Archive for month: May, 2025

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Katie Steffel Promoted to Vice President – Retail Loan Operations at Bank First

Katie Steffel

Bank First (NASDAQ: BFC), is pleased to announce the promotion of Katie Steffel to Vice President – Retail Loan Operations. “Katie’s ability to bring people and processes together to create a smooth, efficient experience for our customers and employees has made a significant impact on our team,” said Brendan Marston, Chief Operations Officer at Bank First. “We’re excited to see her continue driving improvements and delivering outstanding service in her new role.”

Katie brings more than 27 years of mortgage industry experience to the position. Since joining Bank First in 2022 through its merger with Denmark State Bank, she has advanced through several leadership roles within the retail loan operations team. In her new role, Katie will provide strategic leadership and oversight across all aspects of the Bank’s retail loan operations, including documentation, closing, and post-closing processes. She will focus on driving operational excellence, ensuring regulatory compliance, and enhancing the customer experience across all retail loan products.

Katie lives in Green Bay with her husband, Chuck. They have three children who have been actively involved in sports over the years. When they have free time, the family enjoys spending time at their cabin.

Visit www.bankfirst.com for more information.

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Cybersecurity Without the Checklist: Adapting to the CAT’s Sunset

By Rob Foxx

2025 is already shaping up to be an unpredictable year for banks. The 2024 announcement of the retirement of the FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (CAT), scheduled for August 2025, has been a major concern for IT and information security management.

The advantage of the CAT was its clarity — it clearly stated requirements and allowed institutions to set defined goals based on their maturity level. However, the tool also had significant drawbacks. It was not based on any existing security frameworks — of which there are many — and it had not been updated since its initial publication in 2015. Additionally, many examiners and auditors used it as a rigid checklist without considering that compensating controls, which meet or exceed a given requirement, could be acceptable.

Over the years, variations of the CAT were developed and maintained by industry professionals. Notably, the Automated Cybersecurity Assessment Tool (ACAT) by the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) (now discontinued), the Automated Cybersecurity Examination Tool (ACET) developed by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Cyber Risk Institute (CRI) Cyber Profile created by the American Bankers Association (ABA), which is still actively maintained and aligned with modern security frameworks.

Your regulatory requirement has always been to evaluate and maintain your cybersecurity posture based on your institution’s risk appetite and goals. Fortunately, several viable options remain available, as long as they provide a repeatable method for assessing cybersecurity posture. However, most alternative tools do not define clear maturity goals as explicitly as the CAT did.

If you preferred the CAT, the CRI Cyber Profile or the ACET by NCUA are logical successors. Both tools maintain a similar format and function. For a more modern approach that moves away from Excel spreadsheets, CISA’s Cyber Security Evaluation Tool (CSET) is a compelling alternative. It is a free, standalone application that allows multiple contributors, document attachment for evidence, and references source materials for clarity. It also integrates with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and CIS Controls Version 8, which FIPCO IT Audit Services has been recommending for years. CSET additionally offers CISA’s Ransomware Readiness Assessment (RRA), a strong alternative to the Ransomware Self-Assessment Tool (R-SAT). For those seeking a more comprehensive evaluation, CSET provides full IT and information security risk assessments, not just cybersecurity-focused ones. Other acceptable frameworks exist, including paid solutions from IT management providers and specialized risk and security firms.

While change can be challenging, it is not inherently negative. The world has evolved over the past decade and so have cybersecurity threats and the controls used to mitigate them. Adapting how we assess and manage security posture is long overdue.

Consider your options carefully. Although the CAT is being retired, full adoption of a replacement tool is unlikely to be required immediately by August 2025. Now is the time to explore new solutions and ensure your institution remains secure and compliant.

Foxx is director – infosec and IT audit services for FIPCO, a WBA Gold Associate Member.

