Next Mon/Tues: ABA Convention Livestream to Highlight Policy Priorities, Future of Tokenized Money, Economic Outlook and Cross-Industry Efforts to Combat Scams

ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols; ABA Chair Kenneth Kelly, president and CEO of First Independence Bank; Incoming Chair Cathy Owen, chair, president and CEO of State Holding Company, the holding company for Eagle Bank & Trust Company in Little Rock, Ark.; Brooke Ybarra, ABA senior vice president for innovation and strategy; David Watson, President and CEO, The Clearing House; Paul Benda, ABA executive vice president for risk, fraud and cybersecurity; Jonathan Martin, politics bureau chief and senior political columnist at POLITICO; Keerat Sharma, Google vice president of ads product safety; and U.S Olympic athletes Elana Meyers Taylor, Mike Eruzione, Jesse Diggins and Olivia Giaccio are among the speakers participating in the American Bankers Association's 2026 Annual Convention Oct. 26-27 in Salt Lake City before an audience of bank leaders from across the country. ABA will livestream portions of the convention general sessions on its X handle @ABABankers.

Monday General Sessions Accessible by Livestream

On Monday morning, Oct. 26, the convention will open with remarks from ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols, who will outline the association's priorities for the year ahead and look ahead to the midterm election, followed by Harris Simmons, chairman and CEO, Zions Bancorporation and video remarks from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

The morning will continue with a welcome to Salt Lake City from Nate Callister, president and CEO, Zions Bank, and a deep dive discussion on the potential for tokenized money within the banking system, including a discussion of the critical role ABA will play in supporting banks as they consider how to incorporate digital assets into their business models, an update on the BankChain Alliance's approach to tokenized deposits, and David Watson, President and CEO, The Clearing House will discuss TCH's approach to tokenized deposits and lessons learned from the rollout of real-time payments.

The afternoon general session will feature remarks from outgoing ABA Chair Kenneth Kelly and recognition of the recipients of ABA's 2026 Emerging Leaders Awards before closing with ABA Chief Member Engagement Officer Russell Davis sharing the latest data on bank hiring trends and a new ABA program designed to increase the bank talent pool.

Tuesday General Sessions Accessible by Livestream

On Tuesday morning, Oct. 27, ABA will hold its annual business meeting to elect the 2026-2027 officers and board before remarks from incoming ABA Chair Cathy Owen, chair, president and CEO of State Holding Company in Little Rock, Ark. Owen will then proceed to recognize the 2026 winners of the ABA Foundation's Community Commitment Awards, honoring banks for extraordinary community work in seven categories. At the conclusion of the awards presentation, the winner of the ABA Foundation's George Bailey Distinguished Service Award, Aaron Slate of Truist Bank, will address the convention.

Following that the focus shifts to the economy. U.S. Bank Chief Economist Beth Ann Bovino, chair of ABA's Economic Advisory Committee, will discuss the economic outlook for 2027 and beyond, including inflation, interest rates, labor markets and the economic implications of the AI investment boom. The general session will close with Paul Benda, ABA executive vice president for risk, fraud and cybersecurity, sitting down with Keerat Sharma, Google vice president of ads product safety, for a conversation on combating online scams, fraudulent advertising and bank impersonation.

Full Streaming Schedule

The full livestream schedule for both days is below (all times listed are EST. All convention general sessions listed below will be livestreamed on X at @ABABankers. Times listed below are approximate and subject to change, and not all general session speakers and discussions listed above will be accessible via livestream.

Monday, Oct. 26

• 10-10:15 a.m.: Opening remarks: Rob Nichols, president and CEO, ABA
• 10:15-10:20 a.m.: Welcome to the Beehive State and introduction of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's prerecorded remarks: Harris Simmons, chairman and CEO, Zions Bancorporation, and former ABA chair
• 10:20-10:25 a.m.: Welcome to Salt Lake City: Nate Callister, president and CEO, Zions Bank
• 10:25-10:30 a.m.: ABA's approach to tokenized money: Brooke Ybarra, senior vice president, innovation and strategy, ABA
• 10:30-10:45 a.m.: BankChain Alliance: A banker-led approach to tokenized deposits: Brooke Ybarra, senior vice president, innovation and strategy, ABA; Jackson Hataway, president and CEO, Missouri Bankers Association; Howard Headlee, president and CEO, Utah Bankers Association
• 10:45-11:05 a.m.: From RTP to tokenized money: What's next for bank payments? David Watson, president and CEO, The Clearing House; Jess Sharp, deputy, policy division, and executive vice president, advocacy and innovation, ABA
• 5:30-5:45 p.m.: Chairman's address: Kenneth Kelly, ABA chair and president and CEO, First Independence Bank
• 5:45-5:55 p.m.: Emerging Leader Awards
• 5:55-6 p.m.: The outlook for bank hiring: Russell Davis, chief member engagement officer, ABA
  
  

Tuesday, Oct. 27

• 10-10:15 a.m.: Annual business meeting including incoming Chair Cathy Owen address
• 10:15-10:30 a.m.: Community Commitment Awards including remarks from George Bailey Award winner Aaron Slate of Truist Bank.
• 10:30-11 a.m.: 2027 and beyond: Navigating the next phase of the economy: Beth Ann Bovino, chief economist, U.S. Bank; Patrick Mitchell, head of economic policy research, ABA
• 11-11:30 a.m.: Combating online scams: A fireside chat with Google: Keerat Sharma, vice president, ads product safety, Google; Paul Benda, executive vice president, risk, fraud and cybersecurity, ABA
  
  

Press Registration

Note to editors: Convention general sessions will be livestreamed on X at @ABABankers. In-person access is available to news media for the general sessions on Monday, Oct. 26, and Tuesday, Oct. 27. Press credentials and preregistration are required to attend in person. To preregister, contact Morgan Kumi at [email protected]. Only the general sessions on Monday, Oct. 26 and Tuesday, Oct. 27 are open press; all other convention sessions (including all Knowledge Sessions) and events are closed press.

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About the American Bankers Association

The American Bankers Association is the voice of the nation's $26.5 trillion banking industry, which is composed of small, regional and large banks that together employ over 2 million people, safeguard $20.7 trillion in deposits and extend $13.9 trillion in loans.