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Finance Council Conference

Schedule

Check out the 2024 schedule below!

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. - Pre-Conference Workshop - Derivatives and Hedging for Better Balance Sheet Management (separate fee required)

Ryan Henley, Managing Director - Head of Financial Institutional Strategies, Stifel

Regulatory and accounting rule changes have made it easier than ever for institutions of all sizes to implement hedging strategies, and for many, the environment is right to do so.  In this workshop, we will break down the hedging discussion into three, hour long components

1. Introduction: Hedging Strategies to Address Today’s Issues

Introduction to hedging through the lens of relatable issues, including net interest income (NII) and net economic value (NEV) risk management from both a policy and supervisory perspective, as well as hedging strategies that support strategic initiatives. The real-world case studies shared in this session will provide context for the more granular sessions to follow. 

2. Intersection of Regulatory and Accounting Concepts

For the last several years, FASB and the NCUA have continued to improve their respective codifications to provide easier access to hedging strategies for institutions large and small. To build a roadmap for practical implementation, this session explores key aspects of the most recent NCUA ruling and critical concepts of FASB’s effort on hedge accounting. This component will perform a detailed review of hedge accounting principles, examples of various hedge relationships, sample general ledger entries and other important accounting concepts will be reviewed.

3. A Walk Through the Hedging Lifecycle

This component will review best practices for establishing a derivative platform, executing transactions, and supporting transactions for their lives. This will cover board engagement, internal processes and procedures, counterparty engagement, auditor interaction, execution experience, G/L and call report process, and ALCO communication.  We will look to create as much interactivity within this component as possible to allow for peer experiences to be shared and discussed. 

Pre-Conference Workshop

(separate fee required)

1:00 – 2:45 p.m. - Finance Leader Exchange (Open to Credit Union attendees only)

3:15  3:45 p.m. - Orientation (Open to Credit Union attendees only)

4:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Announcements & Opening General Session

4:15 – 5:45 p.m. - Opening General Session

5:45 – 7:30 p.m. - Welcome Reception

7:00 – 8:00 a.m. - Breakfast 

8:00 – 9:15 a.m. - General Session & Announcements

9:15  9:30 a.m. - Pass Time

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Concurrent Breakout

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Concurrent Breakout

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Concurrent Breakout

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Fraud and the Cost of Weak Internal Controls

Folashade Abiola-Banjac, Principal, CLA

Internal controls at times can be taken for granted. This session will discuss the high cost of a weakened internal controls framework. We will discuss fraud case studies as well as walking through a forensic event and best practices to have in place to avoid potential significant fraud.

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Is ALM Broken?

James Toliver, Director, Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC

Did the rapid shift from a stable, low-rate environment to aggressive rate hikes prove to be too much too fast for ALM models? Much has changed for members and credit unions. New challenges demand new strategies. Unfortunately, some are still taking the conventional approach—addressing questions of the future with answers from the past. Ironically, these “safe decisions” often compound risk rather than reduce it, ultimately putting the overall mission and membership at risk. In this lively session, we’ll address the following questions:

  • If ALM model is broken, how do we fix it?
  • What lessons can be learned from the rapid rate rise?
  • Does “rate shock scenario analysis” CREATE or REVEAL blind spots?
  • How do we respond to liquidity and COF pressures magnified by new regulations?

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. - Networking Break with Sponsors

11:00 – 11:15 a.m. - Pass Time

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - FASB Update and Top Accounting Issues

Speakers:
- Tanya Medgaarden, Principal, CLA
- Bryan Mogensen, Principal, CLA

This session will cover updates from the FASB with an impact on Credit Unions. This will also go over a few of the common accounting topics that lead to errors or deficiencies in reporting (such as: leases, deferred compensation plans, and others).

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Top Margin and Risk Management Strategies Using Derivatives

Tyler Madden, Director, ALM Strategy Group, ALM First

Interest rate risk (IRR) is inherent in any depository's line of business and, when left unmanaged, can pose significant dangers to a depository's operations. In this session, we will discuss the need for effective IRR management, top hedging strategies for various market environments and how to assess hedging performance in relation to the balance sheet. These timely hedging strategies can provide an opportunity to enhance return and profitability through risk reduction and cost savings. Our industry experts will help you uncover the latest hedging strategies to mitigate risk and strengthen financial performance for your institution.  

