This policy fulfills the requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) enacted February 17, 2009. ARRA requires each recipient of funds under the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to have in place a company-wide policy regarding excessive or luxury expenditures, as identified by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

 

Chambers Bancshares, Inc. (CBI) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Chambers Bank (hereinafter collectively referred to as “the Company”) have traditionally and historically guarded its expenditures and have not undertaken excessive, or otherwise luxurious expenditures beyond the bounds of reasonableness. Our total overhead expenses have remained in line with or lower than those institutions of similar size and geographic setting, and it is our desire to ensure that current and future expenditures remain reasonable and would not definitively be considered “excessive”, extreme, unnecessary, unwarranted or disproportionate. Nor will expenditures be undertaken for the sake of unnecessary “luxury”, lavishness, opulence, or extravagance.

 

The Company believes its standards with regards to its expenditures have not been nor will they be considered excessive or used for unnecessary luxury purposes, and therefore sets forth the following prohibition and prudent standards.

 

The Company hereby expressly prohibits excessive, extreme, unnecessary, unwarranted or disproportionate expenditures which may also include expenditures for the sake of luxury, lavishness, opulence, or extravagance. 

 

Renovations

 

Renovations of facilities and office spaces should be relative to the approved project and current Strategic Plan, and tracked within the capital expenditure policy of the Company. An exception to this can be allowed if management must deal with an emergency situation, such as an act of nature, and the expenditure is necessary to make or retain a facility operational for customer use. At no time should renovations be incurred that would have the appearance of being extraordinary, or excessive.

 

Entertainment

 

Entertainment is defined as an activity that an Employee or Executive would use corporate funds for business development purposes relating to a current customer or prospective customer, or to further enhance the Company’s marketing efforts. 

 

Our expectation is that all expense incurred by the Company would be for company purposes, and used to develop business toward further enhancing the Company’s reputation, public image and ultimately, cultivate profitable business relationships for the Company. Occasional events such as taking customers or prospective customers on trips, outings, luncheon or dinner meetings, social gatherings or parties, or other similar events that wherein the focus of the activity is for the purpose of cultivating business relationships and a favorable public image for the Company is a necessary part of the Company’s marketing efforts and is not deemed as “luxury” or a violation of this Policy.  Similar expenses may be incurred toward furthering the betterment of the communities served within our designated assessment area (as defined within the Community Reinvestment Act) which may include sponsorship of community events, fundraising activities, and the Company’s participation in local, County and State sanctioned events.

 

Any related expenses will be documented and detailed as to the benefit derived by the Company and where applicable, the community, through the normal expense review and approval process

 

 Conferences, Seminars and other Industry Related Events

 

The Company believes that ongoing education is the key to excellence in service, and the overall continued well-being of the Company, and therefore remains committed to providing educational opportunities to its employees. Additionally, the dynamics technological advances and regulatory changes dictate that the staff remain educated and able to cope within and respond in a proactive manner to those constantly evolving frameworks.

 

Reasonable expenditures for staff and executive attendance at conferences, seminars and other industry related events, educational and networking opportunities, as related to the financial services industry, and networking and/or career development has been, and will continue to be encouraged. 

 

Employee Recognition/Holiday parties

 

The size and geography of the Company has allowed us to retain a “family atmosphere”, and it remains the desire of the Company to provide employee recognition and/or holiday parties show employee appreciation for the hard work and dedication that has helped to keep the Company reputable and profitable for over 78 years. 

 

For the purposes of this policy, events should be local in nature, and may include reasonable costs for such things as facility use, food and beverage, service awards and nominal door prizes. 

 

Board/Management Retreats

 

Retreats should only be used for education and business planning purposes, and should be kept in consideration and viewed with the same discretion as all other expenses. The Company believes that Board and Management education is a vital part of maintaining a dynamic director base. Such retreats focus on strategic planning and/or education and render valuable insights toward planning and oversight for the Company.

 

Travel and Transportation Expenses

 

Travel and transportation for Company staff to outlying locations, including Company branch locations, conferences, business development purposes, and other legitimate business purposes, should be conducted in a cost-effective mode for the Company. Modes of transportation to be used may consist of vehicle, commercial or private air, or rail service. The selection of transportation services will factor in cost, efficiency and timeliness of travel.    

  

Violations of this Policy

 

Any person who has knowledge of apparent violations of this are required to immediately report such occurrences to the Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The identity of the person reporting such occurrences will, to the extent provided by law, be kept confidential if requested. Any person may make such a report which describes any alleged violation to this policy to:

 

Chief Financial Officer

Chambers Bancshares, Inc.

P.O. Box 1330

Danville, Arkansas 72833

 

Accountability

 

Each and every employee of the company will be held accountable to ensure that the purpose and provisions of this policy are not deviated from. The Chief Financial Officer will be responsible for direct oversight and review of day-to-day expenditures to ensure ongoing compliance with this policy. Violations, deviations, and/or infractions of this policy will be reported to the Directorate of the Company.

