Commercial & Industrial Lending a Key Focus for Bankers in 2013

BRENTWOOD, TENN., February 5, 2013 – Eight-four percent of bankers plan to focus their efforts on commercial and industrial lending in 2013, with only 10 percent focusing on consumer lending and 6 percent on specialty finance, reveals a Bank Director audience survey of more than 200 bankers and bank directors attending the organization’s annual mergers and acquisitions conference January 28. “Recently, we’ve seen loan growth evenly balanced at both large and small banks,” says Al Dominick, managing director and executive vice president of Bank Director. “We weren’t surprised to find that more than 80 percent of community bankers intend to invest in C&I lending programs to organically grow their bank.” Dominick conducted the audience survey at Bank Director’s Acquire or Be Acquired conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, which was completed by 230 CEOs, senior officers and directors of U.S. banks. Attendees also revealed several priorities and concerns regarding growth planning at their institutions. Key findings include:

• Finding and keeping talent is the top concern in the growth plans of bankers polled, at 55 percent. Demonstrating the value that community banks place on personal relationships, only 4 percent of bankers polled felt that buying the right technology was a key concern for growth.
• Bankers are still shying away from social media, with 55 percent of bankers stating that their banks do not use social media.  Among social media users, Facebook was the most popular choice at 33 percent.
• Thirty percent view low interest rates as the biggest impediment to top-line growth during the coming year, while 25 percent voiced concern about the U.S. economy and 20 percent about regulatory requirements. Bankers polled are more concerned about roadblocks coming from Washington than factors like customer demand (19 percent) or competition from the largest banks (5 percent).

The themes of this survey will be explored in further detail at Bank Director’s upcoming event in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Growth Conference, April 30 – May 1, 2013. “We are taking a laser-like focus to the strategies and tactics that bank officers and directors can use to build their brand and grow the bank,” says Dominick. Speakers have been announced for the event, and will include:

• Jay Sidhu, chairman and CEO, Customers Bancorp, Inc. The keynote speaker at the event, Sidhu will reveal what he sees as the strategic imperatives to building a strong, sustainable franchise, drawing on Customer Bank’s expansion into Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.
• Peter Benoist, president & CEO, Enterprise Bank & Trust, and John Lane, CEO, Congressional Bank, will explain how their banks compete with the megabanks in today’s marketplace.
• Peter Crist, chairman, Wintrust Financial Corporation, will focus on the board’s role in developing a foundation for sustainable growth.
• Bradford Langs, chief risk officer, CoastalStates Bank, will explore how community banks can best use loan participations to grow their portfolios.
• Hope D. Manahan, SVP and senior compliance manager, Regions Financial Corporation, will discuss how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will shake up the industry, and its effect on bank growth plans.

The complete agenda for the event is available online at BankDirector.com. For more information on this and other Bank Director events, visit BankDirector.com/conferences

ABOUT BANK DIRECTOR
Since 1991, Bank Director has served as a leading information resource for the directors and officers of financial institutions.  Throughout the year, Bank Director asks officers and directors of financial institutions to share their thoughts on board-specific issues like compensation, managing risk, growth, board liability and strategic planning.  Bank Director’s research and analysis provides a bank’s board members with unparalleled insight and information. In addition to research, Bank Director reaches the leaders of the banking industry through its quarterly magazine, annual conferences, and its website, BankDirector.com. Bank Director is published by DirectorCorps, and headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Contact: Emily McCormick, (615) 777-8471, [email protected]