October 22, 2014
Masthead 2

 
Contents:
Mid-West Community Banker of the Year!
The Children are Our Future...
The Countdown to July 14, 2015
OCC Reports on Bank-CDLF Partnerships



BKD 2010





Celerit


Harland Clarke


ICBA Securities





Travelers



 
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Real Community Bank
Mid-West Community Banker of the Year!

Jim Gowen Sr., Chairman of Merchants and Planters Bank in Newport, AR, has been named ICBA Mid-West Community Banker of the Year.

Everyone who has worked with or served with Jim has experienced his passion for community banking.  This ICBA honor formally recognizes what we already knew.  In addition to the depth of his community involvement, Jim has tirelessly served on ICBA committees; 15 years on the ACB Board of Directors, including past President; the Board of Regents of the Paul W. Barret, Jr, School of Banking in Memphis, including past Chairman; various civic organizations and industrial and economic development efforts, just to name a few. Jim has proven himself an ambassador for the industry and is certainly deserving of this honor.

 

Congratulations, Mr. Gowen!!

 
Merchants and Planters Bank has 10 locations in Newport, Batesville, Des Arc, McCrory, Newark, Swifton, Tuckerman and Searcy. With assets of $250 million, Merchants and Planters Bank has been serving their communities since 1946. 
The Children are Our Future... 
In a video on ICBA's American Millennials and Banking study, ICBA's Chris Lorence and Aleis
Stokes note that the study dispels myths about Millennials and shows that they are a good fit for community banks.

The study found that more than half of Millennials said they would prefer to work with a community bank and that generation is the most interested in learning about starting up and running a small business.

A white paper and infographic on the study results are available on ICBA's American Millennials and Banking webpage. Watch Video and Read Study Results.

The Countdown to July 14, 2015  

Microsoft ends support for its popular Windows Server 2003 July 14, 2014.  

 

So far, whenever a software "vulnerability" in Windows Server 2003 has been discovered, Microsoft has promptly developed and issued a "patch" to fix it-cutting off the opportunity for hackers to use that defect to gain unauthorized access to a bank's information. After July 14, 2015, hackers may continue to discover vulnerabilities in Microsoft Server 2003-with the difference being that Microsoft will no longer be developing the "patches."  

 

In addition, for bankers, regulatory risks often may be more of a concern than security risks. Regulators require banks to use only currently-supported software. Any bank using Microsoft Server 2003 after July 14 will be "out of compliance" and subject to regulatory criticism.

 

If your bank has Windows Server 2003 still in place, you should begin planning now to get the changes made before the deadline. There could be a very substantial investment required for new servers, so it's also a good time for bankers to consider alternate strategies: Is I.T. something the bank wants to continue to manage in-house, or instead could the bank benefit by using a  third-party provider?

 

BankOnIT, an ACB Preferred Solutions Provider, can assist your bank in answering these questions. Contact Kathy Malone, at 1-800-498-8877 or by email at kmalone@bankonitusa.com  

 

OCC Reports on Bank-CDLF Partnerships
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency published a report on opportunities for partnerships between banks and Community Development Loan Funds. The Insights newsletter describes how the partnerships can be used to better reach low- and moderate-income and underserved populations. It also covers potential risks and regulatory matters that may need to be considered.
Thursday, October 23, 2014             Free to ACB Members!
                            
Wednesday, November 12, 2014