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Prevail Bank Welcomes Ruthie Dickinson as New Mortgage Loan Originator

Ruth (Ruthie) Dickinson

Prevail Bank is excited to welcome Ruth “Ruthie” Dickinson to its Stevens Point team as the branch’s new Mortgage Loan Originator (NMLS# 2717623).

Ruthie brings a strong background in financial lending, customer service, and communications—skills that make the mortgage process smoother and more personal for the families she serves. Known for her warm personality and hands-on approach, Ruthie is passionate about helping customers find the right mortgage solution to fit their needs.

Originally from Hutchinson, Kansas, Ruthie and her husband Kolton, along with their young daughter Konnor, recently made the move to Wisconsin. Before joining Prevail Bank, she was a Financial Center Manager and officer at the First National Bank of Hutchinson.

“Leaving Kansas was a big decision, but we’re excited for this new chapter,” said Ruthie. “We’ve already fallen in love with the area and look forward to exploring everything it has to offer.”

When she’s not helping customers with home loans, Ruthie enjoys hiking, hunting, fishing, and spending time with her family. She’s eager to get involved in the local community and make Stevens Point home.

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National Exchange Bank & Trust Joins Take Root Milwaukee

National Exchange Bank & Trust is proud to announce its recent membership in Take Root Milwaukee, a coalition comprising of more than fifty community organizations dedicated to fostering sustainable homeownership throughout Milwaukee. This collaboration aims to provide valuable tools and resources to help residents achieve stable and affordable housing.

By joining Take Root Milwaukee, National Exchange Bank & Trust will create valuable partnerships in the industry and leverage its resources and expertise to support initiatives important to the organization’s goals.

Joe Weber, assistant vice president and retail lending supervisor for National Exchange Bank & Trust in Waukesha, stated, “This partnership reflects our commitment to supporting and enriching communities not only in Waukesha but also outside our immediate branch footprint. We are looking forward to actively contributing to this mission and its positive impact in the Milwaukee/Waukesha area.”

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Executive Letter: Record-Breaking Capitol Day Demonstrates Power of Unified Industry Voice

From the Desk of Rose Oswald PoelsBy Rose Oswald Poels

I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of the members who helped make our 2025 Capitol Day a resounding success. With over 320 bankers from more than 70 banks across Wisconsin in attendance, this year marked record-breaking participation and sent a powerful message to lawmakers at the State Capitol.

Bankers met with 32 of 33 State Senators and 80 of 99 State Representatives to discuss the critical role banks play in growing local economies and supporting the needs of individuals, families, and businesses. These direct conversations — on topics like state privacy regulations, credit card interchange fees, tax parity, cryptocurrency, and protecting seniors from financial fraud — emphasized how essential strong partnerships are between lawmakers and our industry. The presence of such a large, unified group made a lasting impression on our state’s elected officials.

We heard from key state leaders including Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and Assembly Assistant Minority Leader Kalan Haywood who participated in a panel moderated by WisPolitics.com President Jeff Mayers. During lunch, remarks were delivered by DFI Secretary-designee Wendy K. Baumann. Their participation reaffirmed the importance of Capitol Day in shaping policies that enable banks to better serve Wisconsin communities.

As we continue our advocacy work in 2025, we are actively working toward our annual fundraising goal of $300,000 through contributions to Wisbankpac and the Alliance for Bankers Conduit. These funds are essential to supporting critical efforts like Capitol Day — which remains free for WBA members — and ensuring the voice of Wisconsin’s banking industry remains strong and effective in the legislative process. If you or others at your bank have not yet participated, I encourage you to consider a personal contribution and help us reach this important goal. If you would like to help spread the word about WBA’s fundraising goal, a sample fundraising letter is in the digital WBA Advocacy Toolkit.

Once again, thank you for your leadership and your commitment to advocacy. Together, we are making a difference in advancing the banking industry and supporting communities across the state.