Get direct access to the FDIC's consumer information page by entering www.fdic.gov in your web browser.  You will find consumer news and alerts, tips on mortgages, identity theft and more.

Safeguarding Your Information

• Do not reveal personal identifiers unless you know how they will be used or shared.
• Deposit outgoing mail at the post office and remove delivered mail immediately.
• Carry only the identification and bank/credit cards you actually need.
• Do not give out personal data over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you have initiated the contact. Chambers Bank will NEVER e-mail or telephone you requesting your account information.
• Shred or tear up your charge receipts, credit cards solicitations, expired cards, statements, checks or other sensitive personal information.
• Give your Social Security number only when absolutely necessary. Ask to use other identifiers.

If you believe your Chambers Bank account information may have been compromised, please Contact Us immediately to assist you in protecting your assets and your identity.

Chambers Bank will NEVER e-mail or telephone you requesting your account information.  NEVER respond to e mail (no matter how "official" it looks) or phone solicitations that ask you to provide account numbers, PIN  numbers, social security numbers or any personal information related to your accounts at Chambers Bank.  If you receive an e mail requesting such information, delete it immediately.  If you receive a phone call asking for your information, hang up the phone.  In both cases call Chambers Bank for further verification.

Never give out your account information, passwords or PIN numbers to anyone UNLESS YOU INITIATE THE CALL.  If you believe your account information has been compromised, contact the bank immediately so changes can be implemented to secure your accounts. 

Safeguarding your information is our priority.  

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Chambers Bank will NEVER call our customers requesting account information, personal information or credit card numbers.  If you ever receive a call from anyone stating they are calling from Chambers Bank and they request personal or account information, hang up the phone and call the bank.  Safeguarding your information is our priority.

ALSO

SHAZAM has been made aware of a new e-mail-based card scam. The scam looks legitimate and can be very deceiving. 
Please read the following carefully.

In this scam, consumers are falsely notified by e-mail that their Visa® cards may have been compromised due to fraudulent activity.

The e-mail provides official-looking information about Visa's commitment to fighting fraud, along with a false "Case ID Number." It also directs cardholders to verify their identity through the Web in order to continue using online services. 

Neither Visa nor MasterCard® will request personal information, account details, or card information over the telephone or through e-mail. Cardholders should promptly notify their card-issuing financial institution, local law enforcement, or the FBI at www.ic3.gov if they receive suspicious calls or e-mails. They should also monitor their statements for any unfamiliar transactions.

The following is an example of a fraudulent e-mail.

Dear Visa Cardholder,

Continuous Monitoring is an integral part of Visa's multiple layers of security. In addition to other fraud monitoring tools, we can often spot fraud based upon transactions on the card that are outside of cardholders typical purchasing pattern.

This allows us to spot fraudulent activity as quickly as possible and acts as an early-warning system to identify fraudulent activity.

During a recent checkout we detected suspicious activity and your Visa card may have been compromised. Fraudulent activity made it necessary to limit your card for online services.

Your Case ID Number is: DD7Q8QQ9EDR7

Conform to our security requirements and in order to continue online services with your card, we must validate your identity.

Please click here to verify your identity.

Visa takes online security very seriously so that you can shop safely on the Internet. As part of our commitment to fighting fraud we have the right to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, or violations of the terms and conditions for using Visa.

Sincerely,

Visa Customer Service.

© Copyright 2001-2009, Visa All Rights Reserved.

 

The FBI says identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime in the nation. It involves criminally using another individual's personal identifiers, which are acquired through various means, including one's own mailbox. The identity thief needs only to get your name, address, bank or credit card account numbers or your Social Security number, etc., to take over your identity. The crook can then change your address, open new accounts at financial institutions and credit card companies in your name and deplete your funds, running up huge credit card balances and generally creating havoc with your good name and credit rating.

 

Here are a few pointers to help you avoid becoming a victim:

FRAUDULENT E MAIL ALERT!
January 1, 2011

Please be aware of a spam E-mail circulating with the subject: FDIC has officially named your bank a failed bank.
 The E-mail claims that "Your bank" has been listed as a failed bank by the FDIC and a link is provided so that you can: "...visit the official FDIC website and perform the following steps to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage:

DO NOT CLICK OR FOLLOW THE LINK AS THIS IS AN ATTEMPT BY SPAMMERS TO GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION.

Chambers Bank will NEVER call or e mail our customers requesting account information, personal information or credit card numbers.  If you ever receive a call or e mail from anyone stating they are calling from Chambers Bank and they request personal or account information, hang up the phone or delete the e mail immediately and call the bank.  Safeguarding your information is our priority.
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