A la carte – By Session

Ag lenders will need to help their farm customers make sound management decisions to profit in the face of continued high inflation and input costs. Get an updated ag economic outlook that lays out the roadmap lenders and their farm customers will need to navigate successfully in the year ahead.

Loan Growth and Credit Quality are presenting challenging strategic decisions to address. As uncertainty continues, the significance of moderating sustainable loan growth and monitoring potential movements away from current exceptional credit quality is imperative. In this session, we will discuss loan growth trends and effective credit risk mitigation strategies for maintaining sound credit quality.

Fraud is inevitable in the payments business. Keeping up with ways to fight it is always a challenge. Learn about the latest fraud schemes against community banks and how to protect your client base as well as your bottom line.

Discover the strategies you should be employing to enhance profitability and mitigate risk within your financial institution. Hear the findings of over 20 finance leaders who manage assets in excess of a billion dollars and ?oops? moments to avoid.

It?s a fact that bank executives and directors have more crucial priorities than to be to be involved with the day-to-day Compliance and BSA functions at your bank, so what parts of Compliance and BSA actually need your attention?? How can you ensure you have a good team managing the program(s) so you can focus on other issues?? When it comes to exam time, what are the hot buttons and what do you need to be prepared for?

ICBA has built a national, integrated campaign to elevate the community banking category in the eys of consumers. The testing and research to launch ICBA’s national campaign uncovered five clear opportunities that will benefit your bank marketing efforts, including : 1) Building the millennial opportunity 2) Leaning into localness 3) Educating to separate yourself from competitors 4) Optimizing communication channels and 5) Force multiplying ICBA’s campaign impact through your own local efforts.

Community banks amass and use significant amounts of employee personal information. The growing compliance burden puts bank leadership in a tough spot. They and their HR teams are responsible for the collection, use, retention, and disclosure of personal information of employees, without vital tools. This session informs and empowers bank leaders to better understand the compliance burden plus how to build and participate in a multidisciplinary team.

The world of digital assets, specifically cryptocurrency and NFTs, is more dynamic today than ever before. While cryptocurrency has experienced many peaks and valleys recently, it has been the subject of considerable investment attention. Additionally, NFTs ? or non-fungible tokens ? continue to be explored by financial services, retailers, and well-known brands. As a community bank leader, understanding the current digital asset landscape is key to determining what your bank?s course of action will be in this digital asset environment. This session will address what each of these digital assets are, highlight digital asset activities currently being pursued by banks, outline the regulatory framework for digital assets, and share takeaways for all community banks deciding whether to dive in or stay on the fringe of this digital asset space.

Achieving a satisfactory CRA rating is important to both the growth of your bank and your reputation in the community. Develop a comprehensive plan to ensure a satisfactory CRA rating.

The RTP? network is now in its 6th year, continuing to see steady volume growth, new financial institution participants and TPSPs, and new use cases. Join us for a discussion on instant payment use cases that are driving market adoption and hear first-hand accounts of instant payment success stories as well as diverse ways to join and bring instant payments strategy into reality.

The Fed holds all the cards as it relates to overnight rates and can exert significant influence on longer-tenor maturities while the bond market often has front-run a shift in monetary policy. With fed funds near their highest levels in a decade, there is room for rates to fall, which can have a profound impact on balance sheet management and profitability. We?ll look at some of these strategies for community banks and their implications.

Gain insight into what has driven the industry to its current point over the past 40 years and how to prepare for the future. Study strategies for consolidation, ownership, talent retention, enhancing shareholder value, technological innovations, reaching the younger generations, thriving in a consolidating industry, and more.

There’s no shortage of wdgets, services, and partners that your institution could use. But there isn’t a vuniversal metric to decide which ones you should use. A successful partnership is possible with the right information and a team-wide growth mindset. Learn from Fintech leaders what to look for in a contract, red flags for both parties, and what your team can do to help the partnership reach its full potential. If you leadership team is assessing new vendors or is wary because of dysfunctional experiences, this panel will take you behind the scens with Fintech leaders who have lived through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Does your bank have a social media policy? When was the last time you thought about how your employees? online activity might affect your business? Examine good and bad examples of social media policies, including recent lawsuits regarding social media posts by employees. We will emphasize how federal, state, and local laws may affect what your social media policies cannot say, including First Amendment and other federal law considerations.

