Congratulations to the 19 bankers who recently completed the 2022 Deposit Compliance School held August 22 and 23 at the WBA headquarters in Madison and via livestream! WBA’s Deposit Compliance School is designed to give Wisconsin bankers a strong foundation of the various deposit regulations that affect banks.
- Aubrie Bobholz, Horicon Bank
- Lu Ann Bowman, Mound City Bank, Platteville
- Laura Enders, Bank of Sun Prairie
- Carol Green, First Community Bank, Milton
- Nicole Havel, Dairy State Bank, Rice Lake
- Andy Hayes, Capitol Bank, Madison
- Kelsey Herold, First Citizens State Bank-Whitewater, Whitewater
- Austin Hines, River Falls State Bank, River Falls
- Hailey Klaas, Peoples State Bank, Lancaster
- Marty MacEacher, Peoples State Bank, Prairie du Chien
- Amanda Markell, Bank of Sun Prairie, Sun Prairie
- Brett Miller, Capitol Bank, Madison
- Brooke Noboa, First Federal Bank of Wisconsin, Waukesha
- Brad Olsen, WoodTrust Bank, Wisconsin Rapids
- Hunter Olson, American Bank of Beaver Dam, Beaver Dam
- Nicole Ramirez, Woodford State Bank, Monroe
- Deanna Van Acker, Johnson Financial Group, Racine
- Brian Vogeltanz, Bank of Luxemburg, Luxemburg
- Evan Whitehead, Settlers bank, Appleton
This school is geared toward bank retail staff, including head tellers, personal bankers, universal bankers and managers, as well as compliance officers, operations personnel, and bank legal counsel. WBA Director – Legal Scott Birrenkott, FIPCO Compliance & Risk Management Advisor Michelle Haslam, and compliance consultant Laureen Lehnberg served as faculty for this year’s Deposit Compliance School.
WBA’s Secur-I.T. & BSA/AML Conference returns in 2022
As cybersecurity and fraud continue to be rising topics of discussion throughout the banking industry, bankers are encouraged to stay informed on the latest trends experts are seeing and how regulations will continue to impact Wisconsin banks by attending WBA’s annual Secur-I.T. & BSA/AML Conference held in Wisconsin Dells.
The two-day conference — beginning September 20 and adjourning at noon on September 21 — draws over 125 BSA/AML, operations, security, and technology professionals from around the state for over seven hours of educational presentations and networking.
This year’s keynote session will feature Bryan Seely, a world-famous cyber security expert, ethical hacker, author, and former U.S. Marine. Seely became one of the most famous hackers in 2014 when he became the only person to ever wiretap the United States Secret Service and FBI. Before he was caught, he confessed to the two agencies that there was an issue that needed to
be fixed.
Unlike many hackers, Seely is passionate about fighting for consumers rights, privacy, and educating the public about how to stay safe in a constantly changing technological landscape. In this keynote session, Seely will highlight the different ways in which hackers think and the new, creative ways professionals must approach security in order to protect the most critical information of the business and customers.
In addition to this captivating keynote speaker, the Secur-I.T. & BSA/ AML Conference offers several breakout sessions and networking opportunities that will assist banking professionals from throughout Wisconsin in further developing their bank’s customer experiences, BSA/ AML program, security, and technology capabilities as the banking and technology industries continue to evolve.
- Cassandra Baeten, Ag Portfolio Manager, Bank of Luxemburg
- Cody Belken, Credit Analyst, Royal Bank, Dickeyville
- Riley Carson, Ag Loan Officer, Community Bank, Vernon Center
- Hope Francis, Credit Analyst, Community First Bank, Platteville
- Chris Greenwood, Branch Manager, Waumandee State Bank, Arcadia
- Heather Hafften, Ag Loan Officer, Peoples State Bank, Dickeyville
- Marissa Hanley, Agricultural Credit Analyst, Nicolet National Bank, Seymour
- Mara Hird, Residential Relationship Manager – AVP, Peoples State Bank, Wauzeka
- Jamie Horsfall, Agricultural Relationship Manager, Peoples State Bank, Fennimore
- Rayanne Walker, Agricultural Credit Analyst, Nicolet National Bank, Eau Claire
- Amy Bloczynski, AVP/Branch Manager, Waumandee State Bank, Black River Falls
Farming is both a specialized industry and high risk when it comes to financials. That’s why the Agricultural Lending School is a key educational offering of the Wisconsin Bankers Association. This is a hands-on seminar for members to get a handle on today’s ag markets and farm balance sheets. WBA Director of Education Lori Kalscheuer tells Mid-West Farm Report about enrollment numbers and curriculum for this year’s cohort.
