We make bankers better!

Week of July 6

July 7, 2026

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!

•        •         •

I’m on the road today with Scott Thompson and Janis Reeser, headed to Poteau to visit some bankers in the Eastern Oklahoma outpost!

Poteau is also Scott’s hometown, so we’re hoping he’ll show us around a bit. Who knows, maybe he’ll want to run by his old high school football field and do some bear crawls, just for old times’ sake!

•        •         •

I wanted to take the opportunity to let everyone know our longtime employee, the beloved Nancy McKinnis, has announced her retirement effective at the end of this month. Nancy has been with us for 31 years, and over those three-plus decades, has interacted, affected and enriched the lives of so many of our bankers.

While there won’t be a public party for Nancy, I do encourage anyone and everyone to take a few minutes out of their day and either drop by our offices here and congratulate her in person, or give her a phone call or email (nancy@oba.com). I know she’d appreciate it!

We’re going to miss her dearly … but we’ve still got three-plus weeks to enjoy having her here!

•        •         •

The Chicago Cubs’ year of epic highs and lows continues. I mentioned last week they’ve achieved the “feat” of posting two 10-game win streaks, but also a 10-game losing streak. Well, after this weekend, they became just the second team in history to win a game by 15-plus runs, but then lose the next by 15-plus runs! The only other time it happened was by the immortal Boston Beaneaters in 1894.

When the Cubs do something, they really do it in historic fashion.

Back to top

SAFE Banking Act would help limit illicit financial risks

The SAFE Banking Act would improve public safety, help the government combat illicit finance, and provide certainty in the evolving legal landscape by granting cannabis businesses operating in compliance with state laws access to essential financial services, the American Bankers Association said in a letter to House and Senate leaders sent last week.

The SAFE Banking Act would prevent regulators from prohibiting or discouraging financial institutions from serving cannabis businesses in states where it is legal. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and in the House by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio).

In its letter, ABA noted that while nearly every state has legalized marijuana in some form, the uncertain legal landscape means state-licensed marijuana businesses frequently operate on a cash basis, outside the regulated banking system.

“Passing this legislation would reduce illicit finance risk and increase financial transparency for cannabis- and hemp-derived proceeds,” the letter said. “Highly regulated banks and other financial institutions must adhere to stringent anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws and rules, conduct due diligence regarding their customers, screen transactions for suspicious activity, and keep records.

“Bringing these state-licensed businesses and their proceeds into the formal financial system would provide a meaningful level of transparency and accountability by enabling financial institutions to better identify and report illicit finance risk.”

Back to top

First Friday Fraud Forum appears this week

Calling all fraud fighters – mark your calendar for 10 a.m. Friday!

In an attempt to communicate fraud trends to our member banks in all areas of the state, we hold monthly “First Friday Fraud Forum” virtual meetings via Zoom. These meetings are for OBA members only. We will cover information on the latest fraud trends affecting our banks.

While this coming Friday is not TECHNICALLY the first Friday of the month, the Independence Day holiday last weekend threw our schedules off a bit. Still, we wanted to make sure to hold a call this month since fraud continues to rear its head around the state.

For this Friday’s call, click here for the Zoom link. The Meeting ID is 859 2169 0811 and the passcode is 837692. The dial-in information for those without Zoom audio is 1-346-248-7799.

Back to top

Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame now accepting nominations for 2026 inductions

The Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame is now accepting nominations for the upcoming 2026 class; additionally, a reminder the process of selecting inductees was updated a few years back.

First, for those interested in nominating a banker, here are some downloadable forms linked below – please return all nominations to Adrian Beverage (adrian@oba.com):

If a person was nominated previously, it is not necessary to re-nominate them – they will remain in consideration. Updates to their bio, letters of recommendation, etc., however, are always welcomed.

Second, as mentioned, a new process for selecting the inductees to each class was instituted in 2023. After discussion with leadership at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame about its processes, and learning about other methods from other organizations, the induction procedure for the Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame has been updated.

After all nominations have been received by OBA President and CEO Adrian Beverage, he will forward those nominees to the OBA chair (currently, Priscilla Cude), who will convene a committee of 11 individuals in September to select the inductees. These 11 individuals will be made up of the OBA’s Executive Committee, who will join a banker selected by the OBA chair from each of the OBA’s six geographical groups, as well as the chair of the OBA Emerging Leaders Division. The specific committee members will be completely anonymous to everyone outside of the current OBA chair.

These committee members will select the final inductees from the group of nominees given. They will also discuss any possible posthumous inductees who may have not been nominated.

