Board of Directors Archives - Wisconsin Bankers Association

A Guide to Joining a Community Bank’s Board

Responsibilities, benefits new board members can expect

By Hannah Flanders

Community banks serve a unique and important purpose in every Wisconsin community by directly supporting the growth and stability of small businesses and families. With a mission of reinvestment, it is critical that Wisconsin’s community banks are led by individuals who share similar values to the institution, are knowledgeable of the community, and have experience in banking or local business.

As community banks across the state look to recruit new board members and enhance their strategic planning for the coming year, an increasing number of community leaders who are recruited for their knowledge and skills are curious — and rightfully so — of what responsibilities they will take on as a member of the board.

Key Responsibilities

Like any commitment, joining a bank board leaves individuals to consider many aspects of their willingness to engage with the organization, its shareholders, and bank employees; their understanding of (or desire to learn about) bank policy and regulation as well as the national and local economy; and what skills or experiences make them a qualified leader.

A strong board member adds diversity to the table — be it through their experience or their perspective — and ultimately aids in the growth of the bank.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), a bank’s board of directors is responsible for overseeing the institution’s business performance, selecting and retaining competent management, establishing the institution’s long- and short-term business objectives, adopting operating policies to achieve objectives in a legal and sound manner, monitoring operations to ensure that they are controlled adequately and are in compliance with laws and policies, and ensuring the institution helps to meet its community’s credit needs.

Joining a community bank’s board is a substantial commitment to not only the bank, but the community as well. It is essential that responsibilities, such as regularly attending board and board committee meetings, are a top priority of every member of the board.

Benefits for Community Leaders

The benefits new members experience upon joining the board of directors for a community bank range from building connections within the banking industry and expanding skills and knowledge to staying updated on local and national issues. In addition, this unique opportunity allows leaders to give back to their communities and promote economic growth and prosperity.

To many, being elected as a community bank’s board member highlights those who have proven themselves as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and active leaders both in their business and throughout the community. By joining as a board member, community leaders contribute significantly to shaping the local economy and expanding the legacy of Wisconsin’s community banks.

What to Consider Before Joining a Bank’s Board of Directors

Commitment to:
- Professional development
- Community growth
Engagement with:
- The bank (shareholders, other directors, committee members, staff)
- The community
Experience in:
- Business, banking,
  or leadership
- Also includes education or financial/business connections
Desire to learn about:
- Bank regulations
- National and local economy
Fiduciary responsibility:
- Trustworthy, objective, responsible, and efficient

Bank Director Resources:

FDIC Bank Directors College
- Oct. 26—Wausau and Oct. 27—Madison
FDIC Pocket Guide for Directors

September 16, 2022/by Hannah Flanders

Community, Member News

Introducing New WBA Chair Dan Peterson

By Hannah Flanders

This June, Dan Peterson, a native of DePere, Wis., began his year-long term as chair of the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA). The banking veteran, nearing 35 years in the industry, inspires bankers around the state with his strong work ethic and overall dedication to local communities and the banking industry.

After graduating from St. Norbert College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Peterson began his career as a lending officer with a finance company, first located in Milwaukee, transferring to Marinette after nine months. In 1988, after two years with the finance company, Peterson began his banking career with The Stephenson National Bank & Trust (SNBT) in Marinette as assistant loan officer.

Peterson gained experience in all lending areas of the bank and served as head of the commercial loan department in 2003 before advancing to his current role of president and CEO in 2013.

As WBA chair, Peterson hopes to continue deepening member engagement with the Association. Between education opportunities, advocacy related events, and efforts put forth by the Wisconsin Bankers Foundation (WBF) — the nonprofit arm of WBA — Peterson encourages bankers to not only foster growth in their own banks and communities by engaging with the Association, but also help WBA continue to advocate and support members as it has done for the last 130 years.

“I think as members of WBA, we owe it to the organization because they provide so many benefits to us as bankers,” says Peterson. “I would really like to see member engagement continue to increase over the next year.”

Peterson highlights the newly remodeled WBA office in Madison, including the state-of-the-art Engagement Center as being one of the many opportunities banks can utilize to further engage with WBA. The Engagement Center, open to all WBA member bankers, regularly hosts education events and training sessions. It also serves as an additional resource for bankers to reserve for meetings or strategic planning sessions.

“I think it is important for us as bankers to really support the WBA,” Peterson adds. “Your involvement will help us to remain a highly relevant and impactful organization for the membership.”

In his tenure at SNBT, Peterson has also contributed greatly to the efforts of WBA, the banking industry, and his local community. Peterson has previously served on the WBA Bank Executives Conference Advisory Board, the FIPCO (Financial Institution Products Corporation) Board, and the American Bankers Association (ABA) Community Bankers Council. Additionally, Peterson is currently the president of the Peshtigo Lion’s Club.

Peterson and his wife of 36 years, Barbara, currently reside in their little “slice of heaven” in Marinette. The couple, both St. Norbert alumni, raised two sons who also went on to attend St. Norbert College. Peterson enjoys spending his time away from the bank outside; be it hunting, fishing, or maintaining his property and spending time with his six — soon to be seven — grandchildren. Despite his banking background, Peterson jokingly states that members should not expect to find him on the golf course anytime soon, that is unless he is driving the beverage cart!

July 12, 2022/by Jaclyn Lindquist

Bank Directors, Bank Management, CEO

Directors Summit

This one-day WBA Directors Summit will discuss key issues regarding leadership and management of community banks from the director’s perspective. The Summit is recommended for bank management teams, beginning or experienced inside and outside directors, bank CEOs, executive officers, and bank general counsel.