If you would like to access any of the “leave behind materials” shared at Capitol Day, you can download them from the links below:
•  WBA Issue Papers Summary
•  Issue Summary
•  Impact Brochure

In closing, I’d like to give kudos to WBA’s Government Relations team, Lorenzo Cruz and Tyler Foti, for their hard work in making Capitol Day the success that it was.

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Association Update: New Fraud Summit in June to Address Evolving Threats

By Daryll Lund

Fraud in the financial services industry is constantly evolving, becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect. As fraud risks continue to grow, Wisconsin banks have made it clear that they need more tools, insights, and strategies to stay ahead. In response to these concerns, the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) is introducing a new, one-day Fraud Summit on June 3, 2025, where banking professionals will gather to tackle fraud — one of the most pressing challenges in the industry. This one-day event will explore the latest fraud trends, emerging threats, and innovative strategies to protect financial institutions and their customers.

This event is the result of direct conversations with our members, who have shared their increasing challenges in protecting customers, accounts, and internal systems from fraud. Through this summit, bankers will hear from industry experts on emerging fraud trends, regulatory developments, and best practices for safeguarding their institutions.

WBA remains committed to providing meaningful education and resources that help banks navigate the complexities of today’s financial landscape. The WBA Fraud Summit is just one way we continue to respond to our member’s needs — ensuring Wisconsin banks have access to the latest knowledge and tools to combat fraud effectively.

Other support for members comes from Midwest Bankers Insurance Services (MBIS). MBIS provides assistance and full review of FI Bond and Cyber Liability applications to confirm and discuss internal controls to prevent fraud. MBIS VP of Sales, Jeff Otteson, recommends that banks work closely with their FI Bond and Cyber Liability broker to thoroughly understand the current vulnerabilities and how they can be eliminated with strong internal controls, best practices, and employee training.

More details on the Fraud Summit, including the agenda and speakers, will be shared with members soon. We look forward to offering this new opportunity to help banks stay ahead in the fight against fraud.

For help strengthening your fraud prevention efforts and assessing fraud risk contact Jeff Otteson, MBIS VP of Sales via email at jeffo@mbisllc.com or call 608.217.5219

Lund is WBA executive vice president – chief of staff and president of EBC and MBIS.

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Horicon Bank Receives the WASDA Bert Grover Child Advocacy Award – Business for 2025

Horicon Bank has been selected as the recipient of the WASDA Bert Grover Child Advocacy Award-Business for 2025 following a nomination from Superintendent Rich Appel of the School District of Horicon. This award was created by WASDA (Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators) Board of Directors in 1992 to recognize an individual or agency that has exhibited extraordinary dedication to the cause of child advocacy in the state of Wisconsin.

Pictured (from left to right): Ruth Schwertfeger, Fred F. Schwertfeger, and Rich Appel.

Horicon Bank’s partnership spans the entirety of the School District of Horicon, from the youngest students in Kindergarten to the High School Seniors. The bank’s support is felt across multiple schools and grade levels, impacting every aspect of student life. Their generosity has been extended to various school events, programs, and extracurricular activities, benefiting students, staff, and families alike.

One of the most impactful examples of Horicon Bank’s support is their substantial lead donation of $1.25 million dollars toward the development of the school district’s new athletic complex named “Sword Field.” This transformative gift, led by CEO of Horicon Bank, Fred F. Schwertfeger and his wife Ruth, has provided students with state of the art facilities, enhancing the educational experience for generations to come. In addition to this major contribution, Horicon Bank consistently supports the district in numerous ways. They generously donate over $3500 annually in scholarships to two graduating Seniors, ensuring their future success. The bank also sponsors events like the Horicon Elementary Fun Run, local PTO events, and activities related to FFA and FBLA programs, all of which foster a strong sense of community and encourage students to participate in valuable extracurricular experiences. Additionally, they contribute to other student-centered events throughout the year. Furthermore, Horicon Bank plays a pivotal role in supporting district staff by funding in-service luncheons, which promote professional development and encourage staff cohesion. This partnership enhances morale and provides a sense of appreciation for the hard work and dedication of all district staff. Horicon Bank’s contributions have directly led to tangible outcomes for both students and staff.

