Ann Marie Tarantino, SVP, chief compliance officer and risk officer at Esquire Bank in New York received the 2026 American Bankers Association’s Distinguished Service Award for Risk. Elizabeth Reister, chief compliance officer at Fulton Bank in Pennsylvania, received ABA’s Distinguished Service Award for Compliance.
The awards recognize leadership, initiative and accomplishment in banking regulatory risk and compliance management, as well as volunteer service through ABA, and were presented today during ABA’s Risk and Compliance Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tarantino has more than 35 years of banking expertise, spanning leadership roles across diverse operations from branch manager to senior executive positions in risk and compliance. She currently oversees compliance, Bank Secrecy Act and internal audit functions while coordinating enterprise and model risk management at Esquire Bank.
She has been part of ABA advocacy and professional development for nearly two decades, serving as past co-chair of the ABA Enterprise Risk Management Working Group, former member of the association’s Compliance Administrative Committee, and current member of the ABA Risk and Compliance Conference Planning Board.
With nearly 20 years of banking compliance experience, Reister is recognized as a respected authority in compliance risk management. In her current role as executive vice president and chief compliance officer, she leads her bank’s enterprise compliance strategy and regulatory engagement.
Reister has served on ABA’s Compliance Administrative Committee and as chair of the CAC in 2022-2023. She currently serves on the ABA Risk & Compliance Conference Advisory Board.
“Ann Marie and Beth have devoted years to strengthening risk and compliance practices throughout the industry while generously lending their expertise to ABA committees and conferences,” said Ginny O’Neill, ABA’s EVP of regulatory compliance and policy. “Their leadership, professionalism and dedication to the banking community make them highly deserving of this honor.”