By Rose Oswald Poels
As we emerge from the pandemic and face historic levels of inflation, people across Wisconsin are experiencing high levels of financial stress and burnout, which is impacting various aspects of their lives and our economy in general. The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) and the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy and Capability, on which I serve as a member, have partnered with the Financial Fitness Group to help improve the financial well-being of people who live and work in our state. The program is an expansion of a prior collaboration between DFI and the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds, which helped educate over 12,000 state employees over the last year.
ELEVATE Wisconsin is an effective and unbiased financial wellness program designed to enhance the lives of Wisconsin employees and their families while generating positive exposure for businesses.
The cost of financial stress impacts more than an individual’s bank account. Economic challenges affect employees’ health, workplace effectiveness and productivity, long-term financial stability, and ultimately an employer’s bottom line. A few key facts:
- 68% of the retiring workforce worry about having enough money to retire.
- 67% of Americans lack the knowledge to make sound financial decisions.
- 64% of the American workforce is living paycheck-to-paycheck. When economic downturns happen, it causes even more stress on them.
- 33% of Americans have minimal to no retirement savings.
Why is ELEVATE Wisconsin Important?
Financial education can positively enhance the lives of Wisconsin employees through financial wellness and improve their financial security while fostering financial confidence.
ELEVATE Wisconsin represents truly unbiased, FINRA-compliant financial education that has been proven to be effective and measurable. ELEVATE Wisconsin focuses on improving the financial aptitude, behaviors, and confidence of Wisconsinites and their families.
What is ELEVATE Wisconsin?
ELEVATE Wisconsin is an online wellness program providing interactive, effective, and unbiased instruction in personal finance and investing fundamentals to Wisconsin employees.
DFI is a key sponsor of the program and has worked with the Financial Fitness Group to help develop the program. The Financial Fitness group is an industry leader, having already provided financial education to over 2 million users at more than 1,000 major U.S. organizations. Financial Fitness Group’s financial fitness solutions can assess, score, and educate consumers at a quarter of the cost of conventional methods.
ELEVATE Wisconsin Financial Education Includes:
- A personalized financial wellness platform where participants can access tutorials, interactive calculators, videos, and more!
- Pre- and post-lesson quizzes to determine knowledge change and measure program effectiveness.
- Certificates, points, and badges to motivate users to keep on learning.
- Access to the Financial Fitness SCORE™, a Financial Fitness Checkup that allows users to benchmark their overall financial health — aptitude, behavior, and confidence.
- 24/7 online access from any device — smartphone, tablet, or computer.
- A reporting dashboard where administrators can access real-time data on overall organizational metrics, user progress, financial assessments, learning data, and most popular courses.
What Role Can Banks Play?
As employers are trusted partners in financial education, this program is designed to be delivered through the workplace. Banks can join as program sponsors, offering the program to their business customers (for example, small businesses or nonprofit organizations that would like to make the program available to their employees) as well as to the bank’s own employees. The online platform will be co-branded for the sponsor and the business, so users (employees) see the bank’s logo as well as their employer’s.
We look forward to getting the word out on this important financial wellness program that aims to empower more than 100,000 employees and engage over 500 employers throughout Wisconsin by 2025.
Join Wisconsin banking leaders in education and networking opportunities
Banking leaders from throughout Wisconsin will once again reconvene in Wisconsin Dells for a two-day event focused on education and networking. WBA’s Management Conference, beginning on September 13, is a must-attend event for CEOs, CFOs, CCOs, HR leaders, and other members of the bank’s management team.
An optional, pre-conference golf outing is scheduled for September 13 at Rock Golf Club in Wisconsin Dells. Bankers interested in additional opportunities to connect with their banking peers and event sponsors should plan to attend. Following the outing, the event will kick off on Tuesday night with a dinner program recognizing individual bankers who will be receiving WBA’s 30- and 40-year Lifetime Service Awards. Bankers interested in receiving this recognition or honoring an individual who meets the service award criteria should visit wisbank.com/ServiceAwards to complete the nomination form by August 19, 2022 to be included in the program.
