First Year Curriculum

The 2024 on-campus session of the school will be held from Monday, Feb 5, through Friday, Feb 9. The first and second year classes are held concurrently. The first official school function is a welcome and orientation that will begin Monday followed by school curriculum. A welcome reception and dinner will be held Monday evening. The school will conclude at noon Friday, Feb. 9.

Courses

Balance Sheet Management

This course builds on other first year curriculum to dig into the impact of a bank’s balance sheet structure and interest rates on net interest income. Students will learn how interest rate risk is measured as well as how to interpret the results. Students will also be introduced to some bank-wide risk management concepts related specifically to the balance sheet.

Bank Financial Analysis

The bank’s balance sheet and income statement are explained and discussed. Key concepts used in evaluating the bank’s balance sheet are covered, including primary reserves, secondary reserves, earning assets and managed liabilities. Also, students examine the key ratios used in evaluating bank profitability.

Human Resource Management

The key to a bank’s success lies in its people. Human resource management covers a wide spectrum of activities from selection to retention of employees, productivity, job satisfaction and motivation. Students examine the role of the bank’s personnel department in training and development, performance standards, employee evaluation and compensation and many other activities. Laws and regulations governing personnel management also are reviewed.

Intro to Bank Exec

Students are introduced to a sophisticated computerized bank management simulation. Students have the opportunity to make one decision relative to the bank’s profitability and success. The first-year session is an introduction to the more thorough simulation conducted in the second-year class. The Bank Exec simulation model was developed by the American Bankers Association and also is used at the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

Introduction to Marketing & Relationship Management

Students will review and discuss community bank marketing basics, with a specific focus on the role of the marketing function in strategic planning and profitability. Critical responsibilities for marketing success also will be highlighted. The importance of market research, product development, product pricing and product delivery will be stressed. Proven techniques for effective customer relationship management will be introduced.

Investments

Investment policy and strategies of banks are discussed in this module. You will identify the many forces, technical factors and requirements that shape management decisions and attitudes in formulating investment policy. Students will recognize the major risks, returns and marketing differences between U.S. Treasury, federal agency and municipal obligations.

Lending in Community Banks

This session will address the basics of a community bank’s lending function. Students will be given a variety of helpful regulatory lending resources. The elements of a bank’s loan policy, credit administration procedures and loan underwriting guidelines will be developed. Typical consumer and small business loans will be reviewed. Critical activities occurring during the life of a loan, from application through repayment, will be defined.

Macroeconomics

This module includes an overview of the current economic environment, with emphasis on interpretation of economic, financial and policy-related information. Students will learn how the tools of economics can be used to establish a framework for financial and business planning.

Managing Liquidity & Capital Planning

This session discusses the importance of cash assets, available borrowing capacity, and liquidity planning to ensure that a bank can meet unanticipated deposit outflows. It describes different funding alternatives and their respective costs and benefits. It explains the links among liquidity risk, credit risk and interest rate risk and describes the trade‐off between reducing liquidity risk and increasing profits. It clarifies the role that bank capital serves and examines the impact of regulatory capital requirements on bank operating policies. It outlines the objectives and basic structure of the risk based capital requirements and discusses how bank managers view capital in their financial decision making.

Strategic Planning

The need for strategic planning highlights this module. Students learn how critical strategic planning is to meeting the competition and in achieving a bank’s long-range goals. This module discusses the elements of the strategic planning process, the contents of a strategic plan and the implementation of financial objectives into the plan.

Trust Services

Trust services and functions are defined and identified. Students gain an understanding of the principal policies, procedures and regulations underlying various fiduciary services offered by banks.

Home Study Written Problems

Between the on-campus sessions, students of the Missouri School of Banking complete two correspondence assignments. These two interim course assignments require students to analyze the operations side and the service delivery system in their home bank. The exercise helps the students apply the concepts of the first-year curriculum. Satisfactory and timely completion of both interim assignments is a prerequisite for admission to the second-year session of the school.