Wednesday, Dec. 3
|
| 2-6 p.m. |
Registration Open & Exhibitor Showcase
|
| |
|
| 3-4 p.m. |
New State Laws to Help Bank Combat Fraud
Carol Barnett, Senior Vice President | Missouri Bankers Association
Legislation passed by the Missouri General Assembly this year addresses several provisions to protect your bank and your customers from financial fraud. Jackson Hataway will discuss MBA’s successful efforts to secure passage of legislation that allows new “trusted contact” programs for banks and how banks offering these programs are immune from liability when acting in good faith in the best interests of their customers. He also highlights a new fraud criminal penalty for financial institutions account fraud that also ensures law enforcement has resources to prosecute fraud, even as new technology and payment methods develop.
|
| |
|
| 4 p.m. |
Hotel Check-In
|
| |
|
| 4:30-5:30 p.m. |
Trade Show Holiday Cheer Reception
|
| |
|
| 5:30 p.m. |
Bank Hospitality Events
|
| |
|
Thursday, Dec. 4
|
| 7 a.m.-2 p.m. |
Registration and Trade Show Open
|
| |
|
| 7-8:15 a.m. |
Breakfast
|
| |
|
| 8:15-8:30 a.m. |
Call to Order & Welcome
|
| |
|
| 8:30 a.m. |
Winning With What You’ve Got: Attitude, Teamwork and the Will to Keep Going
Aaron Davis | Aaron Davis Presentations Inc.
Whether you’re working with limited resources, wearing multiple hats or figuring out how to lead across departments, one thing remains constant — attitude determines your altitude.
Former National Champion athlete and cancer survivor Aaron Davis shows how to “Get into the Game” with the mindset of a champion, even when your roster looks short and your playbook feels thin.
Learn how to shift your lens from frustration to focus, from setbacks to solutions and from surviving to thriving. Celebrating small wins, leaning on each other and showing up with a championship attitude isn’t optional — it’s essential.
|
| |
|
| 9:30 a.m. |
Break & Exhibit Showcase
|
| |
|
| 10 a.m. |
Growing Forward: Actionable Strategies to Drive Results
Preston Afrank, Senior Executive Vice President | Haberfeld
The opposite of growth is stagnation. Unfortunately, too many community banks are facing a growth challenge. As the race intensifies for core customer relationships, low-cost funding sources, fee income and talent, it is imperative to have your financial institution positioned for growth if you want to thrive. Explore specific and actionable strategies to grow core customers, lower cost of funds, increase fee income, develop your team and improve overall financial performance.
|
| |
|
| 11 a.m. |
Break & Exhibit Showcase
|
| |
|
| 11:15 a.m. |
From Maturity to Momentum: An Executive View on Strategic IT Alignment
Aaron Donaldson, Principal & Financial Institutions Consulting Leader | RSM US LLP
David Gohn, CEO | West Plains Bank and Trust
In today’s fast-paced digital world, understanding and advancing the relevance of your bank’s technology is no longer optional — it’s essential. This session provides an executive-level framework for evaluating IT maturity across five critical categories that underpin digital strategy and operational resilience: infrastructure, applications, data management, security and innovation.
Through the use of maturity models and visual benchmarks, attendees will assess their current position relative to peers and gain practical insight into areas where technology can better support growth, efficiency and risk management. Whether your institution is in the early stages of modernization or refining an already mature IT landscape, this session will provide the perspective and tools to move from strategy to execution. We’ll also explore emerging technologies and how they are reshaping banking operations, customer engagement and regulatory expectations.
|
| |
|
| 12:15 p.m. |
Lunch
- Recognition of the 2025 Recipient of the Next Generation in Banking Leadership Award
- Recognition of the 2025 Recipient of the Woman of the Award
- Vendor Prize Drawings
|
| |
|
| 1:45 p.m. |
Breakout Sessions
| |
Modernizing Banking with Gen AI: A People-First, Regulation-Ready Approach
Dan Bolger, CEO & Founder | Flatirons AI
As banks evaluate the potential of generative AI, concerns around data security, regulatory compliance and operational risk have created hesitation. This session shares the results of a beta program with a variety of financial service participants and explores how a secure, closed-loop framework for deploying gen AI aligns with regulatory requirements from the start tobuild confidence among risk and compliance teams. Explore strategies for upskilling employees, helping frontline and back-office staff become productive with gen AI through practical training. Finally, the session introduces a clear, ROI-driven adoption model showing how incremental investments in gen AI can yield measurable gains in efficiency, accuracy and customer experience — without compromising trust. Participants will leave with a roadmap to safely and successfully integrate gen AI into their institutions.
