October 14, 2025

Earlier this summer, President Trump signed into law the GENIUS Act, a long-awaited bill that will kickstart the development of a new regulatory framework for stablecoins in the U.S.

In 1904, a man by the name of Detroit Francisco and his son, San Francisco, started the Gray County State Bank with $10,000 in cash. Sixteen years later, the bank offered a job to a young farmer by the name of Ruel V. (R.V.) Butcher, and he started there on Jan. 1, 1920, with an annual salary of $1,200. R.V. had arrived in Gray County, Kansas, 19 years earlier with his parents on a train from West Virginia, homesteading on a ranch east of Cimarron, Kansas. He started out sweeping sidewalks and helping anywhere else he was needed, and he quickly began to work his way up at the bank. By April of that year, he was elected Assistant Cashier, and the Butcher legacy was born.

We want your snapshots of Kansas events, landscapes, weather, wildlife and more. Pictures to be submitted for the 2027 calendar need to be taken June 1, 2025-May 22, 2026. Email high-resolution digital files (300 dpi at 4”x 6” in TIFF or JPEG format) to Julie Taylor at jtaylor@ksbankers.com.

Retirement and Successor for Arvest Bank’s Mark Larrabee KBA’s Doug Wareham and Kathy Taylor recently attended a special retirement reception for Arvest Bank Greater Kansas City Market President Mark Larrabee. Larrabee is a former KBA Board Director and a long-time member of KBA’s Federal Affairs Committee. Also in attendance were Mark’s wife, Aimee, and Kelly

Congratulations to Barney Horton on more than 50 years of service to Kansas banking! He started with Farmers National Bank in 1971, which became a state-chartered bank as Farmers Bank & Trust (FB&T) in 1978. His grandfather was one of the original stockholders and Directors of the bank, and his father, Bill Horton, served as President and Chairman of the board. With his father’s passing in 1981, Barney took over as President and Chairman of the Board for 30 years, and is currently Chairman Emeritus.

Kyle Campbell is President and CEO of Astra Bank in Abilene, where he has served since 2002. Prior to joining the banking industry, Kyle worked as a project engineer at Procter & Gamble. He has been actively involved in KBA leadership, serving on the State Affairs Committee from 2010 to 2022 and the Federal Affairs Committee since 2016. In addition, he represents Kansas banking interests on a national level through his service on the ABA Government Relations Council since 2022 and previously on the ABA Advocacy and Grassroots Committee from 2016 to 2018.

The 2025 KBA Bank Leaders of Kansas (BLOK) Class reconvened their executive-level leadership training with a successful third session in Wichita on July 9-11.

The Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (GSB) proudly congratulates Kansas banking professionals who have completed its renowned advanced management and leadership development program. GSB graduates don’t just aspire to run banks; they are prepared to lead them.

In a move set to redefine HR efficiency for Kansas banking institutions, Market HR Services has launched a strategic partnership with KBA. This will make Market HR the official payroll, benefits administration and HR services provider to KBA’s membership. The collaboration promises a future where HR complexity is minimized, and banks can focus more on serving communities and clients.

The onset of the digital age at the end of the 20th century led to a proliferation of data that revolutionized how organizations gather, analyze and leverage information. In fact, in 2017, The Economist claimed that “the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.”1 Fast forward to today, and technologies such as