Home: Spotlight

Beginning Monday, March 14th, banks across Virginia will host more than 420 high school seniors to participate in the Bank Day Scholarship Program (Bank Day), a statewide effort sponsored by the Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) Education Foundation and the VBA Emerging Bank Leaders. The purpose of the program is to expose students to the banking industry and provide an opportunity for the students to learn about banking, careers in banking, financial services, and the vital role banks across Virginia play in their communities.

This week, banks across Virginia and the Virginia Bankers Association (VBA) are sharing tips on using credit wisely and saving for the unexpected, as well as information on careers in banking, via social media channels, in-branch handouts, in-person and virtual financial literacy lessons as part of the American Bankers Association Foundation’s Get Smart About Credit program (GSAC). GSAC is a national campaign that encourages banks to teach teens and young adults how to manage their money.

Virginia bankers are teaming up with the American Bankers Association Foundation’s Get Smart About Credit program on October 15^th as part of an ongoing effort to teach Virginia teens how to manage their money.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.