On September 14, bankers will have the opportunity to attend two general sessions and two rounds of breakout sessions that include four management-related tracks including credit/lending, human resources, finance, and general bank trends.
In addition to networking among peers, Wisconsin bankers will hear from Sarah Sladek, founder and CEO of XYZ University, LLC during her keynote session on managing and leading during the new era of workplace shift that has recently emerged. While preparing for increasing innovation, shifting values, global connectivity, disruption, and opportunity, Sladek will assist bank leaders and organizers in understanding why they may be struggling to lead a high-functioning team as well as provide insight into how bankers may best be able to usher in a new generation of talent.
To learn more and register for the upcoming event in Wisconsin Dells, visit wisbank.com/management. Questions regarding the conference can be directed to WBA’s Lori Kalscheuer, director – education.
Make the most of your WBA membership
By Daryll Lund
For 130 years, the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA) has strived to offer member banks expansive opportunities to grow and thrive within our industry. In being a member-led organization, the WBA highly encourages bankers of all levels to engage with educational and advocacy-related events, programs, and groups.
As part of its mission to support every member, WBA annually offers hundreds of educational opportunities — from one-hour webinars to five-day schools. While the main objective of all WBA programming is of course professional development, one significant benefit many of us have sincerely missed over the last several years is our ability to connect with one another.
The team at WBA regularly expresses to me how special it is to witness our member bankers — there are over 35,000 of them — meet and foster connections through WBA conferences, outings, and groups. As events continually return in person, I am excited to serve witness once again to the all the new ideas created and connections formed as many Wisconsin bankers reconvene for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.
Since WBA’s inception, the development — both professionally and personally — of bankers has been a focal point in our mission to support Wisconsin’s banking industry.
In addition to the training and educational programs WBA offers throughout the year, there are many other volunteer opportunities that individual bankers of all levels may engage in.
These opportunities not only allow for bankers to gain further insight into a specific area of the bank from their peers but encourage them to ask questions and assist WBA staff members in creating meaningful and relevant programs, resources, and content for other bankers throughout the state. Volunteering as a WBA Advocacy Officer, attending the Building Our Leaders of Tomorrow (BOLT) Summit, or engaging with one of WBA’s Connect Peer Groups — to name just a few of the opportunities WBA offers to members — allows bankers the ability to make their voices heard throughout the industry.
As your bank looks ahead to all the programs, classes, and events that WBA will be hosting for the remainder of the year, we look forward to welcoming many of you back in person as well as assisting you and your teams in enhancing your connections to your industry and peers across the state.
WBA’s Management Conference Returns to Wisconsin Dells in September
Join over 150 banking leaders for WBA’s annual Management Conference September 13 and 14 in Wisconsin Dells. C-suite and HR professionals will enjoy several general sessions, breakout sessions, and opportunities to network among Wisconsin banking peers and over 50 conference sponsors and exhibitors from across the U.S.
The conference, to be held at Glacier Canyon Conference Center, will officially begin on Tuesday night with a dinner program and ceremony recognizing individual bankers who will be receiving WBA’s 30- and 40-year Lifetime Service Awards. Bankers are encouraged to attend this program not only to celebrate these milestone achievements, but for additional opportunities to network with banking peers. Bankers interested in receiving this recognition or honoring an individual who meets the service award criteria should visit wisbank.com/ServiceAwards to complete the nomination form.
Before the dinner program on Tuesday, September 13, bankers looking to make the most of their time out of the office will also enjoy an optional pre-conference golf outing at Wild Rock Golf Club in Wisconsin Dells. Join WBA, your banking peers, and several sponsors at this unofficial kickoff for an additional opportunity to connect with banking leaders from around the state.
This year’s conference will focus on taking banking to the next level. By investing in opportunities to network with other community bankers and dive into topics that will help your bank succeed as a business, leaders are able to reinvest the skills and knowledge learned at the conference into every member of their team.
WBA encourages all bank management teams to take advantage of the four management-related breakout session tracks — including credit/lending, human resources, finance, and general bank trends — for the benefit of every leader, their team, and the continued success of their institution.
To learn more and register for the upcoming event in Wisconsin Dells, visit wisbank.com/management. Questions regarding the conference can be directed to WBA’s Lori Kalscheuer, director – education.