With the Fed nearing the end of its current tightening regime, we can add recession fears and falling rates to the list of challenges bankers face. Study the approaches that many banks took to address these difficulties and what they are doing now to prepare for a possible recession and falling interest rates.

Today’s leaders are looking to drive meaningful change by modeling inclusive leadership practices. Learn how to identify, develop, and be an advocate for the emerging diverse leaders in your organization through a lens of equity and inclusion.

The community banking landscape is ever evolving at a rapid pace. Review a list of the top ten things you should be talking about and how you should be responding in this quickly progressing industry.

Learn the latest regarding the FedNow pilot and launch and what your bank should do to prepare for implementation.

Whether for an upcoming IT/cybersecurity audit, a federal examination, or ensuring your institution is secure, we all need to understand the crucial areas of focus that bring results. Uncover key steps for cybersecurity success to help ensure you are putting your attention where it matters most.

Learn how community bankers are utilizing the exciting and expanding array of Farmer Mac loan products.

Technology is rapidly advancing and creating new ways for customers to make payments. While customers may be eager to adopt these new payment methods, it can mean a myriad of decisions for community banks. Keeping up with the different types of payment channels and technologies while understanding their impact to bank processes is key to a bank?s success. Join ICBA?s Brian Laverdure as he breaks down the fundamentals of today?s payments environment, outlines the challenges on the horizon, and shares important payment considerations for all community bank leaders.

Today’s leading professionals are looking for companies to align with their values, career goals, and provide clear pathways to leadership. Since culture starts from the top, we will explore what this means for the board and C-Suite executives and what they can do to win over top talent. Dive into how to build a culture of inclusion that attracts and retains diverse talent to community banks.

While producers may have little time or interest in sound marketing plans, they can capture increased revenues with a disciplined approach to managing risks. Learn how utilizing the right strategies can replace emotion with confidence, skill, and knowledge and improve your bottom line.

Strategic planning is a must, but has its focus changed in a post-Covid environment? Many organizations are tackling new issues that were not relevant prior to Covid. Take an entertaining and informative look at the role of strategic planning and the types of topics organizations should be considering to further their needs and help them flourish in a competitive environment.

Card programs have been around for years and remain an important product for your bank and your customers. But are they operating at optimal performce and earning you revenue? Examine how card programs can be fine-tuned for efficiencies and increased profitability.

Economic uncertainty combined with slow economic recovery are likely to impact revenue performance. Now is the time to develop your customer relationship retention and growth strategies to minimize the effects of today?s challenges through 2023. Uncover the basic principles for relationship growth and success and how to integrate development initiatives into your business planning.

The future of lending will be dominated by Millennials and Gen Z who increasingly expect their banking providers to deliver “Amazon-like” experiences. These borrowers want a fully-contactless digital lending process ? from streamlined digital applications, to fast, automated AI-powered loan decisions. In this session, you’ll learn how to deliver a world-class, omnichannel digital lending experience that’s fast, responsive and frictionless. You’ll see the best practices and industry trends and shaping digital lending strategies in the banking industry today.

Cybersecurity is not an IT problem to solve. It’s a business risk to manage. Cyberattacks continue to plague organizations because many business leaders don’t think their company is a target and don’t understand the risk. In this session we’ll debunk the cyber misconceptions that plague most businesses, frame conversations and reporting as risks rather than threats, define objectives, priorities and allocating resources, and more.

The world of digital assets, specifically cryptocurrency and NFTs, is more dynamic today than ever before. While cryptocurrency has experienced many peaks and valleys recently, it has been the subject of considerable investment attention. Additionally, NFTs ? or non-fungible tokens ? continue to be explored by financial services, retailers, and well-known brands. As a community bank leader, understanding the current digital asset landscape is key to determining what your bank?s course of action will be in this digital asset environment. This session will address what each of these digital assets are, highlight digital asset activities currently being pursued by banks, outline the regulatory framework for digital assets, and share takeaways for all community banks deciding whether to dive in or stay on the fringe of this digital asset space.

From digital vision to executable roadmap; helping banks determine what they need to do and why, and how to take action to increase likelihood of success.

The current rate environment, coupled with changes in loan demand and funding profiles, has created balance sheet challenges for community banks. This session discusses options available to actively manage your largest asset class to achieve your institutional goals.

