PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Lorrie Trogden
O
“The most successful people see adversity not as a stumbling block, but as a stepping stone to greatness.” - Shawn Anchor
|
President & CEO
|
Arkansas Bankers Association
ur industry has certainly had its share of adversity recently, and as always, you made it into stepping stones to greatness. From PPP rounds one
through three, COVID-19, a federal administration change, and 2021 coming in like a lion with a snowpocalypse, Arkansas banks have held steady and supported your employees and your customers. The ABA appreciates all you have done and all that you continue to do to ensure that our industry has a positive economic impact on our state and communities. Federal – ABA virtual DC Fly-ins began the first week of March with each of our Arkansas delegation. We had good discussion with each of them about the Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America (ECORA) Act, PPP, Cannabis Banking, FedAccounts (Post Office banking), and Credit Unions. Our next round of fly-ins are typically scheduled for September/October and I hope that we are once again able to visit with our delegation in person. Should you want to know more about those topics for your conversations with government officials, the Association can provide that for you. State – I bring you great news, the ABA sponsored bill HB1255 on cross-collateralization clauses has been signed into law by the Governor and is now Act 313! A big thank you to lead sponsor Representative Brian Evans, Senate primary sponsor Senator Jonathan Dismang, and co-sponsor Representative Howard Beaty, Jr. Bankers Brad Chambless and Marcus Guinn did a fantastic job testifying about the bill in committee. The ABA Government Relations Advisory Committee has been hard at work reading bills, making suggested amendments, and assisting in contacting legislators about bad bills. We could not make the impact that we do without them. As of this writing, the session is scheduled to wrap up somewhere around April 9th. Bank/Pharmacy Vaccine Clinics – Yet another stepping stone. Many of you reached out to your local pharmacy about providing a location for a COVID-19 vaccine shot clinic, which was especially needed in rural areas. You saw a need in your community and met it. We are thankful to have partnered on this project with the Governor’s office and the Arkansas Pharmacists Association. Bank On AR+ - The federal House and Senate banking committees are making getting the unbanked and underbanked into the financial system a priority. According to the FDIC’s data, 7.1 million Americans are entirely unbanked. Notably, approximately 14% of Black households and 12% of Hispanic households did not have bank accounts in 2019, compared to white households, whose unbanked rate has dropped to below 3%. In Arkansas, the percentage of underbanked and unbanked households falls above the national average, with 9.7 percent of households in Arkansas unbanked and 22.6 are underbanked. Bank On AR+ helps solve this problem by connecting consumers to high-quality, low fee accounts. Banks are well equipped to address this issue without congressional intervention. I encourage you to take a look at Bank On AR+ and see if it is a good fit for your bank. In closing, I want to express my deep gratitude to all of you for your dedication and support of the Association. Your investment in us with your membership dues and making us your preferred professional development provider enables the ABA to continue providing relevant value to all of you. I look forward to seeing you in-person at some point in 2021!
Lorrie Trogden, President & CEO
2
•
SPRING 2021