Once the inductees have been selected, the OBA chair will inform Beverage and notification and preparations will be made by the OBA staff for the induction ceremony, which will be held this year in December at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.

Following the 2026 selections, the current selection committee will immediately disband and a new committee will be picked the following year by the next OBA chair. Aside from the OBA chair and executive committee, the selection committee will remain anonymous with only the other committee members from that specific year knowing their identities.

Back to top

Bankers at ballpark: Fraud fighting field trip set for September

Join fellow bankers and fraud fighters at the ballpark for a fraud-fighting field trip on Wednesday, Sept. 9. The Oklahoma City Comets host the Sugar Land Space Cowboys at 12:05 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

Before the game, OBA’s Sharon Lewis will provide attendees a brief fraud update and share practical fraud prevention tips bankers can pass along to customers this fall.

Specially priced tickets are $17.29 and include an OKC Comets cap and a boxed lunch with a hot dog, chips, cookie and water.

Interested in attending or bringing others from your bank? Email Megan McGuire, and she’ll send you the reservation link to purchase tickets and additional details.

Back to top

Deadline extended to participate in salary survey

We want to extend our thanks to those who have already completed the annual salary survey. The deadline has been extended to Friday, July 10, so we continue to invite banks to join the 2026 Salary & Cash Compensation Survey!

The survey gathers salary and cash compensation (salary + annual cash incentive/bonus + commissions) for approximately 200 executive, middle management, and staff level positions. Data cuts will be broken out by asset size and region when we have a large enough sample size.

Survey Pricing:

  • OBA Member Participant: $450.
  • OBA Member Non-Participant: $1,050.

Survey Participation Instructions:

  1. Click on the link (2026 Salary & Cash Compensation Survey Link) to access the survey participation file.
  2. Download the excel file and complete the survey.
  3. Email the completed survey to surveys@blanchardc.com or utilize the secure upload link (Secure Upload Link) by Friday, July, 10.

Pre-order & Questions:

  • For pre-ordering or any survey-related questions, please contact Laura Roth at surveys@blanchardc.com or 612-850-0153.

Back to top

Oklahoma Views & Vistas calendar available for earlybird orders

The 2027 Oklahoma Views & Vistas Calendars are now ready – order yours by Aug. 31 to get the special low price of $1.25 per calendar.

Pricing after Aug. 31 is $1.50 per calendar.

The deadline for all orders is Sept. 15, so as to be delivered to your bank by Nov. 15, 2026.  This is a great way to share your bank’s logo and information to your customers!

Back to top

OBA education corner …

Has anyone seen the long-range forecast for next week? Some computer models have Oklahoma City ready to reap a 120-degree day at one point! While it’s incredibly doubtful we’ll actually reach that temperature and turn into pancake batter, it’s probably a foregone conclusion it’ll be HOT in one shape or form. So, while slathering on two million SPF in preparation for whatever does occur, make sure to keep up with what’s happening on the continuing education front, including the following:

  • Top Ten Loan Documentation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, July 13, webinar — When it comes to loan documentation, you must know the correct procedures and how to avoid frequent exceptions and mistakes.
  • CRA for Community Banks Workshop, July 13, webinar — As of early 2026, federal regulators are primarily operating under the 1995 Community Reinvestment Act regulations, having proposed to rescind the 2023 modernization rule following legal challenges.
  • Reg. O and W: Dealing with Insiders, July 15, webinar — An in-depth discussion of dealing with insiders, including insider loans (Regulation O) as well as transactions with affiliates (Regulation W). We’ll discuss regulatory requirements as well as best practices and recommendations.
  • Teller Compliance Issues – BSA, Reg. CC and More, July 16, webinar — We will look at your signature contract, and state and federal rules regarding the handling of checks. You will review some fundamentals but move toward the more advanced check issues involving fiduciaries, scams and holds.
  • Unclaimed Property Compliance for Financial Institutions, July 17, webinar — Explore the key unclaimed property compliance challenges facing financial institutions, including reporting requirements, organizational risk areas, and recent legislative developments, and gain practical strategies to strengthen reporting processes and reduce risk.
  • Records Management, July 21, webinar — A discussion of financial institutions’ responsibility to retain records: what to keep, in what form and for how long.
  • Loan Participation: Risks and Rewards, July 22, webinar — This program covers the risks and rewards of loan participations to both the lead bank and the purchasing bank. Attendees will gain a thorough understanding of Participation Agreements.

Back to top

© Copyright 2026, Oklahoma Bankers Association | Privacy & Security