ARLINGTON, Va. — The Consumer Bankers Association announced in January the death of Joe Belew, who had served as president of the association since 1987.

As the president of the association, Belew directed all activities of the organization and served as the lead spokesman for bank lenders on consumer-banking. He frequently spoke to national audiences on current financial issues, has been interviewed numerous times by the media and testified before Congress on banking issues.

He joined CBA in 1984 as Director of Government Relations, and was named Executive Vice President, and then in September 1987, President. Prior to working with the Association, he was on the staff of the U.S. Congress for ten years, spending seven of those years as Executive Assistant to U.S. Representative Doug Barnard (D-GA), a leading member of the House Banking Committee. Before that time, he worked on the US Senate staff for three years. He has also worked in national and regional political campaigns.

In 2007 he was named vice chairman the Social Compact, a non-profit organization of financial service companies and community groups dedicated to expanding community development. He had been a member of the Society of International Business Fellows since 1984. In 1990, as part of a program sponsored by People to People International, he led a delegation of American bankers to the then-USSR to exchange information on consumer banking. He also was a member of the Key Industry Advisory Committee of the American Society of Association Executives.

Originally from Clayton, Georgia, Belew received a bachelor's degree in public relations and journalism from the University of Georgia. He is survived by his wife Elaine and their two children.

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