Pub. 5 2016 Issue 9

December 2016 7 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 2016 ECONOMIC OUTLOOK & RISK MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE The Topeka Capital Plaza was the setting for the newly branded Economic Outlook and Risk Management Conference, on November 9th – 10th. KBA Chairman Jim Hoskins, Baxter State Bank, Baxter Springs, opened the conference with welcoming comments and housekeeping announcements. The conference was held the day following the most contentious election in recent history. The atmosphere was filled with chatter in anticipation of what the new Trump presidency would mean for the next four years. The opening keynote presentation was given by Karin Kimbrough, Head of Macro and Economic Policy at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, a Division of Bank of America. She started with the opinion that she doesn’t see big picture changes immediately and growth will be under two percent for 2016. It is unlikely that the Federal Reserve will raise rates in a world where they don’t yet know what the administration’s agenda will be. She mentioned the effect of several risk events on the international economy such as in Europe, where we saw the beginning of the global wave of people holding their government accountable for policies that don’t work for them, and in China, where they have people demanding better quality of life and cleaner air. There is an increased demand for credit at the national level as people are starting to feel more comfortable taking on low levels of debt. Globally, indicators look better than they have in six years as emerging markets such as Brazil and India look stronger. The cyclical momentum we see globally will also help fuel increased manufacturing in the United States. Kimbrough does not believe we will see improved net interest margins for banks but the indicators point to a real stimulus for the economy. Enterprise risk management (ERM) was the topic covered by Courtney DuFries from Strunk, LLC., as he covered the original intent and background in the technology. The growing regulatory requirements and risk mitigation are no small detail and DuFries provided a clear presentation on how to evaluate needs and manage next steps in the process. He discussed ERM best practices and the high risk of employee turnover at the teller line, as well. Following the luncheon, KBA President Chuck Stones gave a Washington Update that included some insights on what the Federal legislative agenda might look like now that the outcome of the presidential race is different than was projected. Stones indicated there was reason to believe that portions of Dodd Frank, to include the CFPB, will be addressed through some legislation that we saw previously but never advanced under the Obama administration. The agenda provided for multiple breakout sessions over two hour-long blocks. The sessions included: Balance Sheet Management – Leaving Money on the Table by Dennis Zimmerman, Commerce Bank; Model Risk Management: Managing Your ALM Model Assumptions in a Changing Regulatory Environment, by John McQueen, UMB; Preparing for CECL, by Mark Schmelzle, AGH; and Top Five Risks to Plan For in 2020, by Craig Sanders, Moss Adams. Steve Dickie, character coach for Wichita State Shockers, shared some tools that bankers could use in their organizations or even take home with them. Character development programs are in place in most D-1 schools and they use life principles Left to right are Steve white, Farmers & Drovers Bank, council Grove; Ken Lickteig, Bank of Commerce, Chanute; and Patrick Wiederholt, Hartford State Bank, Hartford.