We're opening a new loan center soon. Bank plans to give every person that walks in the door a free music CD. Not my problem. What I am concerned about is that they want to enter each person who applies for a loan into a drawing to win one of 3 BOSE wave radios (costs the bank around $450.00, retail around $600). What am I missing? 2 things I think, one,are there IRS implications here, must they receive a 1099 for the amount the radio cost the bank? If so, I wouldn't bother wanting to win the radio and also, don't we have to allow everyone into the drawing, not just loan applicants?

If it doesn't cost anything to apply for a loan then you can make that a criteria for entering. I think that's a silly criteria as I'll come and apply, have the bankers do all the work and expense of approving me only to have me say, "No thanks, I only wanted to win the radio."

On the IRS issue I believe the cutoff for the reporting of prizes is $600. I think that radio sells for $599 (hint, hint) so you should be able to dodge the IRS issue.

Send me an application/entry form!

Check the pricing on the Wave radio - should not cost that much.
As for the rest, Sponge Bob is correct.

Radio with CD = $499
Radio = $349

Pam - May I compliment you on your superbly worded topic heading? Didn't even have to read it to know what it was all about.

Me too on the topic heading-did we all say "Amen to that" and "I hear ya sistah" when we read it or what?????

I don't mean to offend any marketing officers that are out there but they really don't ever think about the compliance end of things.Although I suppose that's what we compliance officers are for!

The marketing people used to call me the Sales Prevention Department! There is this inherent strain between how our two worlds look at business.

I sit surrounded by a Marketing Department of 8. Were it not for walls, I could hit any of them with a rock.

One (Tom Smith [Username T Smith]) has even posted here a few times, although I'm not sure including "Al is my concience" as part of his signature is necessarily a compliment.

We talk frequently and bounce ideas around. Most are new to banking, but all try hard to understand why things are the way they are. As was mentioned in another string, CA has some interesting nuances not necessarily applicable to all states.

I say, extend an olive branch and wish the marketing team a Happy Valentines Day.

Re: Were it not for walls, I could hit any of them with a rock.

Also, they could hit you with 8 rocks.

Thus, the walls

I've got that beat, Al. I am part of the marketing department. Scary, huh?

No offense taken - doesn't happen here though, since I wear compliance hats as well and am always cognicent of compliance issues when creating. The two subjects simply butt heads at times, that's all. I will say that at the Marketing conferences I attend, the Marketeers are not super fond of the compliance folk either. To me, it's just a matter of creating with the input of any and all operational/compliance people. The real villains in the picture are the regulations themselves, not the people within the bank trying to enforce and abide by them, nor the marekting people trying to creatively sneak around them.

David - Do you find yourself talking yourself out of a lot of ideas?

Pam, I guess I'm really lucky. Our Marketing Department is the BEST!!! Everything that goes out of or is advertised through the bank has to be approved by our Marketing department. They have excellent guidelines that we have provided and collaborated on concerning ads and what can or cannot be included. However, if they have ANY questions at all, they contact us! They sit in on our compliance council meetings when invited to do so, and they attend compliance and advertising training. We occasionally have a problem, but it is usually because of a misunderstanding and not because of their forging ahead without checking. They are simply the greatest and a pleasure to work with.
Now lets talk about the Commercial and Mortgage lenders .... THAT's where we have our hands full!!!
Leslie

I finally concluded that the correct relationship with Marketing was to be respectful and supportive. (No, I'm not a candidate for a rest home quite yet.)

Marketing conceives new products and ways to sell them. By creating change, Marketing creates demand for the compliance function. I liked to think of this as job security, and always remembered that it's not good to run out of things to do. Besides, without new products and sales promotions, compliance wouldn't be ANY fun.

And at the same time, Marketing must show the same respect in return. There really is no point in having a bad relationship. The ideal situation (and one that I follow) is: 1. Have Marketing include compliance and operations in all preliminary product planning - very frustarting to creat a "wow" product/service only to find out after all the work that it can't be compliant; 2. To have a compliance department that will look for ways to see if something can be worked out instead of instantly throwing up red flags; and 3. Make sure that the Marketing Department has good compliance training and is kept up-to-date on changes. Speaking as a marketeer, I may not necessarily embrace compliance, but I certainly know what I can and can't do and make it a point to keep up with all regs - this forum is very helpful in accomplishing that task.

Luckily complyguy, I only handle the database marketing end of things. Using the CIM system to generate mailing lists, figuring out what's working and what's not. I don't come up with the ideas, just how to make them work.

Luckily, my marketing department is the best.