Pub. 2 2013 Issue 8

l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s 8 YBOK AT THE FEDERAL RESERVE YOUNG BANK OFFICERS OF KANSAS T HE 2013 YBOK FALL CONFERENCE WAS held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on September 5-6. YBOK President Jarrod Rowland, Alden State Bank, Sterling, opened the conference with a welcome and introductions. KBA Chairman Leonard Wolfe was in attendance and delivered a short message on the important role bankers can play in the efforts to repeal the mortgage registration tax in the next legislative session. President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Esther George provided the history of the KC Federal Reserve Bank before leading into a discussion on monetary policy. She described the shift in policy that has existed since 2008 and the role of the Federal Reserve in continued quantitative easing with 85 billion dollars in purchased mortgage backed commodities and treasury bonds monthly. As a voting member in 2013, George has been the sole dissenter in continued quantitative easing policy. She explained that she is skeptical that benefits offset risk in regard to imbalance and distortion in markets when the Federal Reserve takes the safe assets leaving others to take greater risks with other investments. The banking industry’s challenge is interest rate policy according to George. The group was addressed by Federal Reserve Bank Regional Economist Jason Brown following President George’s presentation. Brown prepared an in-depth look at the U.S. economic position. The GDP growth has been moderate and is expected to continue at the same pace. Consumer spending has been the primary driver of growth followed by private domestic investment. He discussed the impact of inflation and unemployment rates on the GDP as well. Higher wage jobs are slowly returning to the region. He concluded with data demonstrating that oil prices are favorable for more production in Kansas but the outlook for agriculture producers is mixed depending on the region. A CEO Panel consisted of current and former KBA board members. Travis Hicks, Great American Bank, De Soto, Kurt Knutson, Freedom Bank, Overland Park and Mark Larrabee, Arvest Bank, Shawnee Mission provided well thought out answers to questions from moderator Doug Wareham, SVP of Government Relations, KBA. “Winning with Analytics: What Banks Can Learn from Moneyball ” was provided by Ted Triplett. In a fast paced presentation, Ted demonstrated how analytics can play a role in developing strategy in a bank. His presentation was aided with video clips from the movie Moneyball . The meeting portion of the conference concluded with a presentation from former professional baseball player and banker, Kent Maggard. Using examples from his career in baseball as well as multiple years in banking Kent provided life lessons in teamwork and leadership. A reception at Boulevard Brewery provided an opportunity for continued discussion and networking. The YBOK golf scramble was held at The Golf Club of Kansas in Lenexa on Friday morning. A golf clinic was offered as an alternate activity and both were well attended. The 2014 YBOK Spring Conference will be held in Wichita on May 1st.