Program | Conference for Community Bankers

8:00 AM – 10:15 AM

GENERAL SESSION

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM

BREAK IN THE HUB

10:30 AM – 11:45 AM

GUEST BREAKFAST

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM

EDUCATION AND PEER EXCHANGE SESSIONS

Overview of CRE market data
Join ABA senior director and economist Dan Brown for a timely overview of the current commercial real estate market environment, and insights into what might be ahead. CEOs and credit leaders will gain perspective on where CRE risk is building, which portfolio signals matter most and what leadership should be watching before stress shows up in credit quality. This discussion will highlight key trends across asset classes, shifts in demand and the market pressures shaping today’s landscape.

12:15 PM – 1:15 PM

INDUSTRY INSIGHT LUNCHES (RSVP REQUESTED)

1:15 PM – 2:00 PM

DESSERT IN THE HUB

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

EDUCATION SESSIONS

How to use generative AI in the C-suite
Most banks have access to a generative AI tool but almost nothing has changed about how the work gets done. They risk moving too slowly while competitors gain operational and strategic advantages. This session will address the critical question facing CEOs and CFOs: of all the possible applications, which use cases are worth pursuing first? Most AI efforts in banks die on that decision. Learn to set the standard your team must meet before an AI-produced answer is good enough to put your name on.Using board assessments to build a stronger board
Annual board evaluations are widely considered a governance best practice. But the real value comes from what a board does with the results. In this session, panelists will share how their banks approached the evaluation process, what they learned from the results and the specific changes that followed. In an environment of rapid change and heightened accountability, boards that do not actively evaluate and strengthen their own performance may find themselves less prepared to guide the bank through strategic, operational and emerging risks. Discover how the process can help an already-functioning board become more effective, and how to measure the efficacy of post-evaluation changes.Strategic implications of stablecoins and tokenized deposits
The emergence of a federal framework for payment stablecoins is reshaping the competitive landscape for financial institutions. As adoption accelerates and digital asset infrastructure becomes increasingly embedded in payment systems, community bank leaders must evaluate how these developments could affect deposits, payments, liquidity management, customer relationships and long-term strategy. In this session, attendees will gain a practical analysis of the federal regulatory framework governing permitted stablecoin issuers, the distinction between tokenized deposits and payment stablecoins and the operational considerations involved.Protecting your bank and customers in the age of AI-generated deepfakes and scams
AI is transforming fraud at an unprecedented pace — making scams more sophisticated, scalable and difficult to detect. Banks must keep pace with adversaries who are using the same technologies banks are adopting to drive innovation and efficiency. In this session, examine the latest AI-enabled fraud threats affecting community banks and explore how to use AI for fraud detection, prevention and information sharing. Learn the techniques frontline staff can use to help protect customers without inadvertently strengthening a fraudster's influence. Explore how balancing technology, employee training, customer education and peer collaboration can strengthen defenses while preserving trusted relationships.Implementing AI to improve commercial credit systems
Today, banks are beginning to add AI into commercial loan processes and systems. Reviewing dated processes is critical to streamline antiquated approaches. Explore where AI can improve commercial credit workflows, how to measure whether it is working and how to avoid creating new models, compliance or credit risks. Find out how lenders are testing and implementing changes to commercial loan offerings, financial spreads, covenant tracking and credit risk management and why it’s becoming the norm.

3:15 PM – 4:15 PM

EDUCATION SESSIONS

Stop predicting rates and start managing your balance sheet
Banks that rely on yesterday's balance sheet strategies risk reduced earnings power, greater funding pressure and diminished flexibility to capitalize on emerging opportunities. The banks best positioned to succeed are prepared to manage their exposures and execute when opportunities arise. In this session, learn the decisions bank leaders should be making around liquidity, funding, investment portfolios, interest rate risk, capital and earnings. Leave with a clearer framework for making and communicating forward-looking balance sheet decisions.Identifying board skills gaps and recruiting to fill them
In order to succeed, your board must possess the right mix of expertise to provide effective oversight and strategic guidance. In this session, discover how board skills matrices can evaluate director capabilities, identify critical knowledge gaps and align board composition with strategic priorities. Boards that do not actively refresh their expertise and succession plans may find themselves unprepared for emerging risks, strategic opportunities and leadership transitions. Learn how to avoid leadership gaps by building a sustainable director pipeline and engaging shareholders and stakeholders in the process. Leave with actionable tools to strengthen board effectiveness and create a future-proof recruitment strategy.The AI framework: The transition from efficiency to ROIC
Community banks must implement AI with the governance, controls and strategic discipline required to create measurable economic value — and soon. Banks stuck in pilot programs risk falling behind the competition. This session explores how banks can reinvest the productive capacity they gain from strategic AI use to strengthen customer relationships, accelerate growth and improve decision making. Through real-world banking examples, you’ll leave with a practical framework for moving from experimentation to governed, enterprise-wide AI adoption.Compensation strategies: Making talent investments count
The most successful banks will be those that view compensation not as an expense to manage, but as a strategic investment in leadership, workforce resilience and long-term performance. This session will help CHROs think strategically about retention, competition and workforce sustainability. Learn to use market data responsibly, frame compensation tradeoffs for leadership and connect pay strategy to succession, budget discipline and long-term talent planning. Leave with a better understanding of how compensation strategy can support both employee retention and your bank's business goals.The evolution of commercial credit team roles
Banks are reexamining the traditional responsibilities of commercial loan officers, portfolio managers and credit analysts to better align talent, processes and accountability with today’s lending environment. Learn to determine whether your commercial credit teams have role clarity, capacity and accountability to support growth, improve decision speed and maintain strong credit discipline. Explore ways to achieve sustainable efficiency and growth while maintaining strong credit discipline and exceeding customer expectations.

