CFO ROUNDTABLE

Join Bank Director and Cornerstone for an exclusive peer exchange among bank CFOs.  During this session participants discuss various topics in a closed door, off-the-record setting.  This session is exclusive to 15 bank CFO attendees only, and is available on a first-come, first served basis.

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Registration & Breakfast

10:30 AM – 10:40 AM
Welcome
Join Bank Director and Cornerstone for an exclusive bank CFO Roundtable.

10:40 AM – 11:40 AM
Roundtable Discussion 1: Growth and M&A

The first round of discussion topics focuses on Growth and M&A.  Below is an overview of the types of questions to begin the peer exchange. 

• How have the current events impacted your strategy for organic growth and acquisitions?  What concerns do you have about your bank’s future profitability? Do you see net interest margin bottoming out this year and improving next year?
• Does your bank have access to capital in order to execute its growth strategy? If you have raised fresh capital in recent years, where did you access it?
  • What is your capital plan to weather a potential economic downturn?
• Have size and/or scale become more important considerations for your bank, and if so, why? What do you believe the minimum scale to be today?
• How important is M&A to your overall growth strategy?
  • What are the opportunities in your market?
  • Have you ever considered a merger of equals or entering new markets?
  • Does your bank have a plan to take advantage of in-market M&A to acquire customers or attract talent?
• What are your market’s best organic growth opportunities, and how are you approaching those?
  • Are you attempting to grow by expanding your existing business lines, or are there new business ventures your bank is considering?
• What is your view on bank valuations in your market, and how is that likely to impact your bank’s behavior as a potential buyer or seller? What drives value today and what will create “alpha” in the future?
• If you are a buyer, is there a minimum asset size you look for in identifying targets?  Are there specific qualities you look for in a target today when identifying acquisition opportunities?
• How likely is your board to consider a sale in today’s environment?
• Do you regularly review current value from the sale of the bank with the discounted present value of your bank as a going concern? How do you deliberate this with the board?
• From a competitive sense, what do you see as the biggest threat to your bank? How is your bank positioning itself to respond/prepare?

11:40 AM – 11:50 AM
Refreshment Break

11:50 AM – 12:30 PM
Roundtable Discussion 2: Balance Sheet and Risk Management
During our second round of peer discussions we dive into balance sheet management, investment strategies and risk management. 

• What additional details have you discussed with your team and the board about the bank’s deposit base, liquidity or long-term duration of loans and securities?
• Regarding asset/liability management:
  • What is the role of the board?
  • We have seen banks struggle with rising interest rates, particularly duration risk in the bond/investment portfolio. Where does the responsibility lie here?
• Are you using any new tools and/or new predictive models as it relates to balance sheet management?
• Does your bank conduct stress tests? If so, how are those results used? Have the assumptions or models changed recently to respond to liquidity pressures and rising interest rates?
  • What questions are regulators asking about your bank’s liquidity?
• What concerns do you have regarding the state of the industry, specifically rates and the impact on lending activity or deposits?What longer-term strategies is your bank pursuing to reduce the funding risk in the future? Are you confident you can attract the deposits of younger customers and more entrepreneurial microbusinesses in the future?
• What investment strategies are being considered at your institution?  What are the risks associated with these investments?
• Has your bank invested in a fintech fund? What was the due diligence process for that investment?
• What are the top three risks your institution is most concerned about?  How are management and the board addressing these issues?
• Does your bank have a chief risk officer?  If so, what is the interaction/relationship between you and the CRO?
• Where does Loan Review sit in the organization, and what are its reporting lines?

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Lunch

1:30 PM – 2:45PM
Roundtable Discussion 3: Technology & Digital Strategies
After lunch we reset the conversation to focus on technology investments and digital strategies to fuel bank growth. 

• How important is the adoption/deployment of new technology to your bank’s growth goals?
  • What technology do you think is important to drive future growth?
  • Are you trying to leverage digital platforms to expand outside your bank’s physical footprint?
  • Is technology a consideration in M&A, particularly when considering acquisition targets?
• Has your bank increased its technology budget recently?  Why or why not?
  • Are you concerned about rising technology costs?
  • Do you believe your bank allocates sufficient resources — including staffing — to technology?
  • Do you have a high-level strategy person in IT or a team that focuses on keeping the lights on?
• Some banks have taken advantage of emerging opportunities in riskier areas, such as cryptocurrency, blockchain, banking as a service and cannabis.  Do you have the technology and compliance expertise to bank any of these areas?  Are you considering exploring any of these areas?
• What part of the vendor due diligence process do you think needs more time and attention?
  • What security issues concern you the most when working with vendors?
  • What staff/advisors do you utilize to negotiate major contracts and partnerships?
• What would you need to see as the CFO to be more comfortable participating in a riskier opportunity/vertical?
• Is your bank interested in partnering with fintechs via a BaaS platform? If so, why? And what are you doing from an audit and risk perspective to offer this in a safe and sound manner?
• Is cryptocurrency an opportunity for your bank?  What are you planning for/considering? Are there other blockchain use cases that your bank has prioritized ahead of crypto?

2:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Refreshment Break

3:00 PM – 4:15 PM 
Roundtable Discussion 4: IT Risks & Regulation
Our final session covers topics related to IT risk and managing the regulatory relationship.

• Cybersecurity is a huge issue of concern. How are you staying on top of this issue and its impact on your bank? 
• Has your bank conducted a tabletop exercise to uncover and understand your bank’s preparedness in the event of a breach? If so, how often? Is this information reported back to the board? If so, in what way?
• Does your bank have a plan in place for a cyber intrusion? What role do you play as the CFO?
• Has your bank hired a chief information officer?  If so, who does that person report to, and how frequently do you interact with him/her?
• Has your bank increased its cybersecurity budget in the last two years, and if so, by what percent? Do you think the bank should be spending more?
• What conversations do you have with your CEO and board about ransomware?
• Who manages the regulatory relationship at your institution?
• What are the top three regulatory compliance challenges affecting your bank?
  • How are management and the board addressing these challenges?
• How does your bank use technology to manage its enterprise risk management and compliance burden?
  • What results have you seen?
  • Are you successfully using automated tools at the first line of defense?
• What staffing and resources do you have devoted to regulatory compliance? Is it enough?
• What are your bank’s strategies for improving the bank/regulator relationship?
• What is your bank doing to remain current and employ best practices in the areas below, and what feedback are you getting from the regulators?
  • Anti-Money Laundering
  • Know Your Customer
  • Suspicious Activity Reporting
  • Currency Transaction Reporting
  • Bank Secrecy Act

4:45 PM – 5:45 PM
Bank Board Training Forum Welcoming Reception & Registration
Sponsored by: FHLBank Atlanta
We welcome all registered participants of today’s events and those arriving in Nashville for tomorrow’s conference to a networking reception at the JW Marriott Nashville.