Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
In This Issue…
- From Adrian’s desk …
- CLARITY Act continues to face roadblocks
- Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame accepting nominations for 2026 inductions – deadline approaching!
- OBA partners with ODP Solutions for member discounts
- 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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Today is election day and there are a number of races – particularly on the Republican side – that appear close. I read recently the state election board expects somewhere around 300,000 voters to cast their ballot. Considering we live in a state of with more than four million people, I find that small number alarming and embarrassing.
GET OUT AND VOTE! Whomever your choice is for any office, I encourage you to make your voice heard at the ballot box today!
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All four statewide races on the Republican side (governor, state superintendent, labor commissioner, insurance commissioner) could come down to the slimmest of margins. This evening, we have our annual dinner with the OBA’s board of directors, but afterward, I’ll be constantly hitting refresh on my internet browser to get updates!
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Well, for college football fans such as myself, we made it! We actually have real, live college football this weekend. Now, there’s not a LOT of it, being its technically “week zero” on the calendar, but there are some notable games to keep the pigskin-starved among us happy!
CLARITY Act continues to face roadblocks
Just when we think we have an idea of what is happening with the stablecoin issue and the CLARITY Act, something always comes out of left field.
The U.S. Senate is scheduled to hold a critical procedure vote on Sept. 15. The bill will need 60 votes to advance, yet major issues remain, including the loophole that allows digital asset exchanges, brokers, dealers and affiliated companies to offer rewards that function like interest simply for holding stablecoins.
Also, new developments have made the bill’s path even more difficult. The OCC recently granted preliminary conditional approval for a national trust bank charter connected to World Liberty Financial, a crypto company affiliated with President Trump’s family. It has resulted in several Democratic senators involved with the negotiations on the CLARITY Act hardening their stance on additional enforceable conflict-of-interest protections.
The OBA continues to work with Senators Lankford and Armstrong in support of community banks and closing the loophole. We appreciate Sen. Lankford for stating publicly the section in CLARITY with which we are concerned does indeed need additional work.
We are currently circulating a letter to all Oklahoma banks – OBA members and non-members alike – to sign on to be sent to our senators. If you would like your bank added to the letter, please let us know. As of today, more than 58 Oklahoma banks are listed.
Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame accepting nominations for 2026 inductions – deadline approaching!
The Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame is now accepting nominations for the upcoming 2026 class, with the deadline for doing so being Aug. 31.
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.
OBA partners with ODP Business Solutions for member discounts
The OBA has partnered with ODP Business Solutions (Office Depot) to provide association members significant discounts on a wide range of office and banking supplies, furniture, print and copy services, promotional products, break room provisions and more.
All OBA-member bankers should feel free to use a $25-off coupon. For the free member-bank discount program, you can sign-up here.
OBA education corner …
Looking at the weather app on our phone this morning, we see a forecast high of 91 degrees for Wednesday and 92 on Thursday. What sorcery is this?! That’s practically sweatshirt weather after what we’ve faced the past few weeks. Alas, it appears to be but a brief respite, as triple digits are again forecast for the upcoming weekend. Still, enjoy the “chilly” weather while you can this week, but also make sure to keep up with what’s happening on the continuing education front, including the following:
- Vendor Management: Agencies Raising Expectations, Plus Recent Developments, Sept. 2, webinar — Dealing with vendors and other third parties brings with it many requirements and responsibilities on the part of the financial institution, especially in this day and age of artificial intelligence.
- CRE Lending Training Program, Sept. 4, Sept. 29, webinar — Participants will learn a number of objectives throughout the program, such as how to recognize the risks inherent in all areas of real estate lending, how to evaluate real estate loan repayment sources, how to construct a basic income property cash flow and how to understand basic appraisal concepts, just to name a few.
- 2026 OBA Basic Banking School, Sept. 14-17, Oklahoma City — The school is designed to introduce students to basic banking concepts as they relate to the overall functioning of a bank.
- Intro to Commercial Lending Seminar, Sept. 24, Oklahoma City — This seminar covers the basics of commercial lending and is a must for all new commercial lenders and/or those individuals who want to explore this vital discipline.
- 2026 OBA Consumer Lending School, Oct. 5-9, Oklahoma City — Consumer credit is one of the highest profile and most diverse operations in a bank. Specialists in the field need knowledge that runs both broad and deep.