Digital Transformation and FinTech are two frequently used phrases in community banking today. Rallying your team around a technology stack that stands out in a crowd and unleashes more time for high value activities is a key to happier employees. Join us in this fast-paced session to learn how to work with a trusted partner and take new steps forward in your bank?s digital journey.

These days, banks are privy to a plethora of digital transformation expertise but how can a community bank navigate through all the noise to only the most important information? Join the Wipfli Digital Team as it breaks down the top five things every bank ? big or small ? must know as it continues on its digital transformation journey.

Discover how best to utilize the power of your data and explore how your data can be used in the areas of audit, management reporting, and dashboards.

Community banks continue to navigate a demanding and ever evolving regulatory environment. It is particularly difficult for bank directors that are not career bankers to know how best to meet regulatory obligations and ensure their bank remains in good standing. Gain an understanding of how community bank directors can prepare to meet applicable regulatory obligations and provide their bank with guidance to maintain favorable regulatory standing.

Things we take for granted ? the payment rails, the internet, smartphone apps and more ? have at one time been where the Metaverse is today. This session will tackle what this virtual world is all about and what banks are currently doing in this space. The conversation will also look at possible Metaverse use-cases for community banks. Regardless of whether your bank has broached the ?Metaverse,? this topic is one to put on your radar and watch as this emerging landscape begins to evolve.

Understanding the difference between cybersecurity aggressors and the changing nature of the threat landscape is essential for maintaining commensurate safeguards, monitoring, and response. Survey the current cybersecurity threat landscape, understand the nature of the various threat actors, and dive deeper into the business context of cybersecurity.

The current economic, political and community banking environment is creating challenges community banks must be strategic and intentional in addressing. Explore the seven key strategic considerations for smooth sailing through turbulent times including shareholder investment value considerations, succession planning, stock liquidity, attracting and retaining talent, regulatory and compliance considerations and capital raising and deployment concerns.

Find out what prioritizing digital transformation and constant innovation can achieve for your financial institution.

Over the last decade, cybercrime has evolved from primarily hacking for novelty to now maximum financial gains. While cyberattacks are industry agnostic, the financial sector is often target and may have the most to lose. This session focuses on the evolution of cybercrimes and its direct impact to the financial industry. Presentation includes specifics on motivation, attack vectors, frequency, and mitigating controls.

More community banks are engaging outside third party vendors to provide additional products and services to their customers. It’s important to understand the obligations and requirements under these third-party agreements as well as learn techniques to best negotiate a deal and potential exit strategy with any critical vendor. Explore an overview of important provisions in any vendor contract and methods to identify and negotiate the same.

You need deposit strategies that attract and retain franchise-building customers, but do not inhibit your bank?s future growth and profitability. Winning ideas need to reflect the reality of today?s intensifying competition, as well as the economic uncertainties of the next few years. Gain insight into what your peers are predicting about the economy and deposit competition and learn tactics to consider for your bank?s unique balance sheet goals.

Dive into today’s commercial lending landscape and learn what community financial institutions should prioritize to stay ahead of big banks and maintain a competitive edge. Study best practices when digitizing lending processes and real examples of forward-thinking community banks. Explore the ways banks are modernizing their commercial lending processes to grow revenue, increase their competitive posture and better serve their communities.

Hear insights from bankers and talk about where banks are today in adopting the CECL standard. We?ll outline the future challenges ahead and discuss the potential opportunities we see on the horizon. We?ll discuss how banks can be proactive in getting ready for that ?next potential layer? of CECL, the data it involves, and how to take advantage of it to stay on top of managing credit risk.

Farm income remained strong in 2022 but the inflation-driven increase in interest rates, higher input costs, and lower commodity prices have reduced optimism in the farm economic outlook. Learn what the factors are that will determine farm income and the potential for profitability for U.S. farmers and ranchers over the next 12 to 24 months.

Banks have access to an abundance of information; every day a bank will send millions of data points though expensive networks and applications in order to process, transmit and maintain daily operations. But having this massive volume of data does not automatically correlate to having valuable insights. Learn how to easily turn this cache of data into actionable insights that empower banks to provide the customer experience clients deserve.

