Week of Feb. 23

In This Issue…

• From Adrian’s desk …
• Capitol capital: What’s happening in D.C./OKC?
• Be aware of IMA Financial breach, upcoming fraud discussions
• Deadline approaching to participate in compensation survey
• OBA Bankers’ Night Out programs ready for spring
• OBA Washington Visit registration open
• 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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We have a board meeting this week and I look forward to seeing all our directors back in our office. It’s certainly been a busy past month with the Oklahoma legislature in full swing. You can read more about what I’ll be sharing with the board below in the “Capitol capital” feature in this week’s Update.

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I saw a recent survey showed the public’s trust in banking has showed a marked increase. It demonstrates to me the hard work done by bankers on customers’ behalf has started to pay dividends.

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It seems it’s one step forward/one step back, for Nebraska basketball at the moment. We split games this past week with a loss at Iowa but a blowout win at home against Penn State. That’s six straight games that have alternated between losing and winning. I miss when we opened the season with 20 straight wins …

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Capitol capital: What’s happening in D.C/OKC?

We are two weeks into the state legislative session and things are going well so far.

The next legislative deadline we are eagerly anticipating is Thursday, March 5. This will be the deadline to get bills out of committee, and it applies to carry-over bills as well as those that were introduced this year. Once that deadline hits, our tracking list will shrink by at least 70%.

We still have a lot of bills to either get heard or keep from being heard over the next two weeks. Below are quick capsules on some of the bills on our tracking list:

HB 3020

• Allows banks (voluntary) to place a 10-business transaction hold if it suspects a protected adult (over 62 or as defined by title 43A) is the victim of financial exploitation occurring, having occurred or being attempted.
• Allows the hold to be extended by ten business days if the bank’s investigation leads to a reasonable belief of financial exploitation or upon the request of law enforcement or APS.
• Allows banks to reach out to a trusted contact or other person related to the account.
• Immunizes banks for their decision to place or not place a hold and to provide or not provide information during an ongoing investigation.

HB 3172

• Creates the fair banking act prohibiting discrimination.

HB 3341

• Removes the tax credit for SBA guaranty fees.

SB 1623

• Credit Union reform act.

SB 1940

• Interchange taxes/tips.

SB 2012

• Interchange chaos!

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Be aware of IMA Financial breach, upcoming fraud discussions

IMA Financial Group provides many services to the financial institution industry.  On Jan. 27, though, the threat group Genesis claimed responsibility for a breach of one of the IMA’s divisions: IMA Diligence Services.

The Genesis group published approximately 700 GB of data allegedly exfiltrated from IMA file servers, which was warned about in a recent alert issued by Q6 Cyber. Bankers should be aware of this issue.

To keep up with other cyber trends affecting our Oklahoma bankers, join us for the IS MAFIA meeting at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 13, here at the OBA’s Harris Event Center.  No RSVP is required, simply email sharon@oba.com for more information. This month’s guest speaker will be Jeremy Waller, vice president of technology and innovation at Phase2. Jeremy was recently named to the 2025 Journal Record Power List: IT Experts and Innovators.

He will present a discussion on Trustworthy Intelligence: Practical AI Adoption for Banking. You can learn how banks capture AI’s productivity gains without risking sensitive data through trustworthy AI – built on security, governance, reliability and auditability. By running systems under the organization’s control and surrounding them with an operational and governance layer, banks can enforce policy, measure trust and make every decision auditable and explainable.

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Deadline approaching to participate in compensation survey

We are excited to announce the 2026 Compensation Trends & Lender Incentive Practices Survey is now open for participation!

The survey covers recent trends in various compensation programs such as: annual cash incentive plan design, equity-based incentive programs, executive benefits, employment/change-in-control agreements, deferred compensation plans/supplemental executive retirement plans, perquisites and employee benefits surrounding 401(K) plans, medical coverage, and more.  This survey will provide valuable market data on a wide variety of compensation-related topics.  It also covers incentive structures for mortgage, commercial, consumer, and agricultural lenders.

Please click on the link below to complete the survey by Friday, Feb. 27.

2026 Compensation Trends & Lender Incentive Practices Survey Link

Survey Pricing & Subscription Option

We are also offering a subscription option for our surveys.  You can prepay and purchase both of our 2026 surveys for $750.  The 2026 subscription includes both the Comp Trends & Lender Incentive Practices Survey and the Salary & Cash Compensation Survey (to be conducted later in 2026 – watch for emails in the spring).

