Priority treatment.

YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S NO SHORTAGE of issues in Washington that have the potential to change your business, for good or ill.

Consider that ABA filed, on average, one comment letter every week last year and you realize that, whether Congress is in session, rulemaking is always in season.

Every year, members provide guidance to the association leadership on what matters most. Priorities are discussed by ABA's Community Bankers Council, made up of about 100 CEOs from banks with generally less than $1 billion.

ABA's Government Relations Council weighs in next, considering the politics of each issue and honing ABA's policy goals. Finally, ABA's Board of Directors, which draws equally from community, midsize, and large institutions, meets during our Annual Convention in the fall and adopts a fresh list of priorities.

The list can also be long, reflecting the wide range of banking's interests. But the topics are always ones where ABA can bring its considerable resources to bear.

Our 2007 priorities appear below. I hope you find them reflective of your concerns.

* Fighting Terrorism. We continue to work with officials to implement focused, effective anti-terrorist-financing programs.

* Regulatory Burden Relief. ABA's current efforts target superfluous currency transaction reports and duplicative Sarbanes-Oxley rules.

* Credit Unions. Our strategy: contain credit unions that seek to expand powers or charters illegally, and encourage conversions to mutual savings institutions.

* Commercial Real Estate. ABA discouraged regulators from adopting overly broad guidance that can arbitrarily restrict such lending, and is now monitoring implementation of the recently finalized agencies' guidances.

* Banking versus Commerce. ABA is working to close the industrial loan company loophole.

* Cards and the Payments System. As credit card terms and interchange lees come under attack, ABA will work to protect the vitality and versatility of the payments system.

Other timely issues on ABA's priority list:

* Ensuring fair and objective premium assessments under the new insurance system;

* Promoting an effective process for reviewing regulatory exam findings; premiums will be linked to a bank's CAMELS ratings;

* Opposing unfair competition by the Farm Credit System;

* Enhancing banks' disaster preparedness;

* Promoting a fair regulatory structure for government-sponsored enterprises;

* Enhancing the utility of the Federal Home Loan Bank System;

* Encouraging workable Basel capital standards;

* Protecting Gramm-Leach-Bliley authorities;

* Promoting a healthy dual banking system, including the ability of federal regulators to preempt state law;

* Supporting the mutual charter;

* Advocating an optional federal insurance charter;

* Promoting national standards for the security of customer information;

* Promoting health savings accounts;

* Promoting Social Security, estate tax, and other reforms that sustain retirement programs;

* Advocating daily transfers to and from corporate demand deposits;

* Advocating tax reform to encourage savings and investment; and

* Combating predatory lending through consumer education while preventing harmful state and local laws that could restrict credit.

I'm proud of this list. It was developed by our industry for our industry, and reflects a tremendous breadth of resources and depth of commitment on the part of ABA. If you think there's something missing, I'd like to hear from you. Drop me an email at: emcvicker@aba.com