NBA Friends,

Fall is always my favorite time of year as it brings brilliant colors, cooler weather and football season, which is especially exciting if you are a Kansas City Chiefs fan like I am. Fall is also a busy time for our NBA team with the NBA Nebraska Tour, the American Bankers Association (ABA) Annual Convention, annual NBA Benefit Plans renewal discussions, the NBA Regulatory Issues Summit and the NBA Bank Investment, Funding and Economics Outlook Conference, not to mention planning for the upcoming legislative session!

Rather than focus this column on a single topic, I want to celebrate some recent successes and address a few specific issues.

1. Congratulations to NBA Vice President of Administration Karen Yelden, who recently celebrated her 40th anniversary with the NBA. We were able to honor Karen’s amazing service with a special celebration that included NBA staff, NBA Leadership Program alumni and Karen’s family and friends.
2. Thank you to Chad Adams from Adams Bank & Trust in Ogallala, who was a featured presenter during the NBA Nebraska Tour. Chad shared valuable lessons and insights related to a cybersecurity incident their bank experienced earlier this year. While I recognize sharing their bank’s event was a bit of a humbling experience for Chad, his presentation was especially engaging and beneficial to those in attendance. I can’t thank Chad enough for sharing his perspective with our members.
3. Former Nebraska banker Jeff Schmid (Mutual of Omaha Bank, now CIT Bank) was recently named the new President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (KC Fed). I had an opportunity to join Jeff for a meeting in Kansas City, where he shared his vision and priorities for the KC Fed. Four topics Jeff emphasized during our discussion resonated with me: (1) the important value of the bank charter regardless of size, geography or customer base; (2) the need to continue eliminating regulatory friction; (3) the emphasis on helping the industry find ways to engage the next generation of bank investors and board members; and (4) the necessity for banks who want to succeed over the long term to find ways to actively participate in the faster payment evolution.
4. Congratulations to the Nebraska bankers who recently accepted new leadership roles with the ABA during the recent ABA Annual Convention! Derek Randecker with Dayspring Bank (Omaha) was appointed to the ABA Emerging Leaders Council, Jeff Kanger with First State Bank Nebraska (Lincoln) was appointed to the ABA Government Relations Council and Adam Boryca with Homestead Bank (Cozad) was appointed to the ABA Membership Council.
5. Special thanks to the members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation who continue to be active participants in the efforts to draft and pass the next U.S. Farm Bill. Special thanks also to Rep. Don Bacon for cosponsoring the SAFE Banking Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
6. NBA members opened 21 in-school savings bank branches in 2023. Kudos to these banks and all the banks that are dedicated to promoting financial literacy and supporting the next generation. If your bank would like to establish an in-school branch, reach out to Jennifer Davidson at the Nebraska Council on Economic Education at jdavidson2@unl.edu or contact Kara Heideman at the NBA at kara.heideman@nebankers.org.
7. Congratulations to the 11 NBA member banks who have had their accounts certified by the Bank On National Advisory Board. Bank On certified accounts are financial products with low fees and minimal balance requirements designed to serve the needs of both the unbanked and underbanked of our economy. To learn more about how to obtain certification of your current or future account offerings, please visit joinbankon.org.

I want to close by thanking you for what you and your banks are doing to help your customers and communities grow and thrive!