4:30 PM – 5:15 PM

PARTNER GAME CHANGERS

5:15 PM – 6:15 PM

RECEPTION IN THE HUB

7:15 am – 8:00 am

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS BREAKFASTS

8:00 am – 10:00 am

GENERAL SESSION

10:00 am – 11:00 am

BREAK IN THE HUB

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

EDUCATION SESSIONS

AI ROI: Where community banks actually win
AI only works effectively when banks redesign workflows, establish success metrics and align investments with strategic priorities to optimize it. This session focuses on the real economics of AI in community banking: where AI consistently delivers measurable ROI, how leadership should evaluate AI investments and how an AI Center of Excellence can help prioritize use cases. Attendees will get a playbook for identifying meaningful opportunities, measuring results and scaling AI investments with confidence.Managing workforce risk: Governance, succession and readiness
Workforce issues are no longer just HR issues — they are business, governance and reputational risks. The banks that succeed will be those that treat workforce planning, succession and leadership development with the same rigor as financial, operational and compliance risks. This session will help CHROs elevate people risk to the executive and board level and connect workforce priorities to regulatory readiness. CEOs will learn what to expect from HR as people-related risks become more complex and more central to long-term success.

11:00 am – 12:30 pm

MASTER CLASS SESSIONS

A culture of excellence: Building success from within
Employee mindset has everything to do with whether your business survives or thrives, because engaged employees create engaged and loyal customers. During this session, representatives from The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center share best practices on how to activate and sustain a culture where valued and empowered employees own the customer experience. Whether you’re re-opening your business in a changed world or revitalizing a flagging culture that has shifted to a virtual work environment, their trusted processes take the guesswork out of selection, onboarding, upskilling and talent retention. Walk away with actionable ideas to elevate experiences and engage employees. Managing workforce risk: Governance, succession and readiness
Workforce issues are no longer just HR issues — they are business, governance and reputational risks. The banks that succeed will be those that treat workforce planning, succession and leadership development with the same rigor as financial, operational and compliance risks. This session will help CHROs elevate people risk to the executive and board level and connect workforce priorities to regulatory readiness. CEOs will learn what to expect from HR as people-related risks become more complex and more central to long-term success.A culture of excellence: Building success from within
Employee mindset has everything to do with whether your business survives or thrives, because engaged employees create engaged and loyal customers. During this session, representatives from The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center share best practices on how to activate and sustain a culture where valued and empowered employees own the customer experience. Whether you’re re-opening your business in a changed world or revitalizing a flagging culture that has shifted to a virtual work environment, their trusted processes take the guesswork out of selection, onboarding, upskilling and talent retention. Walk away with actionable ideas to elevate experiences and engage employees. The strategic power of mentorship and sponsorship to empower employees
Join this candid, interactive exploration of how mentorship and sponsorship can strengthen leadership pipelines, improve retention and accelerate succession readiness. Leave with new accountability tools, practical strategies to improve mentorship and sponsorship efforts and more to support the next generation of community bank leaders.

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Networking Lunch

1:45 pm – 2:30 pm

Spark!

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

EDUCATION SESSIONS

Growing the right deposits: Using deposit intelligence to strengthen funding and profitability
When deposit balances are under pressure, total growth alone can be misleading. Banks must understand which customers and balances are stable, rate-sensitive and profitable, and which are at risk of leaving. Learn how to turn deposit data into actionable funding and profitability decisions. Explore how to distinguish core from surge balances, anticipate movement between products and alternatives, target retention and growth strategies effectively and evaluate deposit pricing tradeoffs alongside liquidity and interest rate risk.

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

MASTER CLASS SESSIONS

Leading for the next generations: Stewardship perspectives on bank leadership challenges
Through expert insights, live polling, guided reflection, peer discussion and case-based problem solving, examine the distinct but complementary responsibilities of CEOs, CFOs and directors. Using a realistic community bank succession scenario, uncover the key principles that must be considered for the succession challenges faced by community banks today.Leading H.U.M.A.N. First through AI: Turning AI adoption into leadership action
AI adoption isn’t just a technology challenge — it’s a leadership challenge. As community banks introduce AI, leaders must navigate employees moving at different speeds, uncertainty about changing roles and expectations, resistance to new ways of working and an increasingly important question: What happens to the capacity AI creates? The competitive advantage from AI will not come solely from the technology itself, but from a leadership team’s ability to align people, processes and strategy around it. In this interactive masterclass, discover the H.U.M.A.N. First framework for leading the people side of AI adoption. Work through realistic community bank scenarios, explore the leadership behaviors that move teams from AI experimentation to meaningful adoption and identify practical actions you can take within your own organization. Participants will leave with a framework for navigating the human side of AI transformation and a 30-day AI leadership action plan you can begin implementing when you return to your bank.

4:15 pm – 5:45 pm

Closing General Session and Reception

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

CLOSING RECEPTION