THE HISTORY OF RMA NEW YORK CHAPTER
By Richard J. Stork and Gary G. Heinze
The New York Chapter was formed on February 10, 1920, as
Chapter No. 1, later changed to Chapter No. 11. There were originally
47 members of the New York Chapter, representing 30 different banks.
The first group of officers included Joseph I. Morris, president
(Farmers Loan & Trust Co.), Harvey E. Whitney, vice-president
(Bankers’ Trust Co.), Charles Dahmer, secretary (Fifth Avenue Bank),
and William Nagel, treasurer (First National Bank). Mr. Morris
simultaneously served as the national president of the Robert Morris
Associates (then known as the Robert Morris Club) from February 1920
until May 1921.
Since 1920 the Chapter has grown substantially. By 1940,
membership had grown from the initial 47 members to 75 members,
representing 47 banks. By 1960 there were further increases to 205
members representing 75 banks. As the chapter continued to grow, it was
decided, in November 1975, to establish the Northern New Jersey
Chapter. This chapter then split off from the New York Chapter to
better facilitate meeting the needs of Jersey bankers on a regular
basis.
In 1976, the Long Island Group was formed under the umbrella
of the New York Chapter. This was one of the first formalized groups in
the Robert Morris Associates and enabled us to serve a number of
Associates who lived and worked on Long Island and were not able to
attend the meetings in Manhattan. The founding fathers of the Long
Island Group were James T. McCarthy (then with Bank of Suffolk County),
Henry J. Dengel (then with Hempstead Bank), and Arthur F. Thompson
(then with Long Island Trust Co.), each of whom was an active Associate
in the New York Chapter. The Long Island Group then became a separate
chapter of RMA.
The Westchester Group was formed in 1980, primarily through
the efforts of David Jewitt (The Connecticut National Bank) and John
Kuhn (then with Lincoln First Bank N.A.). The first group chairman was
Edward M. Harvey (Lincoln First Bank N.A.). In the 1990’s the group
became inactive and members re-joined the New York Chapter.
The New York Chapter has also hosted four RMA Annual Fall
Conferences. Three of these were in New York City (1951, 1962, and
1977) and one in Briarcliff (1930). At the headquarters level, members
of the New York Chapter have been active in establishing a number of
key RMA programs. Ed Schoenborn was instrumental in developing the
Credit Policy Round Table concept and Howard Poduska was one of the
primary individuals responsible for the formulation of the RMA finance
company ratios. Herman Osterhus helped begin RMA’s stock lending
program. Ed Williams served as chairman of the Chapters Division
Council and developed the plan to begin RMA’s pro-active push towards
the formation of groups and city areas to better serve an
ever-increasing but geographically dispersed membership.
The chapter has supplied numerous people at the national
level to serve as members of councils and committees. A number of
Associates have also been awarded Distinguished Service Awards and
Special Service Awards. Also, the chapter has supplied a number of
national directors. This group has included Dale Y. Freed, John W.
Ingraham, Barry W. Blank, Michael J. Horgan, David L. Eyles, and
William C. Pierce.
The New York Chapter has been honored to have had eight
chapter members serve as RMA Headquarters (formerly RMA National)
presidents:
* Joseph L. Morris - February 1920 to May 1921 (Farmers Loan
& Trust Co.). He also was one of the founders of the New York
Chapter and its first president.
* Charles H. Dahmer - June 1931 to June 1933 (Fifth Avenue Bank). He
also was a Chapter president as well as one of the original officers
(secretary) of the chapter.
* Ray M. Gidney - June 1937 to June 1939 (Federal Reserve Bank of New
York). Mr. Gidney was also president of the New York Chapter.
* Fred C. Witte – November 1950 to October 1951 (Chase National Bank).
* G. Kenneth Crowther – September 1960 to September 1961 (Morgan
Guaranty Trust Co.). Prior to that, Ken was the president of the New
York Chapter.
* Arthur L. Nash – September 1964 to September 1965 (Brown Brothers
Harriman & Co.). He also served as the president of the New York
Chapter.
* Edwin A. Schoenborn – September 1978 to 1979 (Irving Trust Co.)
* Edward J. Williams – September 1985 to September 1986 (Brown Brothers
Harriman & Co.). Prior to that he served as chairman of the
Chapters Division Council and was the president of the New York Chapter.
From the 1990’s into the twenty-first century, evolutionary
changes have transformed both RMA Headquarters and the New York
Chapter. The Robert Morris Associates evolved from a national
association of bank credit and lending officers to become the Risk
Management Association, an international association including all
types of financial institutions and professionals that serve them and
focusing on a broad range of risks, including credit, market and
operational risk. We joke at the foresight Mrs. Morris had in naming
her son Robert, enabling the initials “RMA” to carry forward with the
Risk Management Association!
During the 1990’s, RMA HQ broadened the membership base of
the association by inviting a broad range of financial services
institutions to join, including investment banks, insurance companies
and non-bank banks. Also, accountants, attorneys and consultants that
serve the financial services industry can join as “Professional”
members.
RMA New York Chapter, with its active constituency that
covers all member categories has benefited greatly from this expansion.
The Board of Governors, elected by the membership is representative of
this expansion as are the programs we offer. The Board works hard to
provide timely, meaningful programs each year on a broad range of
topics. We have also held joint programs with groups such as the
Capital Markets Credit Analysts Society and the Bond Market
Association.
Some new Governors join the board each year while others
serve for many years. Our Past President Advisory Council enables past
Chapter presidents to stay active and contribute, such as Gary
Ladolcetta, who served as President for the 1989-1990 year and has been
serving on the Board for over sixteen years.
The Chapter has grown in reach and professionalism thanks to
the efforts of the following past Presidents. Peter Larr (1994-1995,
Chase Manhattan Bank) instituted a seemingly simple, but very
significant change by doing away with sit-down dinners at our evening
programs and implementing cocktails and hors d'oeuvres instead, greatly
enhancing networking opportunities. Gary W. Brown (1995-1996, Union
Bank of Switzerland) was instrumental in setting up the Chapter’s first
web site. John J. Yarmick (1998-1999, Chase Manhattan Bank) created and
authored the Chapter’s first newsletter that was e-mailed to our
members on a regular basis. The Chapter is now offering training
courses to its constituency (co-sponsored with RMA HQ) resulting from
the efforts of Gary G. Heinze (2000-2001, Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd.).
The Board and Chapter also benefited from hiring a professional
administrator to manage the Chapter’s membership list, mailings,
events, etc. and Carl Adams (2002-2003, International Monetary Fund)
fully implemented their services.
With your active participation and that of others like you,
RMA New York Chapter will write new chapters of its history as we face
the ongoing challenges of risk management in the twenty-first century!
Click here to
view the RMA New York Chapter Roll of
Chapter Presidents.
