Week of Feb. 6

In This Issue…

• New MAFIA group started in Southwest Oklahoma
• Lending standards tighten in fourth quarter of 2022
• Several GSB scholarship available: deadline approaching for pair
• OBA Intern Program ready for 2023
• OBA education corner …

New MAFIA group started in Southwest Oklahoma

The OBA is proud to report we have a new MAFIA group in Southwest Oklahoma.

Detective David Folkert will host the new group at 9:30 a.m. on the third Wednesday of each month. Joy McGill, AARP, will be the speaker at the Feb. 15 meeting and you can be added to the roster to receive intelligence and meeting invitations by sending an email to david.folkert@lawtonok.gov.

These meetings have proven to be the best way to network with law enforcement and other bankers in your area. The two hour-ish time spent by your operations or fraud personnel is one of the best investments your bank can make. It’s literally one of Elaine Dodd’s favorite networking events and she is always amazed by the vast amount of current, useful information gleaned from each meeting.

For anyone not familiar with the history of this tongue-in-cheek named group, we will include a brief description and list of regional contacts below:

Metro Area Fraud Investigators Association offers representatives from many different organizations the opportunity to meet, exchange information and discuss white collar crime including check theft, forgery, counterfeiting, identity theft, wire fraud, internet scams, retail theft, ATM/debit/credit card counterfeiting, skimming, etc. With the information from the meetings, you can reduce losses, be alert to current crime trends and/or assist law enforcement in preventing and prosecuting white collar crime.

Representatives from city, county, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, and retailers are among those who attend MAFIA meetings. The concept of MAFIA began nearly 30 years ago. The Lawton MAFIA is one of five such groups formed in Oklahoma joining Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Texoma and Muskogee in networking for a mutual benefit.

Contacts to be added to the rosters to receive intelligence and meeting invitations. Visits to other regions are often helpful and encouraged.

LAWTON MAFIA
Det. David Folkert at david.folkert@lawtonok.gov

OKC MAFIA
Sharon Lewis at sharon.lewis@bancfirst.bank

TULSA MAFIA
Cheryl Compton at ccompton@cityoftulsa.org

TEXOMA MAFIA
Alli Townsend at atownsend@firstunitedbank.com

MUSKOGEE MAFIA
Shauna Rust at shauna.rust@usss.dhs.gov

Finally, a huge thanks and debt of gratitude to all the program coordinators who work so hard to keep these meetings so valuable for all our bankers!

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Lending standards tighten in fourth quarter of 2022

Lending standards for most business and consumer loans tightened during the fourth quarter of 2022, with weaker demand reported in almost every category, according to the Federal Reserve’s senior loan officer opinion survey released earlier this week.

Banks also reported that they expected lending standards to tighten, demand to weaken and loan quality to deteriorate across all loan types in 2023.

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Several GSB scholarships available: deadline approaching for pair

Several scholarships are now available to bankers from OBA-member banks for various graduate schools of banking, with the deadlines approaching for a pair.

Applications (other than for GSB-Colorado) 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). The scholarship recipients will be selected and announced no later than April 22.

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OBA Intern Program ready for 2023

An OBA program to be aware of is the OBA Intern Program.

The Intern Program will be active in 2023 and we’re looking for participating banks! For more information on this IMPORTANT program – important not only to aspiring students, but also to participating banks – Contact the OBA education department at (405) 424-5252 or click here for more information!

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OBA education corner …

We’re getting ready to enter that really weird weather part of the year, where it’s cold one day, rainy the next, convertible-top-down warm afterward, or all three in a 24-hour span like we’re currently having! When your head is done spinning from the weather, take a little time to prepare for upcoming continuing education opportunities available through the OBA:

• Best-Ever Compliance Checklists for Consumer Loans, Feb. 13, webinar — These colorful and easy-to-use checklists are designed to chronologically lead lenders and processors through the various lending compliance requirements.
• Building an IT Strategic Plan That Helps You Make Decisions, Feb. 13, webinar — Does your IT strategic plan work for you, or is it just a document that you review once a year? Traditional FFIEC regulatory guidance calls for an IT strategic plan that identifies medium-to-long-term goals and allocations of IT resources over a three-to-five-year time frame.
• Garnishments of Federal Benefit Payments: What a Banker Needs to Know, Feb. 14, webinar — This webinar provides participants with the federal rules that are applicable when processing garnishments on deposit accounts receiving federal benefit payments.
• Letters of Credit, Feb. 15, webinar — Whether your bank issues letters of credit, accepts letters of credit or takes liens on letter of credit rights, this program is for you.
• Basic Bankruptcy for Bankers, Feb. 15, webinar — This webinar will introduce you to the world of bankruptcy.
• Flood Insurance: Compliance Issues and Enforcement Topics, Feb. 16, webinar — A deep examination of the Flood Insurance regulations and new interagency questions and answers. Focus on problematic issues and questions with recommendations for compliant programs.
• ACH Rules Update, Feb. 21, webinar — Bring your 2023 ACH Rule Book and we’ll make sure you are comfortable with the changes.
• Understanding and Implementing the New Regulation B Small Business Loan Data Collection and Reporting Rules, Feb. 22, webinar — The proposed revisions to Regulation B represent one of the most significant new regulatory events in recent history.
• 2023 Call Report Update, Feb. 23, Oklahoma City — This six-hour training will provide information on new, proposed, and revised changes to the Call Report with identification of specific Call Report line items impacting March 2023 and beyond.
• What To Do When Your Customer Dies, Feb. 23, webinar — This webinar focuses on the deposit and loan issues that arise when a customer dies.
• Overdrafts – Compliance and Risk Management Expectations, Feb. 24, webinar — This session will discuss the dynamic nature of overdraft programs at financial institutions, including regulatory expectations. We’ll also discuss what the future holds for how institutions may consider managing their programs.
• 2023 Branch Manager Workshop, March 1-2, Oklahoma City — This two-day workshop is packaged full of checklists, job aids, case studies, examples and “real world” situations.
• Opening Business Accounts, March 22, Oklahoma City — Participants gain confidence and a clear understanding of the regulatory, compliance, documentation and state law requirements for opening business accounts.

Additionally, the Oklahoma Bankers Association 2023 Senior Management Conference is scheduled for April 2-4 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. One of the key benefits in the conference will be talking with your peers. Attendees at the OBA 2022 Senior Management Conference will be surrounded by those with similar titles, similar workloads, similar problems and likely solutions to issues that can be just as similar. If you have any questions or want to get signed up, contact the OBA’s education department at 405-424-5252.

Finally, NOW is the time to get involved in your Association, and one good way to accomplish this is to join one of our committees! We are now taking names for those interested in our committees for the 2023-2024 year. By participating with the group three to four times a year, you learn more about your profession, meet other bankers, share ideas and become better at what you do.

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