Earl J. Allen, assistant vice president/compliance officer, was recently awarded the Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) designation from the Institute of Certified Bankers, a subsidiary of the American Bankers Association.

 

“Earning the CRCM designation validates Jake’s experience and depth of education in the bank regulatory compliance industry,” said Benchmark’s President/CEO Jay Stafford in a press release. “We are pleased that he has achieved this level of proficiency in this critical component of bank regulation and operations.”

A resident of Farmville, Allen joined Benchmark in 2015, according to the release. He is a 2011 summa cum laude graduate of the College of Business and Economics at Longwood University where he was named a McGowan Scholar in 2010, a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and recipient of the 2011 Academic Excellence Award. While a student and following graduation, Allen embarked upon his banking career with Citizens Bank and Trust and Bank of McKenney before coming to Benchmark.

“Financial services professionals, working through the Institute of Certified Bankers (ICB), initiated the CRCM designation and six others to establish meaningful standards of knowledge in specialty areas of the financial services industry,” officials said in the release.