Individual Survey Pricing

• 2026 Comp Trends & Lender Incentive Practices Survey: $300 (OBA Member participant) / $650 (OBA Member non-participant)
• 2026 Salary & Cash Compensation Survey: $450 (OBA Member participant) / $1,050 (OBA Member non-participant)

** Please note if you choose the subscription option at the participant rate; however, are unable to participate in one or both surveys, no refunds will be issued.  In such cases, the bank has the option to purchase the survey findings at the non-participant rate, and the difference in cost will be invoiced accordingly. 

Please contact Laura Roth at surveys@blanchardc.com or 612-850-0153 if you have any questions or would like to pre-ordering the findings.

We appreciate your time and commitment to contributing to the success of our surveys.  If you are not the appropriate person for this survey, kindly forward this email to the appropriate contact within your organization.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

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OBA Bankers’ Night Out programs ready for spring

The dates for the OBA Bankers’ Night Out programs have been finalized. Mark your calendar for the date of the program that’s in your area of the state and plan to attend. Bring your coworkers with you so that everyone can be up to speed on the most recent developments affecting their job. In addition to state and federal legislative updates, the program will include a discussion on the recent developments in your industry.

As in the past, the schedule for each of these meetings is:

5:30 p.m. – Drinks.
6:15 p.m. – Program.
7 p.m. – Dinner.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. The cost is $60 per person. Click here for a registration form.

Locations and dates for this year’s events are:

• Tulsa, April 7.
• Oklahoma City, April 8
• Ardmore, April 14
• Guymon, April 23
• Krebs, April 16.

Additionally, lunch editions of the Bankers Night Out events will be held on April 7 in Grove, and on April 23 in Woodward. It will start at 11:30 a.m. and the cost is $50 per person.

Please contact Thi Pham (thi@oba.com) for sponsorship questions!

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OBA Washington Visit registration open

The OBA’s Annual Washington Visit has been scheduled for Sept. 20-22 and the hotel will be the Mayflower.

All the usual – and incredibly useful – meetings with the movers and shakers on Capitol Hill will take place during this premier event on the OBA’s calendar … one we encourage as many as possible to attend.

Registration information is live on our website, but you can also download the registration and information form, and get more info on the hotel, by clicking here (.pdf). Click here to access the hotel reservation link.

If you have any questions, contact Megan McGuire at the OBA.

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OBA education corner …

Movie soundtracks are usually interesting, for good or for bad. A couple from our high schools days have popped up in our algorithm recently: Singles and Boomerang. Two very different movies, two very different soundtrack genres. Still, two really excellent soundtracks. So jump in the mosh pit with Alice in Chains and the Screaming Trees, or chill with Toni Braxton and P.M. Dawn. You can’t go wrong either way … nor can you go wrong by keeping up with what’s happening on the continuing education front, including the following:

• 7 Habits of High Performing Bankers, March 2, webinar — Many bankers did not get into the business with the understanding that they would need to sell but in today’s highly competitive environment, they must!
• RTP Essentials: Real-Time Understanding of the Network, How it Works, Use Cases, and What’s Next, March 3, webinar — This 90-minute session provides a complete yet accessible introduction to RTP® — ideal for staff and leadership who want a practical foundation without getting lost in technical complexity.
• Marketing & Advertising Compliance: What Do We Have To Do?, March 5, webinar — In-depth, all day discussion of all things marketing and advertising compliance: what we must do, what we must avoid, best practices, examples and much more.
• The GENIUS Act & Stablecoins: A New Era for Electronic Banking, March 5, webinar — This landmark legislation creates new opportunities – but also introduces new responsibilities.
• Marketing Compliance: Avoiding Violations in Print & Digital Advertising, March 9, webinar — Whether your promotions are digital, print or televised, multiple compliance regulations strictly prescribe what can be said, the elements that should be included and how they should be displayed.
• Overdraft Programs and Related Issues – What Should We Do?, March 10, webinar — Discussion about the current state of overdraft programs, including regulatory requirements and recommendations, and a look to the future.
• What to Do When a Customer Dies, March 10, webinar — Oftentimes, when a financial institution learns a deposit or loan customer has died, confusion about what to do next seems to be the result.
• Regulation E, March 17, webinar — Understanding who is covered and what is covered is an important part of your financial institutions program for Regulation E.
• Avoiding Check Fraud Liability: From Prevention to Loss Allocation, March 17, webinar — This webinar provides attendees with tips to avoid check fraud losses, as well as an overview of the laws that apply to loss allocation when check fraud occurs.
• Banker’s Guide to Letters of Credit, March 18, webinar — Whether your bank issues letters of credit, accepts letters of credit, or takes liens on letters of credit rights, this program is for you.

Also, several scholarships are now available to bankers from OBA-member banks for various graduate schools of banking. Applications should be submitted to the OBA’s Janis Reeser by email (janis@oba.com), regular mail (643 N.E. 41st St., OKC, 73105) or fax (405-424-4518).

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