Once again the Kentucky Bankers Association Spring Conference had an impressive combination of fun activities and education for bankers and lawyers. The activities teed off at the beautiful grounds at the Kearney Hill Golf Links in northwest Fayette County, while the non-golfers had a delicious lunch at Jean Farris Winery. Steve Ford, son of President Gerald Ford, entertained and delighted the attendees at the main conference dinner. The KBA’s speakers were knowledgeable and had a lot of advice for how banks can manage the new regulatory and market forces that often eliminate our enjoyment.
Stress testing of banks was a huge topic this year at the conference. For instance, Mr. Kamal Mustafa of Invictus Consulting Group addressed the new regulatory environment related to credit risk, market risk and liquidity risk. Mr. Karl Nelson of KPN Consulting discussed how regulators are now measuring liquidity. As we know, regulators currently expect banks to have traditional funding sources along with diversified funding and high quality liquid assets.
Properly coupled with the stress testing discussions included discussions on banks’ margins. Mr. Al Forrester of FICast Data Corporation discussed traditional funding sources and how to properly model interest rate risk. Mr. Craig Poms of Precisionlender discussed the continuing interest rate war and how banks can win the battle for healthy margins. Mr. Kyle Lawler of Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati educated the attendees on how the FHLB can assist banks with managing their interest rate risk and funding costs. In the current regulatory and market environment, banks must utilize all strategies to capture healthy margins today and in the future.
KBA staff needs a hearty round of applause for their efforts to entertain and delight the attendees, because over the last several years, the community banking industry has not seen much revelry.
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