CFPB Director Nominee Testifies

Speaking before the Senate Banking Committee, Brian Johnson, President Trump’s nominee to lead the CFPB, told lawmakers that he would promote accountability at the agency by ensuring it acts within statutory limits, and that he would keep an open mind about the bureau’s staffing.

Johnson previously served as deputy director of the CFPB during President Trump’s first term and is currently an executive at Capital One.

Bank Merger Application Reviews

Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee, including Rep. Tim Moore, have sent a letter to Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman urging the Fed to reduce its processing time for bank merger and acquisition applications. The letter cites the Fed’s June 2026 Supervision and Regulation Report and says that although the median processing time for all pending applications decreased in 2025 compared to 2023 and 2024, the average processing time for such applications increased over the same time.

Huntington Bank Celebrates Greensboro Branch with $10,000 Community Investment

Huntington National Bank marked the opening of its first Greensboro branch with a $10,000 donation to the Women’s Resource Center of Greensboro, supporting the organization’s work to empower women and help them build brighter futures.

The contribution was presented during Huntington’s community launch celebration, which brought together local leaders, community partners and representatives from across the banking industry.

As Huntington continues expanding its presence across the Carolinas, the Women’s Resource Center expressed its appreciation for the bank’s investment in the Greensboro community and the women it serves.

NCBA Member Banks Named Among Nation’s Top-Performing

Three North Carolina banks have earned national recognition in American Banker’s 2026 rankings of the top-performing banks based on 2025 results.

Southern BancShares, the Mount Olive-based parent company of Southern Bank, ranked No. 2 among banks with $2 billion to $10 billion in assets. The company reported 5% loan growth and 4% core deposit growth, while Southern Bank posted a three-year average return on average equity of 26.88%.

Fidelity BancShares, parent company of Fidelity Bank, ranked No. 6 in the same asset category. The Fuquay-Varina-based company recorded loan growth of 13.3% and a total risk-based capital ratio of 21.99%, the second highest among the institutions included in the ranking.

Uwharrie Capital Corp., parent company of Uwharrie Bank, ranked No. 12 among public banks with less than $2 billion in assets. The Albemarle-based company increased loans by 4.07% and core deposits by 4.6% in 2025.

Congratulations to Southern Bank, Fidelity Bank and Uwharrie Bank on this well-deserved recognition!

Congratulations to the North Carolina School of Banking's Class of 2026!

The North Carolina Bankers Association congratulates the newest graduates of the North Carolina School of Banking, who completed their final year of the program during a milestone week in Boone last week:

• Tyler Amerson 
• Molly C. Barber 
• Will Barnes 
• Diana Hall Braunbeck 
• Dana Burris 
• Mike Clark 
• Josiah M. Crandall 
• Michael Travis Crawford 
• Kendra W. Dyson 
• Megan Epperson 
• Brittany A. Franklin 
• Stephanie P. Franklin 
• Henry Stephen Hodge, Jr. 
• Grieg Roberts Irving 
• Lisa Long Jackson 

• Trey A. Jerman 
• Tilman L. Kelly 
• Branch Adams Kluttz 
• Tracy Lee 
• Cheri A. Lineberger 
• CJ Macon 
• Kristen D. Mott 
• Kati Murphy 
• Hunter Murray 
• Angela Pace 
• Erica Pittman 
• Tracy Poteat 
• Christopher Powell 
• Emily Michelle Pugh 
• James E. Ragan IV 
• Rebecca Robinson 

• Vita Schumacher 
• Katherine A. Skaggs 
• Leonard B. Smith 
• William H. Sowards, Jr. 
• Melissa Styers 
• Richard Thompson 
• Kaitlyn Vann 
• Bill Walton 
• Heather Jeanne Ward 
• Bethany R. Welch 
• Joshua Williams 
• Deanna Gabrielle Williamson 
• Melanie Russell Willoughby 
• Lina Yang 

Held July 20–24 at Appalachian State University, this year’s session marked the 90th anniversary of NCSB. Throughout the week, students strengthened their banking and leadership skills through classroom instruction, collaborative exercises and hands-on experiences designed to prepare them for greater responsibilities within their institutions.

Members of the senior class put their experience to work through the BankExec simulation, managing computer-simulated commercial banks while responding to changing economic and industry conditions. Their final-year curriculum also included sessions on public policy and advocacy, bank performance and valuation, the economic outlook and strategic planning.

The week concluded with a graduation ceremony recognizing the Class of 2026 and celebrating the friendships, experiences and memories formed along the way. Congratulations to each graduate, and thank you to the faculty members, volunteers, sponsors and supporters who helped make the School’s historic 90th year one to remember.

NCBA Legislative Agenda

After the successful enactment of key legislation like NC Senate Bill 595, the NCBA legislative agenda for the remainder of the year includes several remaining items. Among them are:

1.) Integrating additional revisions into H 1029 – the NC Digital Asset and Stablecoin Act.

2.) Tweaking the transfer-on-death procedures in S 675 when the beneficiary of a bank account is a charitable organization.

3.) Enacting two technical and clarifying corrections to Chapter 53C – Regulation of Banks – related to meeting frequency of bank boards and committees and permitted disclosures of confidential records of the Office of the Commissioner of Banks. 

The third item requires integration into other pending legislation.

NC General Assembly Schedule

Following a break for much of the month of July, the North Carolina General Assembly resumed its session on July 27 at noon. Only a small number of bills have been calendared for committee or floor activity so far. If legislators do not further modify the schedule, Senate Joint Resolution 1091 proposes that legislators will adjourn on Thursday, August 6, 2026.

