Pub. 11 2022 Issue 1

In case you haven’t noticed, cryptocurrencies are an increasingly hot topic of conversation in this country.
According to a Pew Research Center survey fielded in November, 86% of Americans said they have heard about cryptocurrencies, and 16% said they have invested in, traded or used them. Cryptocurrency use is growing particularly rapidly among younger Americans, with 31% between 18 and 29 telling Pew they have participated in crypto transactions.

On occasion, the KBA receives a request to become involved in a legal matter. Typically, the request is for the KBA to file an amicus curiae brief — or a “friend of the court” brief. In this case, the requesting bank was First Security Bank, headquartered in Beaver, Oklahoma. However, the case involved customers in Kansas and the enforceability of a waiver of the statute of limitations clause in a commercial promissory note under Kansas law. Since most of the commercial promissory notes used in Kansas contain this very clause, the KBA Board of Directors believed this request worthy of its investment.

Recently, many exciting developments in the KBA’s legal services will benefit KBA member banks. First, the KBA will be reorganizing its legal and compliance services to more efficiently serve banks. The KBA Legal Department will continue its 40-year tradition of providing free legal and compliance information to KBA member banks. For banks wanting more legal assistance, including specific legal advice and document drafting, Kansas Bankers Consulting Services, LLC (KBCS) will continue to provide annual fee-based services for contracting members.

Compliance First Banking Solutions, LLC’s outsourced compliance program is the latest service designed to help Kansas Banks.

Now in its 16th year, the Bank Leaders of Kansas (BLOK) Program is a leadership development program coordinated by the Kansas Bankers Association. The BLOK program is designed to improve the leadership skills of Kansas bankers, and accomplishes that goal through four primary objectives:

One of our senior directors got a call a few weeks ago from the CEO of a bank core provider. Mr. CEO complained that one of our consultants mentioned to a client that his core system was no longer being supported. The CEO passionately argued that our consultant used the term “sunset” with the client related to his core system.

Acareer as a next-generation bank leader offers opportunities in technology, digital marketing, customer relationship management, cybersecurity and more. As the banking industry evolves, your leaders must also adapt.

Your do-everything HR professional just left the bank. Now what? Does your bank’s human resources department consist of one person in charge of other important facets of the organization, such as payroll processing and accounting?

Bankers Are Reappointed to the Kansas Housing and Kansas Development Finance Authority KDFA president Rebecca Floyd and KHRC Executive Director Ryan Vincent announced that Suchitra Padmanabhan and Chris Donnelly were reappointed to serve another term on the Kansas Development Finance Authority (KDFA) and Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) board of directors. In addition, two new

William R. Boese, Jr.January 1, 1949 – December 28, 2021  Rick was born Jan. 1, 1949, in Gary, IN, to William R. and Delores (Simons) Boese, Sr. Rick moved to Sterling to attend college; he fell in love with the rural lifestyle and stayed in the Sterling area. He graduated from Sterling College and Boulder

Overdraft services are a standard banking product. Life happens, and thankfully, most banks offer an overdraft product to come to the rescue when you are on vacation and forgot to do a savings transfer, or transpose numbers when balancing your checkbook. The end of 2021 came with a cautionary tale for financial institutions from regulators: Overhaul your overdraft services or potentially face enhanced scrutiny.

On the first trading day of 2022, the U.S. 10yr Treasury Note yield jumped above 1.60%, then traded up another 10bps in the two subsequent sessions. That was a 35bps increase in two weeks and aligned with a similar move higher for market measures of inflation expectations. The bond market hadn’t seen a worse start to a year since 2009. It seems the market is entering the new year with the same concerns and uncertainty that plagued it for most of 2021, but with greater urgency. We’ve seen this movie before, though, and it’s clear that policymakers and investors alike need to carefully assess the strength and staying power of an inflation environment that’s unusual but not so transitory.