On Monday and Tuesday of next week, the American Bankers Association will livestream portions of the general sessions from its 2026 Annual Convention, held Oct. 26-27 in Salt Lake City. The sessions can be accessed on ABA’s X handle @ABABankers.
On Monday morning, 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 of Zions Bank, and a discussion about 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 of 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 Leader 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.
On Tuesday morning, 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 EVP 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
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, EVP, risk, fraud and cybersecurity, ABA
*Times listed above are approximate and subject to change, and not all general session speakers and discussions listed above will be accessible via livestream.
