The American Bankers Association has awarded Rebecca "Becky" Schauer Robertson, Blue Ridge Bank's Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Risk Officer the ABA Distinguished Service award for Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism. Robertson is a 30-year veteran of the financial services industry. Throughout her career, she has developed deep expertise in risk strategy, financial crimes compliance and regulatory remediation across both traditional and fintech banking environments.

A dedicated volunteer and educator, Robertson has been instrumental in the development of several ABA training and professional development initiatives. She served on the founding boards for both the Certified AML and Fraud Professional certification and the ABA AML and Fraud School and has long contributed to the ABA AML and Fraud Conference advisory board. Robertson helped design the school's original curriculum, recruit faculty and develop educational content, and remains one of its most highly regarded instructors. Robertson is a past board member of both the Carolinas ACAMS and Virginia ACAMS Chapters Boards, past president of the South Carolina InfraGard and SC FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association and past treasurer of the Crimestoppers of the Midlands SC Board. Her commitment to training and mentoring the next generation of AML professionals has been a key factor in the success and growth of ABA's AML education programs.

Grace Vallacchi, Executive Vice President Chief Risk Officer and Chief Credit Officer, had this to say about the honor: "My heartfelt congratulations to Becky for this well-deserved award. Her leadership and expertise are truly inspirational, and it has been my privilege to work with her at Blue Ridge over the last two and a half years."

"Thanks to Becky's expertise, tireless effort and ability to attract talent, Blue Ridge Bank exited a largely BSA related Consent Order with unprecedented speed last year. On behalf of our company and Board of Directors, I congratulate Becky for receiving this award and recognition," said Harry Golliday, CEO of Blue Ridge Bank.