joins me in thanking you for the opportunity and the honor of serving as your president during the Centennial year of the dual banking system. We shall entreat Almighty God to grant us the wisdom and bless us with the physical endurance to be worthy of your confidence. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Monroe Kimbrel (1962, September 25). Regional President Speech. Speeches, Federal Reserve. https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_19620926_monroe_kimbrel

@misc{wtfs_regional_speeche_19620926_monroe_kimbrel,
  author = {Monroe Kimbrel},
  title = {Regional President Speech},
  year = {1962},
  month = {Sep},
  howpublished = {Speeches, Federal Reserve},
  url = {https://whenthefedspeaks.com/doc/regional_speeche_19620926_monroe_kimbrel},
  note = {Retrieved via When the Fed Speaks corpus}
}