2025 Pub. 14 Issue 4

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to advance, fraudsters are leveraging these tools to exploit one of the most vulnerable groups in our communities, older adults. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) data, there were $4.88 billion in losses from seniors in 2024. These numbers continue to trend upwards, and the rise of AI-driven elder fraud presents new risks to victims and financial institutions. AI-driven elder fraud involves scams that use artificial intelligence to make attacks against older adults more convincing, harder to detect and easier to carry out on a large scale. The increased threat requires both awareness and proactive mitigation by banks and credit unions to protect clients and maintain trust in their communities.

Most bank boards struggle with cybersecurity oversight because they don’t know what questions to ask, how to interpret the answers or whether their security measures are working. Directors may approve cybersecurity budgets without understanding if those investments actually reduce risk, or they may review incident reports without grasping whether response times meet industry standards. They can describe their cybersecurity framework but often can’t explain what their institution does with the results.

VACB and ICBA were proud to jointly sponsor two Virginia community bankers to attend ICBA’s LeadFWD program this past September in Minnesota. LeadFWD is widely regarded as the premier event for emerging community bank leaders, offering young professionals the opportunity to strengthen their skills, expand their industry knowledge, and connect with peers from across the country. This year, Jake Allen of Benchmark Community Bank and Lauren Hicks of Pioneer Bank represented Virginia at the program, and we invited them to share their experiences and key takeaways with our membership.

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It is with immense gratitude and enthusiasm that I write to you today in my first official communication as Chair of the VACB. I am deeply honored to serve alongside such a dedicated community of leaders, and I look forward to working collectively to ensure the long-term health and vitality of our institutions and the communities we serve.

As 2025 has come to a close, VACB finds itself on solid ground. Over the past 12 months, our Board, member banks, associate members, and staff have contributed an extraordinary amount of candid feedback and undertaken substantive planning. The result is the VACB Board-adopted 2025-2026 Alignment Plan, a practical roadmap designed to strengthen member value, operational effectiveness, and the voice of Virginia’s community banking sector.