Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
In This Issue…
- From Adrian’s desk …
- Fed to reduce bank supervision staff in 2026
- Survey: Lending standards stricter for commercial loans in third quarter
- OBA Book Club discussion set for Nov. 18
- OBA education corner …
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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After our OBA Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday last week, I immediately hit the road to visit some of our banks! I spent the rest of the week on the road listening to what our bankers had to say and discussing OBA programs with them. It was fun, but I admit I’m happy to be back in the office today to catch up on a bevy of emails and phone calls!
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The government shutdown continues unabated as we are now more than 34 days in. This time Wednesday, we’ll be tied for the longest shutdown of all time, which was in 2018-19.
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Welp. Pour the coffee on the campfire because it looks like the football season may be over. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola broke his leg in the ‘Huskers game on Saturday, literally adding injury to insult in the 21-17 home loss to USC. Raiola will miss the rest of the season as the rest of the ‘Huskers will face an uphill battle from here out.
At least they’re already bowl eligible with six wins!
Fed to reduce bank supervision staff in 2026
The Federal Reserve will trim its bank supervision staff by 30% by the end of next year, the Wall Street Journal reported last week. (subscription required)
The newspaper cited an internal memo outlining the cuts, which are being overseen by Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman. The reductions will leave the Fed’s supervision and regulation division with about 350 staff, down from an authorized 500 staff.
The division will extend to staff a voluntary deferred-resignation offer previously made available to any central bank staff who were approaching retirement, the newspaper reported. The memo stated that the goal was to achieve the cuts as much as possible through natural attrition, retirements and voluntary separation incentives.
Survey: Lending standards stricter for commercial loans in third quarter
During the third quarter of the year, banks reported tighter lending standards for commercial and industrial loans to firms of all sizes and stronger demand for C&I loans from large and middle-market firms, according to the Federal Reserve’s senior loan officer opinion survey released on Monday.
Demand for C&I loans from small firms was unchanged, while standards and demand for most commercial real estate loans also were unchanged.
Banks reported mostly unchanged lending standards and stronger demand for residential mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit, according to the Fed. For consumer loans, standards remained basically unchanged for credit card and other consumer loans and eased for auto loans. Meanwhile, demand remained basically unchanged for credit card and other consumer loans and weakened for auto loans.
OBA Book Club discussion set for Nov. 18
The OBA Book Club’s next book selection is “Friday Night Lights“. If you’d like to read along, the discussion will take place at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18 via Zoom.
To get involved, please email Joan Anderson, and she will add you to the Book Club Roster.
“Friday Night Lights” delivers a nuanced, sometimes uncomfortable exploration of leadership and personal growth. It’s more about real-world complexity than clear-cut inspirational messages – but that’s part of its power. It invites readers to think critically about what it means to lead, grow and make meaningful choices when surrounded by intense social pressure.
OBA education corner …
A well-known music journalist once said Lenny Kravitz had three good songs, but 80 bad ones. I’m not sure we agree over here. Lenny was a master of mashing genres, moving effortlessly from a retro soul vibe to an all-out rock-and-roll assault. He also was a multi-instrumentalist whiz, playing nearly everything himself. So, as you enjoy the cooling weather outside, make sure you Let Love Rule, but, Again, also take a little time to keep up with what’s happening on the continuing education front, including the following:
- BSA Consent Order: Lessons Learned for Smaller Institutions, Nov. 13, webinar — During this program, we will explore the consequences of Bank Secrecy Act compliance failures and how smaller institutions can learn from recent consent orders.
- 2025 Loan Structure Documentation & Compliance, Nov. 13-Tulsa; Nov. 14-Oklahoma City — Attend this proactive seminar and receive a thorough overview of commercial lending requirements from a “loan” structure, documentation and compliance perspective.
- 2025 Call Report: Common Exam Issues, Nov. 14, webinar — This session will explore common findings from regulatory exams and discuss effective strategies for resolving these issues.
- 2025 Branch Operations All-Day Streaming: Compliance, Security, and Operations Training, Nov. 20, webinar — During this program, we will look at many of the operational and compliance issues that happen in your branches. We will also include some security procedures for your branch staff.