The athletic complex has provided students with a modern space to train and compete, which boosts school pride and physical health. Their support of extracurriculars enables students to participate in leadership-building activities, such as FFA and FBLA, that teach skills for success beyond graduation. Moreover, staff appreciation initiatives have fostered a positive environment where teachers and staff feel valued and supported, which in turn translates to a more motivated and engaged learning community.

Horicon Bank has been a long-standing partner to the district, continuously contributing both financially and through volunteer efforts over many years. Their ongoing commitment ensures the sustainability of the programs and initiatives that benefit students, staff, and community. Their support is a constant that both students and staff rely on, and they have proven to be a dependable and invaluable ally to the district’s educational mission: “Educate. Engage. Empower. Every Day.”

Horicon Bank’s generous financial support and unwavering dedication to the success of the School District of Horicon make them an exemplary candidate for the Bert Grover Child Advocate Business Award for 2025. Their contributions, which enhance educational opportunities and foster a spirit of community, have had a profound and lasting impact on our students and staff. Through their continued involvement, they have shown an exceptional commitment to the future of Horicon’s children, making them more than deserving of this prestigious honor.

“I have had the great fortune of working alongside Fred and the entire team at Horicon Bank since I arrived in Horicon nine years ago. Their commitment to excellence and more importantly people through their community-driven values make them invaluable partners in shaping the future of education, and we are proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition with them.” – Rich Appel, Superintendent, School District of Horicon

As part of the award, Horicon Bank CEO Fred F. Schwertfeger received a plaque from the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) and will receive an art project gift from a student from Horicon High School. On behalf of Horicon Bank, Mr. Schwertfeger was recognized for this great honor and accepted the award on Thursday, April 24th, 2025, at the WASDA Annual Educational Conference in Madison, WI.

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Nicole Rotier Promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Spring Bank

Nikki Rotier

Nicole Rotier has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Spring Bank. As Chief Financial Officer, Nicole will play a key role in the bank’s strategic growth initiatives, as well as oversee all financial operations and guide the bank’s fiscal strategies moving forward. With a strong background in both banking and public accounting, Nicole brings a well-rounded perspective to the position.

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AI Process Automation Q&A With Tim Schneider, CEO and President of Bank Five Nine

Bank Five Nine CEO and President Tim Schneider generously shared insights from Bank Five Nine’s experiences with AI process automation.

At Bank Five Nine, we use a combination of Blue Prism, Python, and JSON as the foundation of our robotic process automation. Each of these tools has its strengths and weaknesses. Some automation uses a combination of all three.

What specific banking processes has your institution automated using AI-driven robotic process automation, and what impact has it had on efficiency?
When we first started our automation initiatives, forty-eight (48) use cases were identified as potential candidates for automation. The following automation processes are in production:

Monthly Auditing
•  Run monthly reports from Encompass and upload to StoneHill site/portal for auditing to meet GSE and government loan program requirements in Encompass. File and maintain selected loans in Encompass for access by StoneHill.

Use dates and data from loans in Fiserv Premier to automate emails to borrowers
•  First payment details/reminder
•  Subsequent Payments, as due after a certain date
•  Escrow activity notification (pre and post)

Update Customer Information in Premier
•  Read Activity reports provided by 3rd party and perform maintenance in Navigator

Operation Support Maintenance Tasks
•  Closed Accounts
•  eStatement Setup
•  Missing Endorsements

Non-post
•  Review report and post to an existing account or return maintenance

Rendering Statements
•  Automation of the rendering process

COLD Commit Bot
•  Commit all COLD reports parsed into Digital Imaging. The bot emails stakeholders that the process has been completed and that reports are available for the day.

