Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
In This Issue…
- Fed hints at upcoming rate increase
- Florida bill requires financial literacy for high school students
- Banking school scholarships, OBA scholarship, available
- OBA education corner …
Fed hints at upcoming rate increase
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President and CEO John Williams recently hinted the Fed is likely to begin raising interests rates at its next meeting, and it could begin reducing its holdings of Treasury and mortgage-based securities sometime later in the year.
Speaking at an industry event at New Jersey City University on Feb. 18, Williams made several remarks that could possible foretell the Fed’s future plans.
“Taken together, these two sets of actions steadily raising the target range for the federal funds rate and steadily bringing down our securities holdings—should help bring demand closer to supply,” Williams said. “In fact, even though we haven’t done either of these things yet, financial conditions have already responded based on the expectation of Fed action.”
Click here to read Williams’ full speech.
Florida bill requires financial literacy for high school students
In an interesting bit of news outside Oklahoma, the Florida state legislature is currently pushing a bipartisan bill that will require financial literacy lessons for students to graduate high school.
The bill, if passed, would begin offering what it calls financial literacy standards for high school students starting in ninth grade. Topics for the financial education curriculum would cover how to open and manage a bank account and what types of accounts are offered and how to assess the quality of a depository institution’s services.
Click here to read more, via WFLA in Tampa Bay.
Banking school scholarships, OBA scholarship, available
Several scholarships are now available to bankers from OBA-member banks for various graduate schools of banking and programs at those GSBs.
Applications 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).
Below are the available scholarships. Contact the OBA education department for more specific information about each scholarship:
- GSB-Madison Prochnow Scholarship: $1,500 each of three years — Deadline: March 18.
- GSB-Colorado Future Leaders Scholarship: $1,500 each of three years — Deadline: March 17.
- SWGSB Millennium Scholarship: $1,500 — Deadline: March 18.
Additionally, each year, the OBA awards a $1,000 scholarship to an incoming freshman who has a parent, grandparent, sibling or spouse who is a Professional Member of the Association.
The student must enroll in an accredited Oklahoma institution of higher education. The applicant must also be graduating from an Oklahoma high school. A panel of bankers will select the winning applicant.
Click here to access the application for the 2022 scholarship. Applications are due April 15, 2022. Contact Megan McGuire with any questions
OBA education corner …
It looked like it was going to stay warm … then today happened … then tomorrow will happen … then the day after tomorrow will happen … which has a forecast not dissimilar from The Day After Tomorrow movie. When you get tired of checking out Jake Gyllenhaal vs. frostbite, take a second to peruse the upcoming education opportunities, including the following:
- Loan Denials & Other Adverse Action Notices, March 1, webinar — This webinar will cover the compliance requirements and best practices for Adverse Action Notices under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- Consumer Real Estate Loans, March 2, webinar — We will guide lenders and processors through a simple real-estate loan and explain the current compliance rules.
- The UCC for Lenders, March 8, webinar — This program is a comprehensive Uniform Commercial Code secured lending program for persons new to banking and is also recommended as a refresher.
- Escrows, March 9, webinar — In this webinar we’ll discuss the mechanics of establishing and maintaining escrow accounts, as well as in what situations escrows must be maintained.
- IRA Beneficiary Payout Options, March 10, webinar — This program will focus on which options are available to which beneficiaries depending on the IRA owner’s date of death.
Also, the OBA is proud to promote the recognition of bankers who have devoted 50 or more years of service to the banking industry. All eligible nominees will be honored at the 2022 OBA Convention on May 18-20 at the Omni in Oklahoma City. Click here to download a nomination form. If you have any questions, please contact Janis Reeser at 405-424-5252 or janis@oba.com.
Additionally, the Oklahoma Bankers Association 2022 Senior Management Conference is scheduled for April 3-5 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, or download a brochure and registration form by clicking here!
Finally, take note of the upcoming OBA Women In Banking event, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Branch of Kansas City. Titled “Banking and the Economy: A Forum for Women In Banking” the event takes place on March 22 at the Embassy Suites in Northwest Oklahoma City. Get ready for engaging sessions around banking and economic updates, and leadership and professional development. This is planned as a hybrid event – attendees are welcome to join virtually. Click here for more information and to register!