Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 11

95 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 11 McWeeney, Jr., President and CEO of NJBankers, for insights into the industry and current topics of interest for the association membership. BVM: Can you give us an overview of NJBankers? McWeeney: “We’ve been around for 117 years, and our membership base today is approximately 70 banks; from very large institutions, like Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, down to institutions with only one or two branches. Some are focused almost exclusively on consumer customers, others on commercial customers. Many of them focus on both, as well as government entities and the like. And we have stockholder institutions, as well as mutual institutions that are owned by the depositors and not publicly traded. So, it’s a very diverse membership base. “In addition to our bank members, we have about 170 associate members that do business with banks. Companies such as auditing firms, security firms, recruiting firms, etc. They join the association as a cost-efficient way to interface with the banks. They are an important part of our association because they bring resources to help our members serve their customers.” BVM: What is the association’s current mandate? McWeeney: “Our primary mission is to represent the interests of our banks with legislators and regulators. First and foremost, in Trenton, our state capital. We want to make sure that when our legislature considers new legislation or changes to existing legislation that they understand how it may impact the banking industry and their ability to serve customers. “We also work with the national trade associations – the American Bankers Association (ABA) and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) – on federal issues. We interact with our congressional delegation that represents New Jersey. We do a lot with the NEW JERSEY BANKERS ASSOC I AT ION regulatory community, as well. So we have a lot of interaction with the FDIC, the OCC, the Fed, the CFPD, and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. Again, making sure that if our members have concerns or interests, that there’s a good communication between members and the regulatory community.” BVM: What other membership benefits do you offer? McWeeney: “We also provide education and professional development for our members. We have a robust schedule of conferences and webinars, etc. that are targeted toward