EBC Parser
•  Reviews text files from Fiserv that list login attempts for Business OLB users and counts any user with 12+ login attempts.

Check Image Data Extraction
•  Review OCR data collected from Director Imaging Automated Indexing and exports it to a file location. This data is compared against the Teller Check report to assign a check number (from the check image) to the payee/remitter/amount data. This is
then compiled and sent to MoneyGram. The purpose is to add the Payee name so MoneyGram can lower the risk associated with cashier’s checks.

Zelle Balancing/Transfer Reports
•  RPA Blue Prism, Director workflow, and Python scripting are used. Reports from our online banking system are exported by a bot. Director Imaging exports a text file from Fiserv. A Python script then compares the two reports to identify Zelle transfers that were made by customers after the Fiserv cutoff. These transfers were causing our GLs to be out of balancing due to the difference in cutoff times between Fiserv and NCR OLB.

HMDA Score Update
•  RPA BluePrism bots generate a report from our LOS monthly. The bot then goes into each loan on the report and updates the data based on the generated report.

Loan Maintenance Review
•  We use BluePrism to export an autogenerated text report from Fiserv and use an input file with several keywords to search for maintenance that needs to be reviewed. There are two separate bots for Commercial and Retail loan operations teams.

Online Banking Activity Reporting
•  RPA Blue Prism is used to export documents for archiving and retrieval in Director Imaging. This is a daily process. We maintain records for failed logins, eStatement sign up, enrollment, new transfers, etc.

Loan Document Export for Disaster Recovery
•  RPA Blue Prism is used to export documents for archival in Director. The bot processes closed loans daily.

Reg CC Review
•  Bots use Director Import PDF Processor and Workflow to route checks to Operations Support to place holds. Operations uses options within the workflow to approve, deny, or void the Reg CC requests. Branches receive auto-notifications from workflow based on the activity of Operations Support

Debit Card Review
•  Auto-review common maintenance types to eliminate the need for manual review on all items. From an efficiency perspective, the processes that we have automated have greatly reduced the number of hours associated with that process. People still must review the output to ensure that it is correct and troubleshoot the automation if it errors off. We reduced the tasks, not the responsibilities.

What lessons did your bank learn during the implementation of AI for process automation? Were there any unexpected challenges or benefits?
Automation is not a create it and forget it process. Automation is an iterative process. Continuously changing and evolving as technology and business processes change. Data quality and process mapping are key to success. Having people who know why things are done the way they are is so critical to success.

Which repetitive tasks at your bank have been the easiest to automate, and which have proven more complex?

The tasks that have been the easiest to automate are the ones with processes that are clearly defined and whose outputs/outcomes are known. Example: Did the customer specify that they wanted an e-statement? Yes or No. Any process that, while clearly defined, has multiple outputs/outcomes and triggers other processes based on those outputs/outcomes has been the most challenging.

Has AI-driven automation improved accuracy in your bank’s operations?
Yes and no. Data quality is critical to success. The automation is only as good as the information that we feed it.

What advice would you give to other community banks considering AI for process automation, particularly in balancing technology adoption with maintaining a personal touch in customer service?
Focus on customer needs: Internal / External. Ensure that the automation addresses the specific needs and expectations of the customer.

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Starion Bank Promotes Whitebird

Roy Whitebird

Starion Bank announces that Roy Whitebird has been promoted to Senior Universal Banker. Whitebird joined Starion in 2022 as a Universal Banker. He came to Starion with previous experience in cash handling, customer experience, and nearly 6 years of experience in retail banking.

In his new role he will oversee Universal Bankers in the market and manage day-to-day operations, as well as ensuring customers continue receiving the prompt, attentive and knowledgeable service provided by Starion for more than 50 years.

Whitebird graduated from Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University with a degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business.

Whitebird earned a Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies degree from Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University and is continuing his education there for a bachelor’s degree in business.

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