Pub. 7 2018 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 14 K BA’s Chairman-Elect Kurt Knutson kicked off the 2018 Annual Conference for Lenders at the Wichita Marriott on Tuesday, September 25, by welcoming over 80 lending professionals from around the state. Following his opening remarks, Kurt introduced Dr. Matt Roberts of the Kernmantle Group who spoke on the topic of, “The U.S. Economy in 2018 and Beyond.” In his session, Dr. Roberts noted that monetary policy remains accommodating, while fiscal policy remains simulative. Consumers are still spending, although the housing market is softening. He feels that the biggest threat faced right now is trade. Next, Alison Trapp of Sageworks, Inc. shared her “Credit Risk Rating: The Cornerstone of Risk Management” topic with the group. She challenged the group to rethink why we should use risk ratings, and how to most effectively use them to create a strong system. While current charge off rates are relatively benign, risk ratings can serve multiple purposes with new loan origination, loan pricing, resource management, portfolio rhythms, ALLL, and regulatory expectations. Ms. Trapp encouraged lenders to develop a scorecard, analyze their specific ratings, finalize these ratings and document their findings. Once this is established, the scorecard should be reviewed regularly. Following lunch, Doug Wareham, KBA President/CEO gave a brief legislative political update before inviting everyone to attend the afternoon’s breakout sessions. Dr. Matt Roberts presented the topic of “Where Are Energy Prices Going?” and highlighted that global petroleum consumption continues to rise due to a consistent demand growth for oil. Supply growth is inconsistent when looking at OPEC vs. non-OPEC, but U.S. production continues to climb. Oil prices will remain volatile, and fuel prices are always more volatile in the fall due to hurricane season. During the last 12 months, fuel prices have been more volatile than oil prices, but Roberts expects prices to settle into the winter. There have recently been huge supplies of natural gas unlocked, and electricity will continue a steady pace upwards. Alison Trapp discussed “Managing Growth Safely and Soundly” by asking whether credit policies are effective at supporting the bank’s growth strategy, and whether or not banks are identifying and managing concentrations of risk. Lastly, is proper documentation occurring to reinforce account management practices? The Lender Liability Panel Discussion was led by Jack Marvin, Michael Kennalley, and Frank Basgal from Stinson Leonard Street. They discussed issues such as principal places where lender liability may arise, traditional theories of lender liability, potential loan origination issues and best practices to avoid them, as well as loan documentation and relationship management techniques. Lastly, they discussed measures to minimize lender liability claims and avoid blame while sharing some recent court cases involving lender liability. Tuesday afternoon continued with a second set of breakout sessions from which participants could choose. Sean Payant from Haberfeld spoke on the topic of “Increasing Fee Income Without Raising Fees.” Sean presented several industry challenges that are facing community banks, and then compared and contrasted bank priorities vs. consumer priorities. He presented a real-world case study, as well as multiple solutions that banks may want to consider as strategies going forward. Bart McKinney from CcASSIST shared his topic of “Residential Construction 2018 LENDING CONFERENCE KBA chairman elect Kurt Knutson (Freedom Bank, Overland Park) welcomes the attendees. Steve Radley (NetWork Kansas), Wayne Bell (Small Business Administration) and Robert White (Kansas State Farm Service Agency) participate in a panel discussion on financing alternatives. Walt Coleman (NFL Referee) and Don Cushing (FHLBank Topeka)