Day two started with a full slate of speakers at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, starting with a brief history of the Federal Reserve presented by Executive Writer and Historian Tim Todd. Mr. Todd talked about the bank’s origins, what the banking system looked like before its founding and how it has transformed over the years. Jason Brown, vice president and economist, led the class through an Economic Outlook focused on Kansas and the 10th Federal Reserve District. The morning concluded with Jamar Turner, senior manager of Kansas City E&I Community Banking Organizations, providing an interactive and detailed review of Kansas banking conditions and trends. Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid joined the BLOK Class for lunch and gave a candid look into the world of a new Fed president. Following lunch and a group photo, the class enjoyed a tour of the Fed.

Once the class reconvened, Stephanie Miracle, product director for FedNow, gave an overview about the FedNow payment rail and advice on adopting the new system. Dr. Bruce Morgan, Professional Bank Consultants, continued the afternoon sessions and gave a presentation entitled “What’s the Future for Community Banks?” On day two, the session came to an end with a distinguished Urban Banker panel comprised of Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank in Kansas City; Travis Hicks, CEO of TriCentury Bank in DeSoto; and Mark Larrabee, CEO of Arvest Bank in Shawnee Mission. They gave the class a look into their market space, how they hire and retain the best talent, and pivotal moments in their career that put them where they are today. The group also talked about how they are competitors yet resources for each other in the highly competitive marketplace of Kansas City.

On the final day, the first speaker was FDIC Deputy Regional Director John Jilovec, who welcomed the class to the FDIC’s Kansas City office and discussed the FDIC’s regulatory priorities. Mr. Jilovec took questions from the class on the current banking conditions, including recent bank failures and proposed changes to the FDIC assessments. The class also heard from Regional Economist Nathan Hinton and Senior Financial Analyst Shawn Schreier from the FDIC’s Division of Insurance and Research. These gentlemen presented current trends in Kansas and Midwest economies, including housing supply and demand coming back into balance post-pandemic, resulting in Kansas home price growth that is in line with the national average. They also talked about the Kansas ag economy, where net farm income is projected to fall sharply for the second consecutive year, largely due to falling crop prices and continued high input costs. The session closed with an interactive hot topic discussion that revolved around fraud. Class members candidly shared what they are seeing with their customers and exchanged ideas to combat everything from check fraud to romance scams.

For Session III, the class will head to Wichita in July to continue training before going to Washington, D.C., with KBA’s board of directors and Federal Affairs Committee in September.

Thanks to our BLOK Sponsors!
Premier: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas and KBA Insurance Inc.; 
Platinum: FHLBank Topeka; 
Silver: INTRUST Bank, N.A.; 
Bronze: Bankers’ Bank of Kansas, Professional Bank Consultants LLC and Schools of Banking.