Identifying and rewarding your top performers has always been important, but it?s no longer an option in today?s labor market. It?s a necessity. Motivating all employees with SMART goals and meaningful incentives is key to retaining and keeping your top talent happy. In this session, explore how a strong performance system can help your bank create a culture that engages employees and rewards top performers to grow your balance sheet and profitability.

Review stablecoin technology, trends, and regulations. Attendees will learn about the different types of stablecoins and efforts to expand their use in payments.

Hear key stories related to community banks that are sure to change your strategic outlook for the future. This is an open forum live exchange that is always certain to educate, inform and entertain.

NIMs have begun to rise from their historic lows. But not all financial institutions are ready for the long term. Veteran bankers draw on their experiences from The Great Recession, when they increased their Bank’s NIM from 2.25% in 2009 to 4.16% in 2014, one Basis Point (BP) at a time. Gain strategies, tactics and tools to help you optimize your NIM.

It?s time to shake up the way you measure the success of marketing campaigns. There is a paradigm shift affecting the banking industry. The customer journey is changing from a sales cycle to a buyer?s process. This process is not linear. So, by determining high-intent measurements, you will learn how to find value in return on impressions.

Test your knowledge in our interactive trivia game designed to uncover the most important digital banking insights you need to succeed in today?s competitive banking landscape. You’ll walk away with new ways to elevate your financial institution’s digital strategy based on what’s most important to consumers and businesses today.

With the official CECL adoption date behind us, community banks are now refining their processes to ensure a successful regulatory exam or audit. Join the CLA team as it breaks down key considerations including CECL board approvals, third-party vendor CECL calculations, back-testing frequency, CECL audit plans, and CECL model validation.

The challenges and stresses of 2020 and 2021 produced significant advances in bank operations, technology, and customer experience management. This session examines five business practices that must be part of every organization?s core competencies: 1) talent management, 2) business development, 3) change management, 4) technology and process improvement, and, 5) customer experience management.

Study how to identify early warning signs of trouble and learn practical tools and measures for use in balancing growth and credit risk concerns in your credit portfolio.

The ?future of work? will never be the same. Even before the pandemic, the market for talented bankers was tight, and it remains a highly competitive market today. Learn how to attract experienced bankers, high quality leaders and skilled directors to navigate an independent future.

Study a foundation of strategies, tools and resources to achieve maximum profit from your construction lending program. Learn the types of loans available to offer and how to structure these programs to generate more interest income, retain more customers, and invest in the communities you serve.

Roleplay with a team of experts the challenges that banks encouter when developing new offerings. Walkthrough how you can reinforce your bank and immediately accelerate, innovate, and solve new challenges. Tackle everything from setting up your infrastructure to releasing your beta app in less than an hour.

Management teams often design winning strategies but, when their strategy consultant revisits to check progress the following year, there is disappointment. The economy, interest rate environment, or their “day job” held them back. And the institution didn’t move forward. They didn’t execute. Avoid this common misstep by learning the simple rules for strategy execution and how to implement them in your own institution.

As the talent landscape continues to shift and workforce expectations evolve, bank boards and leaders are more challenged than ever to attract and retain top performers. Learn what’s on the minds of today’s workers and whether it measures up to your employment brand. Now more than ever, Bank Boards can benefit from a fresh perspective on human capital strategy.

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Banks are challenged just to address the acceleration of digital banking and growth of online commerce, shift to remote work and the decline in work force participation rates that are the legacy of COVID. Such problems, however, are compounded by inflation, unrealized AOCI losses, quantitative tightening, liquidity outflows and the first hints of credit risk. This presentation will discuss the roles and responsibilities of community bank directors in this context and what issues to consider.

Data breaches and ransomware make the headlines and for good reason: Hackers continue to get bolder every day in their attacks. Is your bank ready? This presentation will review the latest trends and what they mean to your organization. Attendees will learn the latest business processes and management techniques to put their organization on better footing against the current cyber threat landscape.

Banks partner with FinTechs in multiple ways. We will discuss key lessons learned from banks (sometimes the hard way) in complying with regulatory expectations when doing so, including the board’s role in oversight of FinTech relationships.

Interest rate and liquidity risk are two of the largest, yet least understood, risks of the bank. In this session, we will discuss how these risks arise, measurement techniques, standards for monitoring, and mitigation steps. We will also discuss how to prepare for what likely will be hot topics on upcoming regulatory examinations.