Monday, November 4, 2024

Week of Oct. 21

In This Issue…

From Adrian’s desk …

By Adrian Beverage
OBA President & CEO

Just some random tidbits that might be of interest to our bankers this week!

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As many have heard, The First National Bank in Lindsay is now a branch of First Bank & Trust Co., out of Duncan. You can read the details on the change via the FDIC press release in this OBA Update, but I wanted to let our bankers know the OBA has kept a close eye on how things are being portrayed among the general public and media. We’ve already had a number of interview requests, and I’ve assured them each time this was an extremely isolated event and not in any way indicative of how strong the banking industry is in Oklahoma.

If any of our member banks would like help with talking points for the media and general public, don’t hesitate to drop me or our communications director, Jeremy Cowen, a line. We’re happy to assist in any way possible, and we’ll continue preaching the positive words – which happen to be the truth – about Oklahoma community banking whenever we can with the media and public.

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I was happy to see the FDIC agreed to extend its compliance deadline by four months for its rule on the usage of the agency’s name and logo by banks and other financial institutions. The new deadline is now May 1, 2025.

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Two weeks longer and we won’t be bothered by weird campaign ads when trying to watch college football!

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Sometimes, the less said about a football weekend, the better, regardless if you wear orange, crimson or red.

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CFPB finalizes Section 1033 rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued its Section 1033 final rule, which deals with personal financial data rights.

The rule will require financial institutions, credit card issuers and other financial providers to unlock an individual’s personal financial data and transfer it to another provider at the consumer’s request for free. The CFPB believes it will allow consumers to more easily switch to providers with superior rates and services. By fueling competition and consumer choice, the CFPB hopes the rule will help lower prices on loans and improve customer service across payments, credit and banking markets.

The American Bankers Association’s president and CEO, Rob Nichols, released a statement on the rule earlier this morning. While Nichols agrees consumers should have better access to their financial data, he decried the process in forming this rule that left many things unaddressed.

“Privacy and security around consumers’ personal financial information are core bank values, and ABA and America’s banks share the CFPB’s goal of bringing consistency to the consumer-permissioned data sharing ecosystem. ABA has been deeply engaged in a 10-year conversation with the Bureau and other stakeholders to ensure customers have access to their financial data in a safe and secure way.  We appreciate the extent to which today’s final rule acknowledges and incorporates the efforts of industry-led bodies, which have worked hard to lay the technical and operational foundation necessary to streamline sharing among banks, data aggregators and fintechs.

“Unfortunately, what began two administrations ago as a collaborative exercise in securing consumers’ personal financial data has devolved into a press-release driven, political exercise based on the false premise that consumers lack choices and a misunderstanding of whether Dodd-Frank grants CFPB the authority to radically reshape the financial services marketplace.  While we are still evaluating the details of the final rule, it is clear that our longstanding concerns about scope, liability, and cost remain largely unaddressed.  This is disappointing after so many years of good-faith efforts by parties on all sides to improve consumer outcomes.

“Surveys consistently show that Americans trust banks more than any other industry to protect their data, and America’s banks remain committed to that mission. At the same time, our industry remains committed to responsible innovation, and the last thing we need is a rulemaking that puts both at risk.” 

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OBA, other state bankers associations ask for FCC action on illegal texts

The OBA, alongside 51 of its fellow state bankers associations last week, urged the Federal Communications Commission to issue new rules to help stem the flow of illegal texts and calls to consumers.

The rules had been scheduled to be considered during the FCC’s meeting on Sept. 26 but were removed from the agenda two days before the meeting.

The associations’ letter follows the American Bankers Association’s advocacy to push the agency to act. Over the past two weeks, ABA has sent two letters and held two meetings with FCC staff to urge the agency to adopt the rules without delay.

“Texts that impersonate a bank were the most common form of text message scam reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2022,” the state bankers associations said. “Banks are committed to stopping criminals who seek to defraud their customers, but banks cannot achieve this goal alone. We urge the Commission to combat illegal texts and calls by adopting the order without delay.”

The rules under consideration would require mobile wireless providers that originate text messages to block all texts from a particular source when notified by the FCC of illegal texts from that source, except under limited circumstances. Existing rules require terminating providers — but not originating providers — to block all texts from a particular number when notified by the FCC of illegal texts from that number.

