Chairman’s Column

Rob Robinson | Chairman Arkansas Bankers Association

It’s been a FULL Fall!

Hope everyone is enjoying the season change here in Arkansas. Just back from a trip to and from NWA and the colors along I-49 were really popping. The same can be said for your Association. It has been a super busy fall at the ABA so let’s recap:

In early October, 18 Arkansas Bankers traveled to Washington, D.C. for the annual fly-in visit with the Regulators and our Arkansas Delegation. We pushed hard for continued regulatory relief and for clarity on other issues. Specifically, we stressed for the need to increase CTR thresholds, requested a federal beneficial ownership registry, pressed for CRA modernization, registered our concerns surrounding the increased burden collecting HMDA data, and expressed our continued frustrations with Credit Unions and their tax-exempt status. The Safe Banking Act had just passed in the House, so we urged the Senate delegation to follow suit. These face to face visits really makes a difference, especially when you can give a first-hand example of how a regulation negatively impacts a customer – we shared a bunch of these.

Following the D.C. Fly-In was MEGA Conference. Over 350 bankers from across the state attended this two-day conference in Little Rock and the feedback on the program has been very positive. In addition to the great subject matter tracks available for attendees, Rob Nichols, President of the American Bankers Association, was on hand to provide an up to the minute update on advocacy efforts on going in D.C. If you haven’t already, please let us know how we can make MEGA Conference better for next year. As you probably know, this event is a huge undertaking to put together so special kudos to the staff for all their hard work.

The Emerging Leaders Section held their annual conference in Little Rock on October 22 nd and 23 rd . Seventy of the best and brightest bankers from around Arkansas took advantage of networking opportunities, heard from national renowned speakers and elected officers for the coming year. Please join me in congratulating the new slate of ELS Officers: Evelyn Morris of First Financial Bank (El Dorado), President; Brandon Gentry of Cross County Bank (Wynne), Vice President; and Derek Eckelhoff of First Security Bank (Rogers), Secretary/Treasurer. One of the highlights of the conference was recognizing the very first recipient of the Bill Holmes Leadership Award. A well deserved congratulations to Beth Presley, Marketing Manager, with Arvest Bank in Fort Smith.

I also would like to thank George Purvis for his wonderful leadership of ELS this past year. His guidance made working with the ELS a real pleasure. If you are keeping score at home, that is three huge ABA events just in the first four weeks of October alone. Well, there were five weeks in October this year, so why not throw in one more for good measure?

The American Bankers Association’s Annual Convention took place from October 27th to October 29th and was held in Seattle, Washington. We had a great contingent from Arkansas representing our state so I want to thank Larry and Wendy Wilson (First Arkansas Bank and Trust), Jon and Sheila Harrell (Generations Bank), Cathy and Steve Owen (Eagle Bank and Trust), Sandy Starnes (Citizens Bank), Phillip Baldwin (Citizens Bank), and Lorrie Trogden (ABA) for joining Leigh Anne and I on the trip.

In 2020, expect to see our National Association focus on CRA Modernization, the HMDA headache, and the Real Time Payments issue, in addition to the lingering hangovers associated with CECL, Cannabis Banking, Credit Unions, and AML/BSA. New to the radar is CAMELS reform – stay tuned. Also, don’t be surprised if compliance on Hemp Banking becomes more difficult/confusing than that of Cannabis Banking. The legalization of the former and compliance thereof will ultimately come down to the interpretations of the Rules and Regulations forthcoming from the USDA. They are expected shortly and should include insurance coverage provisions and licensing requirements for producers. Is it November yet?

In closing, I want to wish everyone happy holidays and a great upcoming new year. I have many things to be thankful for and one of those is your continued support of the Arkansas Bankers Association.