Ten Congressional races bankers are watching

FOTB narrowing down races to focus on

As FOTB leadership prepares to narrow down the field of 2022 candidates to just two coveted endorsements, the Executive Committee has voted to refine the search to this Top Ten. This focus always results in a HUGE IMPACT!

Below is the list, including candidates of both parties who are supportive of community banks and free markets, that we are asking the Advisory Council to choose from (along with how the races are currently rated by top political analysts). If you have any recommendations on these races that I should pass on, please let us know!

FOTB Friend Rep. Andy Barr fights for bankers on overdraft privilege

Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY), (senior Member of the House Financial Services Committee) last month delivered an impassioned rebuke of H.R. 4277, the Overdraft Protection Act. We are proud to see a Congressman that we helped win advocating for community banks in the strongest possible terms. This is why FOTB exists, to have more friends like Barr in Congress!

THIS VIDEO of his remarks is well worth the 5 minutes of your time it takes to view.

WATCH REP. BARR'S TESTIMONY

BOM Bank CEO Ken Hale

joins Executive Committee

Ken Hale, BOM Bank President and CEO, was unanimously selected by the Friends of Traditional Banking Executive Committee to fill a vacancy and join their ranks. Previously representing Louisiana on FOTB's Banker Board, Ken is the 5th generation of his family to oversee the bank and the 6th President & CEO of BOM Bank. Hale embodies the definition of community banker. What started as Bank of Montgomery in Grant Parish, Louisiana in 1903, has been nurtured by Hale and his ancestors for over a century. Growth allowed Bank of Montgomery to become BOM Bank with 17 locations across two states.

"We're excited to have Ken on our team," said FOTB Chair Joye Hunt. "His insights and passion for our industry will be a great help to the cause."

SPONSOR'S CORNER

Seven tips while working remotely without sacrificing cyber security

A message from our sponsor BankOnITUSA:

Remote work gained popularity during the pandemic and proved convenient for many team members. As a result, many of you have access to remote work – some regularly, others to take care of things after hours, and others to stay productive while traveling or out of the office.

While convenient, working remotely can present security challenges. Rather than being hard-lined to one network, team members are logging in from far-flung locations and through strange machines and connections. However, if everyone follows a few basic rules and best practices, remote offices can be as safe as they are comfortable. Here are some things to remember:

1- Secure your logins: Use strong passwords (12 characters with a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and punctuation) for each device and app and consider multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible.

2- Keep Wi-Fi private: Bolster home security by setting a strong password, enabling encryption, and ensuring the router’s firmware is up to date. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in conjunction with the VPN login when working from home.

See the rest of the list at BankOnIT's blog HERE: https://insights.bankonitusa.com/information-security-brief-august-22

Want to provide content in our Sponsor's Corner? Reach out about being a partner! mike@friendsoftraditionalbanking.com

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PAID for by Friends of Traditional Banking. NOT authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Friends of Traditional Banking is a non-partisan grassroots effort organized by bankers in 2012 to improve the political and regulatory environment for the traditional banking industry in the U.S. FOTB is the inverse of a PAC--instead of spreading a little bit of money to a lot of campaigns, they focus a lot of money on a couple of key campaigns.