|
| |
|
| |
Being Strategic with Your Total Compensation Packages
Matt Brei, President | Blanchard Consulting Group
This session will focus on the various elements of the total compensation package in banks and how to be both market competitive and strategic in these areas. Explore trends and best practices surrounding salaries, annual cash incentives, equity-based incentives, benefits and perquisites. Findings from Blanchard Consulting Group’s surveys and databases will be incorporated throughout the presentation. Participants should walk away with industry market data and an ability to challenge their banks on whether they are truly being strategic with their compensation packages.
|
| |
|
| |
Examining the Industry’s Persistent, Pervasive, and Powerful Problem
Matt Forgotson, Managing Director, Client Insights and Analytics| Performance Trust
Since 1990, more than 65% of FDIC-insured depositories have disappeared. Many of these institutions lost their independence because they misallocated capital. Matt Forgotson will examine why many of these institutions were victims of the problem that has long plagued the banking industry — namely a reliance on faulty frameworks and sing-scenario snapshot metrics. Against this backdrop, the most recent banking crisis and constrained profitability that followed in its wake are simply the most recent manifestations of this persistent, pervasive and powerful problem. Once the problem is defined, Matt will then propose a remedy of a comprehensive, objective process and framework that empowers managers to make prospective capital allocation decisions with clarity and confidence. Those willing to embrace a more complete analytical view can protect and potentially even accelerate their missions.
|
|
| |
|
| 2:45 p.m. |
Refreshment Break
|
| |
|
| 3 p.m. |
Breakout Sessions Repeat
|
| |
|
| 5-6:30 p.m. |
Reception Hosted by MBA Associate Members | MBA Foundation Silent Auction & Raffle
Evening Free
MBA is excited to host a silent auction and raffle ticket reception benefiting the Missouri Bankers Foundation. Our generous members support the Foundation’s eff orts, allowing us to host a fun and festive event that puts attendees in the holiday spirit. The proceeds support Missouri Bankers Foundation scholarships, financial education, and recognition programs such as the 50 Year Club and MBA Century Banks. The MBA Foundation Silent Auction is an exciting addition to the evening’s festivities. Attendees will have opportunities to bid on silent auction items or purchase a raffle ticket for the chance to win a getaway package or $1,000.
|
| |
|
Friday, Dec. 5
|
| 7:30-8:15 a.m. |
Breakfast
|
| |
|
| 8:15 a.m. |
Stablecoins & the GENIUS Act: What Every Bank Needs to Know Now
Brooke Ybarra, Senior Vice President, Innovation & Strategy | American Bankers Association
The regulatory future of payment stablecoins is no longer speculative—the GENIUS Act has passed, and a new avenue for payments is on the horizon. In this session, ABA’s Brooke Ybarra will unpack the GENIUS Act’s most critical provisions, including issuer requirements, prudential standards, and oversight mechanisms. You’ll gain a clear understanding of how this legislation impacts banking—and what it means for your institution. From real-time payments to emerging competitive threats, discover how stablecoins are poised to transform financial services.
|
| |
|
| 9:15 a.m. |
Break
|
| |
|
| 9:30 a.m. |
Shifting Sands: How the Global Economic Policy Environment Will Create Opportunities and Risks for American Business
Tom Landstreet, Co-Founder | Trusco Investment Management
Tom Landstreet advises audiences to be careful and to improve their efficiency now as the future is more uncertain than at any time in decades. It’s time to contemplate the unthinkable as surging global sovereign debt, rising interest rates, inflation, trade wars, “hot” wars and asset price bubbles create shifting sands for investors, businesses and families.
|
| |
|
| 10:30 a.m. |
Adjournment
|
| |
|
| 11 a.m. |
Hotel Checkout
|