John C. Asbury tapped to lead American Bankers Association

The American Bankers Association has elected John C. Asbury, president and CEO of Richmond-based Atlantic Union Bankshares, as the organization’s chair for 2024-25. 

“Through his bold leadership and dedicated service to our industry, John has proven that he is just the right person to step into this critically important role,” Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the ABA, said in a news release Tuesday. “His tremendous background and experience at banks of all sizes will be an asset as ABA works to ensure that all banks can continue to meet the needs of their customers, clients and communities in an increasingly challenging regulatory environment.”

The American Bankers Association represents the banking industry, which is composed of small, regional and large banks that together employ approximately 2.1 million people, safeguard $18.8 trillion in deposits and extend $12.5 trillion in loans.

With more than 35 years of experience in banking, Asbury has led Atlantic Union since 2016. A native of Radford, Asbury launched his career as a commercial credit officer at Wachovia Bank & Trust and went on to serve  in a variety of executive roles including as president and CEO at New Mexico’s First National Bank of Santa Fe.

Previously, Asbury was chairman of the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America and the Virginia Bankers Association. He serves on the Port of Virginia Board of Commissioners, where he currently chairs the port’s growth committee. He has a degree in business from Virginia Tech and a MBA from William & Mary. 

Atlantic Union Bank has 129 branches in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.

Earlier this month, Atlantic Union announced its $1.6 billion purchase of Maryland’s Sandy Spring Bank. The merger agreement would create a combined bank with $39.2 billion in assets as of Sept. 30.