Key Attendee Takeaways

  • Understand which hedging methods your institution should be considering now.
  • Define hedging strategies and how they could benefit your depository.
  • Evaluate hedging performance to help you identify potential opportunities.

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Executive Compensation and Benefits Trends

Speakers:
- Matt Jakubowski, Vice President, Gallagher Executive Benefits
- Liz Santos, Chief of Staff, Gallagher Executive Benefits

For more than fifteen years, the annual Gallagher Executive Compensation and Benefits survey has helped credit unions understand the competitive and retentive strength of their total rewards program. The survey includes credit unions in all asset ranges from across the country. It contains data points for the CEO, CFO, and next four executives. Join us to learn about executive salary and benefit trends as well as best practices for succession planning strategies. CFOs in attendance will receive salary data via email.

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Maintaining Assumptions in an Evolving Modeling Environment

Buck Lawson, Sr. Analyst, FHN Financial Memphis, TN

Assumptions are a key part of any ALM model.  In particular, the continuous consumer options in non-maturity share deposits expose institutions to the vagaries of human behavior, and those impulses are magnified by technological advances.  In light of these developments, management teams must constantly test different rate and retention scenarios in order to get a complete picture of their interest rate risk profile under adverse conditions.

  • Loan prepayment, deposit price sensitivity and duration risks.
  • Contrasts between the present, rapid rate cycle and historical experience.
  • Understanding the basic measurements of interest rate risk.
  • Going further to more extreme rate scenarios and changing yield curve shapes.
  • Understanding changes in deposit dynamics in the era of viral social media messaging.

12:15 – 1:30 p.m. - Awards/Membership Luncheon

1:30 – 1:45 p.m. - Pass Time

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Asset-backed Securities and Asset Securitization

Frank Santucci, Managing Director, Stifel

Robert Smith, Head of Auto ABS, Stifel

In June 2017 NCUA’s General Council issued a ground-breaking legal opinion letter granting credit unions authority to issue Asset-backed Securities.  NCUA said “issuers of ABS will have more flexibility to meet high loan demand and less dependence on share growth when liquidity is tight. Furthermore, securitization increases available credit to consumers and businesses and will mitigate a material amount of credit risk through transference of that risk to investors.”  NCUA is exactly right in their assessment!

Since that Legal Opinion Letter there have been a dozen credit union issued ABS deals totaling over $3 Billion worth of auto loans.   Over half those deals were done in the past 18 months.

This session will detail the process of securitizing loans, the costs, benefits and risks of issuing ABS and give examples of some of the different structures that can be created and pros and cons of each.

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Advanced Liquidity Management & Funding Strategies

Brent Lytle, Director, Advisory Services, ALM First

Gavin Montgomery, Director, ALM First

With liquidity continuing to be a hot topic, now is the time to ensure that you are taking a disciplined approach to asset pricing and have adequate liquidity sources available for your institution. In this advanced session, we'll discuss current industry trends, review elements of proper liquidity management, and explore effective funding strategies. Beyond certificate specials and other deposit gathering techniques, we'll share the potential benefits of the secondary loan market and issuing asset-backed securities, along with fundamentals of evaluating various liquidity sources using marginal cost analysis within an asset-liability management framework. 

Key Takeaways

  • Evaluate asset pricing in a risk-adjusted return model.
  • Analyze marginal cost of various funding options.
  • Understand the merits of the secondary loan market in your liquidity toolkit.