8:30 a.m. Summit Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m. Vendor and Supplier Diversity – Monica Doyle – FHLBank Chicago

What is Supplier Diversity?
How to begin building a supplier diversity program
How to engage staff in supporting supplier diversity
How to set supplier diversity goals
Ways to engage with supplier diversity councils
Recognizing success

10:00 a.m. Behind the Curtain – Preparing for Your Next Exam – Marc Gall – Financial Institutions Group

Extraordinary Fed rate hikes have led regulators to be laser focused on liquidity management, contingency funding and interest rate risk. Drawing from conversations with regulatory agencies and collaboration with banks, we will discuss how to meet regulatory requirements in these areas. Furthermore, the session will attempt to provide the “why” behind the “what’s required” and a blueprint for your board and management team to tailor a risk management strategy to your institution.

11:00 a.m. Break

11:15 a.m. Top Risks Faced by Banks Over the Next 18 Months – Kyle Manny – Plante Moran & Tom Homberg – Godfrey Kahn

There are countless risks facing banks today. What are the most prominent ones, and what can your bank do to mitigate these risks as efficiently and effectively as possible?

12:15 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Fintech at Your Doorstep: What Can Banks Do Now to Collaborate with Emerging Fintech Companies? Marcie Bomberg-Montoya – Wipfli

It’s not news anymore that fintech startups are set to disrupt the financial industry. However, instead of sending the whole banking reality into chaos, there is real ground for collaboration between fintech companies and traditional financial institutions. The question isn’t whether these new disruptions will transform banking — because they have already started doing so — but rather how to collaborate and partner more successfully within the new financial ecosystem. The recommended strategy is partnership instead of competition. What is the potential framework for this collaboration? This presentation will focus on various aspects to consider when traditional financial institutions and fintech companies assess each other for a collaborative effort to address customers’ needs.

2:00 p.m. Break

2:15 p.m. Understanding Bank Performance: How to Pull Ahead of Your Peers – Taylor Advisors, A HUB International Company

All top-performing institutions have a goal to improve profitability while balancing risk. In a competitive market environment, outperforming your peers is a challenge! Evaluating how your institution ranks versus peers today is a key step in achieving long-term outperformance. With up-to-date peer data for many balance sheet areas and performance metrics, including net interest margin and investment yield, this presentation will show how to evaluate your institution compared to peers in your state and nationally. Each attendee will receive bank-specific information on key balance sheet positions & performance metrics to aid in evaluating strategies based on their unique balance sheet. This interactive session also contains questions, polling, and surveys, enabling participants to see how other attendees approach the balance sheet management process, decision-making, and developing best practices on how to become a high performer over time.

3:15 p.m. Adjournment

January 18, 2023/by Miranda Gustafson

Bank Directors, Compliance, Senior Management, Webinar

Board Reporting Best Practices, Requirements, Delivery, Risk, & More

This invaluable session will explain the types of reports to include in board packages and how to recognize “red flags” in board reports. It will address how the reports should be used to ensure directors are receiving the necessary details to stay informed of issues impacting your institution and make effective, risk-based decisions.

After This Webinar You’ll Be Able To:

Understand directors’ responsibilities and examiners’ expectations of them
Track that corporate documents, policies, and reports are appropriately reviewed by the board
Review compliance exception reports
Define BSA responsibilities for the board, including policy and risk assessment approval, training requirements, and review of audit/exam findings
Explain key information from lending reports, including tracking concentrations, stress testing, and LTV standards

Webinar Details
Ultimate responsibility for your institution’s risk-management program lies with your board of directors. Examiners will evaluate the overall effectiveness of management and the board by analyzing:

Board and senior management oversight
Policies, procedures, and limits
Risk monitoring and management information systems
Internal controls

To facilitate this review, examiners will look at reports and minutes from board and subcommittee meetings to confirm whether management is effectively communicating with the board and that the board has appropriate oversight over risk management, compliance, operations, and financials. Therefore, receiving clear, concise, complete information is critical to a board’s decision-making.

Who Should Attend?
This informative session is designed for directors, compliance officers, risk managers, senior management, board secretaries, and auditors.

Take-Away Toolkit

Sample risk assessments
Sample policy review schedule
Sample board reports
Employee training log
Interactive quiz
PDF of slides and speaker’s contact info for follow-up questions
Attendance certificate provided to self-report CE credits

NOTE: All materials are subject to copyright. Transmission, retransmission, or republishing of any webinar to other institutions or those not employed by your agency is prohibited. Print materials may be copied for eligible participants only.

Presenter

Dawn Kincaid, Brode Consulting Services Inc

Dawn Kincaid began her banking career while attending The Ohio State University. She has over 20 years’ experience in client service, operations, information technology, administrative and board relations, marketing, and compliance. Most recently Kincaid served as the Senior Vice President of Operations for a central-Ohio-based community bank, where she created and refined policies and procedures, conducted self-audits and risk assessments, and organized implementation of new products and services. Kincaid has served in the roles of Compliance, BSA/AML, CRA, Privacy, and Security Officer. She has led training initiatives, prepared due diligence information, completed a variety of regulatory applications, coordinated internal and external audits and exams, and presented for numerous state associations.

Registration Options

$245 – Live Webinar Access
$245 – OnDemand Access + Digital Download
$350 – Both Live & On-Demand Access + Digital Download

October 28, 2022/by Katie Reiser

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