EAGLE BANK & TRUST’S CATHY OWEN NAMED TO AMERICAN BANKER’S POWER WATCH LIST

IC athy Owen has spent her decades-long professional career in banking capped by multiple awards and recognition, including the first and only female president of the Arkansas Bankers Association. The Eagle Bank & Trust Co. Chairwoman was named to the American Banker’s Most Powerful Women to Watch list earlier this year. She is the only Arkansan on the list.

Owen has been a mentor and role model to many women over the years. She shared the changes she’s seen over the course of her career with American Banker, which profiled her in its October issue.

“Not many years ago,” said Owen, chair of Eagle Bank & Trust Co. in Little Rock, Arkansas. “I was often the only, or one of few, females attending bank leadership conferences. Nearly always, male bankers and vendors would introduce themselves to my husband and ask about his bank. He isn't in banking, so he would look at them and reply, 'I'm only the eye candy' and tell them they need to talk to his wife, the banker. It became a great way to get a chuckle, but also make a point.”

She added that this kind of interaction still happens on occasion today, even though it's a far rarer occurrence. In 2018, Owen became the first woman ever to lead the Arkansas Bankers Association, a position previously held by 127 men since its founding in 1891. “I hope the future brings a universal mindset, so that a female is always considered to be a possible peer,” she said.