August 18, 2021

After being sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, members of the BLOK Class picked up right where they left off with a successful Session II in Wichita July 14-16. The 20-member class was welcomed by a panel discussion featuring 2013 KBA Chairman Frank Carson (Chairman, Carson Bank, Mulvane) and 2010 KBA Chairman Jeannette Richardson (Vice Chairman, Prairie Bank of Kansas, Hutchinson). They shared their insights on leadership in their banks and communities, what led them to serve on the KBA Board of Directors, and their take on banking industry trends. After the first day of training, the class members were treated to a hospitality reception to reconnect after the 17-month hiatus since the first session in February 2020.

After what seemed an eternity, the KBA leadership team finally hit the road to visit Kansas bankers in their hometowns this summer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, staff relied on phone calls and Zoom meetings to connect with bankers working tirelessly amid such an unusual 2020. While these forms of communication suffice, there are absolutely no better conversations than those had between the walls of Kansas community banks.

Many banks across the country are at risk of CAMELS downgrades, increased deposit insurance assessment premiums, and regulatory enforcement actions due to inadequate risk management practices for their COVID-19 Loan Modification Program.

Just in case you stepped away from your computer for a few minutes, marketing technology — or martech — describes the software and technology used to attract and retain customers. There’s been a lot of talk about it, and rightfully so. According to HubSpot’s recent article, “What Marketing Leaders are Investing in This Year,” 60% of marketers indicated that they are set to increase their marketing technology spending in the next 12 months. The reason, of course, is that investments in marketing technology are the solution du jour when it comes to a financial institution’s ability to, as HubSpot puts it, “retain and delight their audiences and react at speed when necessary. And the options are vast. As of 2020, there were 8,000 different martech tools to choose from, ranging from data analytics platforms to CRMs, to internal team collaboration tools.”

After tapering off during the pandemic, the trend of credit unions buying taxpaying community banks is back — and credit unions are becoming more aggressive than ever in their pursuit of acquisition targets. The first half of 2021 has already seen two precedent-shattering deals: Jacksonville, Florida-based VyStar Credit Union’s acquisition of a $1.6 billion Georgia bank is by far the largest purchase of a bank purchase by a credit union to date. And more recently, the announcement by Iowa-based Green State Credit Union that it would simultaneously acquire not one but two community banks in the Midwest.

I became interested in banking because of my dad’s friend, Lendell Bass. Lendell was the president of Hanston State Bank during my high school years. I thought what he did was pretty cool. When a sponsor was needed, Lendell was always there, representing Hanston State Bank. Lendell recommended that mom and dad mortgage some farm ground to buy stock in the Hanston State Bank. It turns out that was a pretty good recommendation.