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FDIC issues press release on The First National Bank of Lindsay

The First National Bank of Lindsay was closed Friday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which then appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver. To protect depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with First Bank & Trust Co., Duncan, to assume the insured deposits of The First National Bank of Lindsay.

The sole office of The First National Bank of Lindsay reopened as a branch of First Bank & Trust Co. during its normal business hours on Monday, Oct. 21. Depositors of the bank automatically become depositors of First Bank & Trust Co. The insured deposits assumed by First Bank & Trust Co. will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage.

All customers of The First National Bank of Lindsay will have access to their insured deposits. Over the weekend, customers of The First National Bank of Lindsay could access their deposits by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

In addition, based on the estimated recoveries of the failed bank assets, the FDIC made 50 percent of uninsured funds available to those depositors on Monday, Oct. 21. This amount could increase as the FDIC sells the assets of the failed bank.

As of June 30, 2024, The First National Bank of Lindsay reported total assets of $107.8 million and total deposits of $97.5 million. Approximately $7.1 million of the deposits exceeded FDIC insurance limits; this amount is likely to change once the FDIC obtains additional information from customers. Beginning earlier this week, depositors of The First National Bank of Lindsay with more than $250,000 at the bank may visit the FDIC’s webpage “Is My Account Fully Insured?” to determine their insurance coverage.

First Bank & Trust Co. agreed to assume the insured deposits for a 6.67 percent premium. It will also purchase approximately $20 million of the failed bank’s assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition.

The FDIC preliminarily estimates that the failure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund about $43 million. The estimate will change over time as the assets are sold.

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OBA education corner …

Randomly, we’ve gone down a Merle Haggard hole for the past week, revisiting some of the Hag’s greatest songs. Big City, Silver Wings, Mama Tried, he has so many classics! Deep in our vinyl collection, however, sits his true, somewhat underrated, gem: Back to the Barrooms. The 1980 album has classic songs such as the title cut, Misery and Gin (made famous from being in the Clint Eastwood film, Bronco Billy) and I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink. Sometimes, it can get dangerous to go on a full Merle kick – it’s a musical deep dive that can wipe away a weekend quickly! Before it does, however, take a second to think about what upcoming continuing education opportunities are right for you and your staff!

  • BSA/AML: Marijuana and Hemp, Oct. 28, webinar — Avoid getting into hot water with examiners by ensuring you are up to speed on all the BSA/AML considerations and implications.
  • Opening New Accounts: 3-Part Series, Oct. 28, Nov. 5, Nov. 6, webinar — This webinar series will encompass opening personal, business, trust, minor, power of attorney, estate accounts and much more!
  • Director Compensation Trends and Compensation Committee Best Practices, Oct. 29, webinar — This webinar will provide market data and best practices information surrounding board compensation and compensation committee responsibilities.
  • HMDA and Its Data Points, Oct. 31, webinar — Financial institution employees have always struggled with HMDA reporting. And changes over the last few years have made the HMDA rules even more difficult to understand.
  • 2024 IRA Basic and Advanced Issues, Basics: Nov. 5-Tulsa, Nov. 7-Oklahoma City; Advanced: Nov. 6-Tulsa, Nov. 8-Oklahoma City  — The IRS has published final RMD regulations with a Jan. 1, 2025 effective date! The finalization of these highly anticipated regulations has a profound impact on IRA providers nationwide.
  • HR Fall Seminar, Nov. 14, Oklahoma City — In this seminar we will explore some of these changing ideas with hiring and retention, DEI, human resource technology, generational differences and more.
  • 2024 OBA Operations School, Nov. 18-22, Oklahoma City — The  Operations School is designed to prepare junior-level officers to mid-level operations managers to manage effectively and efficiently an operations function within a bank.

Finally, just a quick note to mark your calendars as the OBA Convention and OBA Senior Management dates and location have already been set for next year! The 2025 OBA Convention will be held May 12-14, back at the Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, the 2025 OBA Senior Management Conference will be held on April 6-8 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, California. More details will be available in the coming months, but go ahead and get those notes on your calendar today!

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