February, 24, 2010

Instead of headlines decrying bonuses in the financial industry, George W. Hamlin IV imagines a different tale.The president and CEO of Canandaigua National Bank suggested this alternative: "Municipalities get windfall of $18 million."That figure is the result of taxes on those bonuses, Hamlin said in a talk at the monthly Rochester Rotary Club luncheon Tuesday.Hamlin, predicting his analysis would be different from what his listeners have been hearing, covered the genesis of the financial crisis, offered a tutorial on the difference between community banks and commercial banks, and gave some words of optimism.

He spoke before about 100 Rotarians and guests at the Riverside Convention Center."The economy is on the mend," Hamlin said, based on his study of banking history and the last six months of positive indicators."The Dow is going up and down, but it's supposed to do that just to make sure your BlackBerry works," he quipped.

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