Oklahoma Banker

The federal bank regulatory agencies during the last week of March announced, in light of pending litigation, their intent to issue a proposal to both rescind the Community Reinvestment Act final rule issued in October 2023 and reinstate the CRA framework that existed prior to the October 2023 final rule. As of now, this is NOT official, but just stated …

We have finally reached the first deadline at the state legislature and it couldn’t have come fast enough. We started off this session tracking 314 bills and, after the deadline, we are now tracking 70 bills. We will spend the next couple of weeks hearing bills on the floor in the house of origin. While the first couple of weeks …

The Oklahoma Bankers Association 2025 Senior Management Conference is scheduled for April 6-8 at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa, in Indian Wells, California. As is always the case, this year’s conference features an exciting lineup of speakers on a range of topics, including an economic outlook, election impacts on the Federal Home Loan Bank system, fraud issues, strategic staffing …

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced late last month it will not issue fines or penalties against companies that fail to report their beneficial ownership information by the current deadline. Instead, it plans to issue an interim rule with a new deadline and later revise the reporting requirements to ease the burden on businesses. BOI collection had been on hold …

At noon, Monday, Feb. 3, the Oklahoma legislature convened for the First Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature. The legislative session will run until 5 p.m. on the final Friday in May. There were over 3,100 bills filed this year between the House and the Senate. With 31 new legislators, we were expecting a lot of bills to be filed. …

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has made several changes to department and agency heads, many which have a direct effect on the banking industry. Trump removed Rohit Chopra as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at the end of January. He later announced that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting director of the CFPB. Chopra had …

Well, here we are – 2025 has finally arrived and, frankly, it seemed like it was never going to get here. The last couple of months of 2024 felt like the clock had stopped. Like the beginning of every new year, it’s a perfect time to reset and look forward with an optimistic view of what we’ll encounter in both …

Renowned banker and philanthropist H.E. “Gene” Rainbolt passed away on Jan. 2. He was 95. Born in 1929 in Norman, Rainbolt started his banking career in 1959, acquiring his first bank in Purcell in 1962. In 1989, he founded BancFirst, now Oklahoma’s largest state-charter bank. He was also among the first class of the Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame. We …

The original January deadline for covered businesses to register their beneficial ownership information was put on hold following a order from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 26. On Dec. 23, the Fifth Circuit lifted a nationwide injunction issued by the district court judge earlier this month in a Texas lawsuit challenging the Corporate Transparency Act, which requires …

On Dec. 5, the Oklahoma Bankers Hall of Fame inducted four new members. This year’s class included four outstanding bankers who have been – and still are – pillars in the banking industry, their communities and the state of Oklahoma. This group of bankers falls right in line with previous inductees with their storied history and contributions still being made …