Top-tier education for the nation's community bankers.

After years of navigating a challenging interest rate landscape—with shrinking margins and rising funding costs—2025 brought a welcome turning point: expanding margins and stronger earnings. Yet as we move through this easing cycle, one pressing question looms: What comes next?

With the Federal Reserve having delivered 175 basis points of rate cuts from late 2024 through 2025, senior management and ALCOs continue to face the dual challenges of uncertainty and volatility. Will the Fed achieve a soft landing, or could the US economy tip into recession in 2026? While the path forward remains unclear, policymakers have signaled the potential for additional rate cuts—making strategic planning more crucial than ever.

This seminar is designed for CEOs, CFOs, and investment officers ready to take control of the next rate cycle. Learn how to protect your balance sheet, optimize margins, and strengthen your investment portfolio amidst uncertainty. Join us for an engaging, forward-looking discussion on:

• Economic and Market Update
• The Fed’s Next Moves
• Industry Trends
• Regulatory Hot Topics and Focus Items
• Interest Rate Risk Management Best Practices
• Liquidity Risk Management Best Practices
• Investment Portfolio Strategies for Today’s Environment

Accurate documentation is the backbone of a successful CRA program. This in-depth class focuses on how to properly capture and report community development activities —including loans, investments and services, so you receive full credit during CRA evaluations.

Through practical examples and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn best practices for organizing data, aligning activities with regulatory requirements, and building documentation that tells a compelling story of your institution’s impact.

Sponsored by Jack Henry, the Innovation Workshop focuses on the intentional creation and adoption of new ideas, technologies, products, or business models that improve how financial services are delivered, experienced, or operated. Innovation has become a strategic necessity for community banks.

Innovation in banking is the intentional creation and adoption of new ideas, technologies, products, or business models that improve how financial services are delivered, experienced, or operated. Innovation has become a strategic necessity for community banks.

The Innovation Workshop gives bankers a clear framework for building an innovative culture and implementing solutions that drive growth.

Community banks face unique challenges when pursuing innovation. From evaluating emerging technologies and navigating partnerships to managing third-party risk, the rewards of innovation come with significant responsibility. This workshop provides a structured framework for identifying opportunities, assessing risk, and aligning innovation strategies with long-term business goals, ensuring that progress doesn’t compromise security or compliance.

Through interactive sessions, case studies, and expert insights, attendees will explore the competitive landscape, map innovation opportunities, and learn practical approaches to implementation and measurement.

A dedicated fintech panel will offer real-world perspectives, while tools and templates will help translate ideas into actionable plans. By the end of the program, participants will be equipped with the knowledge, tools, and resources to drive innovation forward in their institutions, to remain competitive and relevant in the ever-changing community banking environment.

Learning objectives

Participants will explore the innovation lifecycle and discuss:

• How to assess your bank’s innovation readiness and the competitive market.
• Strategies for identifying and prioritizing innovation opportunities.
• Approaches for selecting the right innovation path: build, buy, or partner.
• Best practices for managing third-party risk throughout the innovation process.

Throughout the workshop, practical advice and guidance will be shared including:

• Methods for fostering an innovative culture within your institution.
• Key compliance and governance considerations when implementing new solutions.
• Tools for measuring impact and ensuring innovation initiatives deliver intended results.