2:45 – 3:15 p.m. - Networking Break with Sponsors

3:15 – 4:45 p.m. - Pass Time

3:30 – 4:45 p.m. - General Session

6:00 – 8:30 p.m. - Social Event

7:00 – 8:00 a.m. - Breakfast 

8:00 – 9:15 a.m. - General Session & Announcements

9:15  9:30 a.m. - Pass Time

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Taking the Month-End Close to the Next Level (Session Repeats)

Nancy Wu, Head of Product, SkyStem

The session will be focused on our top 8 tips for infusing more efficiency and infrastructure into the month-end close process and taking it to the next level. These top tips include: 

  1. Automating the closing checklist through automation
  2. Reducing the number of reconciliations through automation
  3. Standardize reconciliation preparation
  4. Tracking and resolving open items
  5. Perform post mortem analysis and process improvement
  6. Reduce dependencies on spreadsheets
  7. Establishing stronger audit trails through automation
  8. Eliminating paper 

Where relevant, we will use customer case studies and real examples to illustrate.

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Maximizing Portfolio Performance Through the Turn in the Cycle

Steve Twersky, EVP, FHN Financial Memphis TN

The Fed will almost certainly begin to ease rates lower this year given recent successes in reducing inflation.  But the impact of their 525 basis points increase in the overnight rate in 2022 and 2023 will be with us for some time.  Unrealized losses, while abating to some degree, remain at their highest level in years and many credit unions have not had the liquidity to add a meaningful degree of higher yielding bonds to the investment portfolio.   This session will focus on maximizing yield within the confines of proper IRR and NEV management. 

Topics include:

  • When does it make sense to book a bond loss and how to best evaluate.
  • Using prefunding strategies to accelerate reloading higher yields in the portfolio.
  • How floating rate securities can be used to shorten portfolio duration.
  • What sectors provide the best overall value.CECL and bonds – how are credit unions faring?

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - Concurrent Breakout

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - From Overdrafts to Opportunity: Fresh Approaches to Credit Union Revenue

Heather Morris, AVP of Accounting, CapEd Federal Credit Union

Brittni Terry, AVP of Finance and Business Intelligence, OUCU Financial

Jeremy Zager, Chief Financial Officer, Dort Financial Credit Union

Credit Union professionals come together to share their pioneering strategies for diversifying non-interest income sources beyond traditional overdraft fees. Each brings a unique perspective – including aligning new fees with core values and mission, servicing niche markets, third-party insurance products, and ventures into investment services, among others. This panel promises a comprehensive exploration of creative non-interest income avenues, offering actionable insights and best practices tailored for Credit Unions aiming for sustainable financial growth and enhanced member value.

9:30 – 10:30 a.m. - The Rapidly Emerging Market for Credit Union Subordinated Debt

Michael Macchiarola, CEO, Olden Lane

Dan Prezioso, Partner, Olden Lane

Evolving regulation, market factors and industry adoption has spurred exponential growth of Subordinated Debt. What are the critical considerations you should consider as an issuer and as an investor?

From the issuer perspective, we describe the related planning process and preparation of an application for necessary NCUA approval. We discuss common business objectives, related financial analysis and the components of a thorough application. Finally, we explain the issuance process, including options for packaging an offering for maximum investor interest and the sequence of events during an offering.

From the investor perspective, we describe aspects of subordinated notes necessary to evaluate the related credit, interest rate and liquidity risks. We will summarize applicable regulatory requirements related to concentration limits and other related controls and describe steps of thorough investment due diligence.

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. - Networking Break with Sponsors

11:00 – 11:15 a.m. - Pass Time

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Taking the Month-End Close to the Next Level

Nancy Wu, Head of Product, SkyStem

The session will be focused on our top 8 tips for infusing more efficiency and infrastructure into the month-end close process and taking it to the next level. These top tips include: 

  1. Automating the closing checklist through automation
  2. Reducing the number of reconciliations through automation
  3. Standardize reconciliation preparation
  4. Tracking and resolving open items
  5. Perform post mortem analysis and process improvement
  6. Reduce dependencies on spreadsheets
  7. Establishing stronger audit trails through automation
  8. Eliminating paper 

Where relevant, we will use customer case studies and real examples to illustrate.

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Metrics That Matter: Redefining Success in Credit Union Growth

Alix Patterson, Chief Experience Officer, Callahan & Associates, Inc.

