Pub. 5 2016 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 2016 YBOK FALL CONFERENCE Brian Whitesell, Landmark National Bank, Manhattan, and Tyler Bachman, First Heritage Bank, Overland Park, partner up for an activity in the morning session. Joyce Weiss discusses critical skills for difficult conversations. Heather Campbell, K-Coe Isom in Wichita and Kelsey Cooper, Patriots Bank, Gardner, practice skills during an interactive session with Joyce Weiss. T HE 2016 FALL Young Bank Officers of Kansas Conference was held at the Broadview Hotel in Wichita on September 8-9. Prior to the conference kick-off, a train-the-trainer workshop was held for the new financial literacy app that the division developed for use in Kansas high schools. About 15 bankers took part in the training. The app is available now. You get what you tolerate, according to Joyce Weiss, the opening keynote speaker. Weiss provided a mini workshop on communication techniques for different personalities. Her talk, “Communicating Upward,” included a lot of partner work and challenged teams to use the new tools to be more valuable employees and stronger leaders. Joni Hopkins from the Federal Reserve System, provided a talk on same day ACH and other strategies for faster payments. She outlined the mission objective of the taskforce hosted by the Federal Reserve and explained how the Federal Reserve System is acting as a catalyst for the collaboration needed to speed up payments and reduce fraud. Doug Wareham, EVP-Government Relations for KBA, gave a political outlook with moderate Republicans beating out conservative incumbents in many of the Kansas primary races. Using electronic polling to collect data from the audience, Wareham was engaging and made the topic fun. Back by popular demand, David Kemp gave a talk titled “Quicksand and Traps to Avoid in Lending.” The initial focus was on the five traits of highly successful banks and the industry trends that top performers will respond to. Many small banks are for sale with no one in the family to take over, and succession planning looks different than it did a decade ago. Technology is driving much of the new products offered but it comes with no additional revenue. “The challenge,” Kemp explained, “as the industry returns to the era of the customer, is to figure out what products or services can be offered that customers will perceive enough value that they will pay enough to create a return on investment.” Kemp also spoke to the qualities of winning banks that included a laser focus and a disciplined but aggressive credit culture. He spent considerable time discussing the keys to risk control and reminded us that asset quality is king. Rob Schuetz, CalTech, discussed cyber security trends and common defenses. Understanding that it is difficult to be strategic about information technology when you are always fighting fires, Schuetz stressed the importance of investing in training for employees as well as equipment and software. The talk also included the most common things to look for regarding ransomware, social engineering and phishing, noting that the majority of these issues come through email. Susie Santos, CEO of Visit Wichita, closed the education portion of the conference with her analogy of the three-legged stool: Strategy – Culture – People. She stated her philosophy that “leadership should train people well enough so they can leave but treat them well enough that they don’t want to.” She explained how core values are the guiding principles for how the company works and they are only valuable if they are lived by employees and leadership. A networking event was held at the Monarch, in the revitalized Delano District, just across the river from the conference hotel. Torrential rainfall overnight, over 9 inches in Wichita, prevented the Friday golf scramble.