News

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman While the health care debate is taking up all of the oxygen in Washington, the next item on the agenda for the Republican congress is tax reform.  The plan is to have the framework hammered out by September and have a bill passed and signed by year-end. The house has been working …

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued late last month the host state loan-to-deposit ratios that they will use to determine compliance with section 109 of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. These ratios replace the prior year’s ratios, …

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman Washington provided plenty of drama last week both political and personal. I would like to spend a few minutes discussing the horrific shooting at the congressional baseball game practice.  While the political rhetoric has been red hot for an extended period, it took this terrible event to produce some civility among our …

Our next round of individuals answering 20 random questions, ranging from informational, to entertaining to downright bizarre, is ready for your viewership! Three new interviews are now posted for everyone’s enjoyment. These interviews – with Terri Thompson of American Exchange Bank, Henryetta; Kyle Powell of First National Bank, Okmulgee; and Tyler Spradlin of SpiritBank, Sapulpa – will give insight on …

Financial CHOICE Act clears House of Representatives Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act, on a party-line vote in which only one Republican voted with the Democrats to oppose the bill. No Democrats voted to approve the bill. The actual vote was 233-186, and all five Oklahoma Representatives voted in favor of the bill. As …

Sen. James Lankford held a meeting for Oklahoma bankers at the OBA on the morning of June 2, discussing various banking-related topics and answering questions. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho, chairman of Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee) also Skyped in to take some questions from the gathered bankers. More than 50 bankers were in attendance and heard from both senators …

Through the end of the first quarter, Oklahoma banks earned a solid $367 million. “It’s an outstanding result, again, and it reflects the ongoing strength of Oklahoma banks,” OBA President and CEO Roger Beverage said. “When taken together, the nation’s 5,856 banks earned nearly $44 billion for the quarter. That compares to $39 billion at the end of the first …

Did you miss our annual convention and the opportunity to watch the opening video that featured several of our bankers singing our state song? Or, would you just like to see it again? Either way, here’s your chance to see some of our most well-known bankers tune up their vocal cords to get our convention off to a fun start!

Greetings from Guy By Guy Sims OBA Chairman I hope everyone enjoyed the convention. It was great to see so many bankers from across the state. I want to thank the OBA staff for all the work it puts into making our convention successful.   I also would like thank Curtis Davidson for his leadership over the past year. Curtis …

On May 4, the House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act. The vote was strictly along party lines, 34-26. One of its provisions will repeal the harmful Durbin Amendment. It’s possible H.R. 10 will be brought up by the House leadership and considered on the House floor next week during the OBA Convention in Norman. We know the …