Home: Spotlight
VBA Elects New Officers
Congratulations to the 2021-2022 Chairman and Chairman-Elect
The Virginia Bankers Association elected new officers for its 2021-2022 board of directors during their Virtual Annual Meeting on June 22, 2021.
VBA Education Foundation Awards Monacan High School Senior $7,500 College Scholarship; Awards $29,000 Overall to High School Seniors Across Virginia
The Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) Education Foundation is pleased to announce that Carter Watts is the statewide scholarship winner of the VBA Bank Day Scholarship Program (Bank Day). Carter, who is a senior at Monacan High School in Chesterfield, was hosted virtually by Village Bank to participate in Bank Day. As the Capitol region winner, Carter was awarded a $2,500 scholarship and will now receive an additional $5,000, for a total of $7,500 for her college education.
Virginia Bankers Help Students ‘Get Smart About Credit’ with Virtual Financial Education Lessons
Virginia bankers are teaming up with the American Bankers Association Foundation’s Get Smart About Credit program on October 15th as part of an ongoing effort to teach Virginia teens how to manage their money.
Virginia Banks Share Tips to Protect Consumers During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
#banksneveraskthat
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that consumers lost $1.9 billion to phishing schemes and other fraud in 2019 and the ongoing pandemic has only increased the threat. For the month of October, Virginia banks are joining the Virginia Bankers Association (VBA), American Bankers Association and banks across the nation in launching a first-of-its-kind, industry-wide campaign to educate consumers about the persistent threat of phishing scams. To combat phishing, the #BanksNeverAskThat campaign uses attention-grabbing humor and other engaging content to empower consumers to identify bogus bank communications asking for sensitive information like their passwords and social security numbers.
Virginia Bankers Raise $11,300 for ReadyKids
The Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management (the school) graduating class of 2020 presented $11,300 to ReadyKids last week, which included nearly $1,000 worth of supplies. The funds and donations were raised this summer through a collaborative effort organized by the graduating class and in cooperation with the more than 180 total bankers in the school.
Virginia Banks Open for Business and Ready to Assist Customers Impacted by COVID-19
The Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) is working closely with its 100 member banks across the state in proactively addressing the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
As the COVID-19 situation evolves, Virginia banks are taking aggressive steps to safeguard the health and safety of their customers, staff and communities while ensuring the delivery of important financial services such as money and credit availability.
Virginia Banking Industry Unites Home and School for More than 17,000 Students this Month
More than 17,000 Virginia students and their families are reading the same book on the same schedule during the month of March thanks to more than $86,000 of financial support from Virginia’s banking industry. The Virginia Bankers Association Education Foundation (VBA), supported by Virginia banks, is one of several sponsors of Virginia Reads One Book, a program from Richmond-based Read to Them. Other statewide sponsors include the Virginia Council on Economic Education, GoNoodle’s Blazer Fresh, The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation and Tackle Reading.
Fairfax Academy Student, Sponsored by Burke & Herbert Bank, Wins 2nd Place in National Lights, Camera, Save! Video Contest
Congratulations to Fairfax Academy student, Sujay Khona, sponsored by Burke & Herbert Bank for winning 2nd place in this year’s Lights, Camera, Save! video contest. Watch the winning videos here. View pictures from the celebration here.
Lights, Camera, Save! is a video contest that engages teens in educating themselves and their peers about the value of saving and using money wisely.
Virginia Tech Seeking Bank Partners for New Credit Corps, Designed to Help Fill Our Talent Pipeline
Virginia Tech has recently piloted an exciting new program, Credit Corps, in partnership with Atlantic Union Bank. The unique experiential learning program is aimed at enhancing students’ skills in credit risk analysis, business analytics, teamwork, and portfolio management. By participating in this program, students gain experience in banking and risk management by participating in actual loans with their bank partner with real money from the Virginia Tech Foundation.
Virginia Bankers Offer Six Ways to Avoid Holiday Shopping Scams
As we near Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, shoppers should exercise caution while making purchases this holiday season.
“While millions of credit and debit card transactions are conducted safely every day, it’s important that consumers are aware of the potential for holiday scams,” said Bruce Whitehurst, president and CEO of the Virginia Bankers Association.
Virginia bankers offer the following tips to help consumers keep their information safe whether shopping in the store or online:
Virginia Bankers Recognize National Family Caregiver Month with Tips for Financial Caregivers
In recognition of National Family Caregiver Month in November, Virginia bankers are helping financial caregivers better understand and execute their roles. The Caregiver Action Network (the National Family Caregivers Association) began promoting national recognition of family caregivers in 1994. Nearly 44 million Americans are providing care to an individual suffering from illness, disability, limited mobility or age. A financial caregiver is a person who helps a senior manage his or her financial life. The relationship evolves as the needs change.
Virginia Bankers Reach More than 5,800 Teens through ‘Get Smart About Credit’ Initiative and Financial Education Lessons
Bankers across Virginia teamed up with the American Bankers Association Community Engagement Foundation’s Get Smart About Credit program as part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness among high school students about the importance of personal finance skills.
Virginia Bankers Provide Tips for Banking Online Safely and Being More Cybersecure
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Cyber-attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and common. According to the 2017 Norton Cyber Security Insights Report, 143 million U.S. consumers were victims of cybercrime – more than half of the country’s adult online population – with losses totaling nearly $19.5 billion. In recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, the Virginia banking industry is highlighting tips and information to help consumers protect themselves from such cyber-attacks.
Sixty-Two Graduate from the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management
Congratulations to the Class of 2019
Sixty-two Virginia bankers graduated on August 2, 2019 from the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The three-year school is sponsored by the Virginia Bankers Association in cooperation with the Darden School of Business at the University.