Growth has come relatively easily for credit unions over the past few decades. Often, executive goals are tied to membership, loan, or – as over the last 18 months – deposit growth. But growth is an outcome of a successful strategy, not a strategy in and of itself. By focusing on the end (growth), not the inputs, credit unions can get stuck chasing the wrong metrics. 

In this presentation Callahan will showcase the Sustainable Growth Framework (SGF) which puts the emphasis on the inputs of a growth strategy including a well-articulated and embedded purpose, empowered employees, and engaged members who fuel stakeholder impact. 

Key Takeaways:

How to create engaged employees by connecting your products and services to a greater purpose.

Why engaged employees have the power to create connections with members that lead to more profitable relationships.

What reinvesting a healthy bottom line means for generating stakeholder impact in the community.

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Building Financial Acumen in Non-Financial Leaders

Speakers:
- Rob Johnson, President/Principal, c. myers corporation
- Sean Zimmerman, Senior Vice President, c. myers corporation

Exceptional leadership teams need an ongoing understanding of how all the areas of the credit union work together, yet many strong leaders cite finance as their weakest area.  It's often up to the financial team to help these leaders gain a solid command of key financial concepts.  

Attendees will walk away from this session with: 

  • Simple ways to bring the financials to life so non-financial leaders really "get" how their decisions create financial impact.
  • The basics to start with, how to reinforce them, and how to overcome resistance ("I don't understand any of that stuff").
  • Effective ways to enlist others to help.  The finance team doesn't need to do it all, but your valuable guidance increases their chances of success.
  • Tools that are easy to use and understand to illustrate key concepts, including the relationships and interconnections of various financial levers.

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Instant Payments & The Changing Member Experience

Shannon Heames, Executive Consultant, Alloya Corporate FCU

Jim Schneck, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Alloya Corporate FCU

Instant payments are poised to drastically change the payments world as consumers and businesses embrace the capability. At what point will members opt to send instant payments in lieu of using cards, wires, ACH or checks? 

During this session, we will explore how instant payments are changing the member experience with sending and receiving payments. In addition, other payment-related topics including fraud, peer-to-peer payments (P2P) and payment revenue opportunities will be covered. Don’t miss this opportunity to review current statistics and trends for insight into the world of payments.

11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

12:15 – 1:30 p.m. - Networking Luncheon

1:30 – 1:45 p.m. - Pass Time

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Balancing Margin Compression with Strategic Progress

Speakers:
- Rob Johnson, President/Principal, c. myers corporation
- Sean Zimmerman, Senior Vice President, c. myers corporation

For many institutions, the combination of forecasted margin compression, increasing delinquencies, pressure on expenses, and urgency to move forward strategically is creating the need to make hard business decisions.  In this session we will address the following questions:

  • Should we stay the course and accept lower earnings for a period of time?  If so, for how long?  If yes, how can we get the Board and Management comfortable defining success at a lower level of ROA?
  • What do we need to consider when evaluating realistic funding options and asset mixes and what can we target to help offset the earnings pressure?
  • How do we know if we are spending enough organizational energy on exploring ways to increase revenue while continuing to deliver on our value proposition?
  • How can we approach tightening expenses without stifling strategic progress?
  • How do we continue to remind the Board and Management of CECL's potential impact so that we don't become short-sighted.

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Visual Reporting – Integrating Story Telling at your Credit Union

Heather Hinchley, Senior Solutions Engineer, Syntellis Performance Solutions

Spreadsheet reporting can no longer bear the full weight of your reporting needs. Graphics, charts, and other visual tools get the story across quicker. More and more institutions are incorporating visual, interactive reporting forms and dashboards into their standard report tools. Join us for a presentation on developing content for your internal audience using visual reports.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the advantages and limitations of visual reporting.
  • Gain a starting point for incorporating a visual report portfolio at your company.
  • Walk away with several concrete, practical report examples to use.

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

2:45 – 3:15 p.m. - Networking Break with Sponsors

3:15 – 4:45 p.m. - Pass Time

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. - Concurrent Breakout

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. - Networking Receoption

7:30 – 8:30 a.m. - Breakfast

8:30 – 9:45 a.m. - Closing General Session