Thereafter, the session schedule would be:

Under Chapter 120 of the North Carolina General Statutes, the 2027-2028 session of the General Assembly will begin at noon on the second Wednesday in January (January 13) with a one-day organizational meeting and then legislators return at noon on the third Wednesday after the second Monday in January (January 27). Bill filings will start fresh then with no bills carried over from the preceding 2-year session.

Updated Clarity Act Text

The ABA, ICBA and four other national banking trade groups have issued a joint statement warning that the latest version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633) – the proposed market structure bill for digital assets – still puts at risk the local lending that drives economic activity. The joint statement goes on to thank Senators for their work on developing changes to the legislation:

Combatting Fraud

Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have published an extensively researched, 107-page report analyzing various fraud vectors and techniques and calling for a coordinated national strategy to combat financial fraud and scams. Among the recommendations, the report emphasizes:

“Platforms that host advertisements—such as social media and technology companies—should verify advertisers and promptly investigate and remove advertisements reported as fraudulent. Congress should consider proposed legislation, such as the Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct (SCAM) Act, which would impose legal penalties on tech platforms accountable for or facilitating fraudulent and deceptive online advertisements.”

The SCAM Act is pending in both the House (as H.R. 7548) and Senate (as S. 3774) and has numerous cosponsors, including Representatives Don Davis, Chuck Edwards, Valerie Foushee, Pat Harrigan, and Tim Moore, but work remains to get additional cosponsors and advance the legislation.

Strengthening Data Sharing Practices

A group of ten national associations representing the financial sector have released a guide for financial institutions in determining which data shared with federal regulators should be subject to heightened security standards.

The associations developed the guide in response to an interagency statement from the federal banking agencies that recognized the sensitivity of certain categories of data and noted the agencies will consider a range of options to minimize collecting and storing this information.  That interagency statement said that supervised institutions are responsible for identifying for regulators any requested data or documents the institutions consider highly sensitive.

Supporting Venezuelan Disaster Aid

FinCEN has announced that it will not take any supervisory or legal actions against U.S. financial institutions for providing authorized financial services in Venezuela to help the country recover from recent earthquakes. This commitment will apply to financial services provided by a U.S. financial institution to persons or entities in Venezuela from July 27, 2026, through January 29, 2027. 

GAO Critical of Bank Regulators’ Review Processes

In a new report, the Government Accountability Office found that while federal law requires the federal banking agencies to review their regulations every decade to identify and address unnecessary burdens, the agencies lack documented procedures to fulfill that obligation or determine effectiveness.

Identifying Federal Student Aid Fraud

FinCEN has issued an alert urging financial institutions to be vigilant in identifying and reporting suspicious activity connected to fraud schemes targeting Office of Federal Student Aid programs. Fraud rings use stolen and fraudulent identities to enroll in educational institutions and unlawfully acquire funds from Federal student aid programs.

Bank Impersonation Scams

The FCC has published an advisory warning consumers about bank impersonation scams and offering tips for avoiding them. Bank impersonation scams account for the highest losses of any impersonation scam category. The advisory mentions that more complicated scams may try to convince a person that their bank is working with a government agency to investigate suspicious activity in the account, and that the person needs to move the funds to another account or convert them to gold or cryptocurrency to protect them.

Virtually all banks engage in strategic planning, but how do they ensure the strategic plan actually drives performance and doesn’t just get left in a binder on the shelf? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Exchange Bank’s Kevin Bender discusses tactics for making strategic planning a process that engages employees and board members in the future of the bank, drives prioritization of scarce resources and identifies each bank’s biggest opportunities.

Need Credits? Earn CRCM, CPE, SHRM and More!

Looking to skill up? North Carolina Bankers Association is making it easier than ever to invest in your professional growth. Sign up for one of the upcoming webinars from our partnered providers:

FCBC Reports Quarterly Results, Announces Dividend

First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCBC) reported its unaudited results of operations and other financial information for the quarter ended June 30, 2026.

The company reported a record quarterly net income of $22.51 million, or $1.19 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2026, was $34.54 million or $1.82 per diluted common share.

The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend to common shareholders of thirty-three cents, $0.33, per common share, an increase of $0.02, or 6.45%, over last quarter. The quarterly dividend is payable to common shareholders of record on August 7, 2026, and is expected to be paid on August 21, 2026. This year marks the 41st consecutive year of regular dividends to common shareholders.

FNB Hires Erich Hamm and Ashley Varnado as Wealth Management Market Executives Serving Markets Throughout Carolinas

First National Bank, the largest subsidiary of F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB), continues to deepen its investment in North Carolina and South Carolina and today announced that it has hired Erich Hamm and Ashley Varnado, Senior Vice Presidents and Wealth Management Market Executives.

Hamm and Varnado lead operations and business development efforts for FNB’s wealth segment, F.N.B. Wealth Management, in regions throughout North Carolina and South Carolina. Hamm oversees F.N.B. Wealth Management in Raleigh, Greensboro and Wilmington, North Carolina, while Varnado focuses on Charlotte, North Carolina, Greenville and Charleston, South Carolina, and surrounding areas. Providing local leadership and decision making, Hamm and Varnado lead teams of wealth professionals focused on providing tailored solutions to help clients meet their financial objectives.

Optus Financial Corporation and M&F Bancorp, Inc. Announce Execution of Merger Agreement

Optus Financial of Columbia, South Carolina, and M&F Bancorp, parent company of Mechanics & Farmers Bank, have announced the execution of a merger agreement in which M&F Bank will merge with and into Optus Bank. The merger will unite two of the nation’s longest-standing minority depository institutions. The aggregate transaction value is expected to exceed $105 million. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

- Alan Watts