For the past three years, the National Bankers Association (NBA) has brought together its member banks at the Truist Leadership Institute for our annual Strategic Planning Retreat. This event is a cornerstone for discussing trends, challenges, and opportunities for Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs). This year's retreat was no exception, offering highly engaging sessions and invaluable insights. Below is a recap of our sessions, including key takeaways and follow-up items.
Opening Remarks
Our Chairman, Robert E. James II of Carver Financial Corporation, opened the retreat by highlighting the remarkable progress under his leadership. He outlined the journey from past achievements to the present state, emphasizing the explosive growth of MDIs over the last four years due to the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) and private sector investments. Notably, the MDI sector has seen a 42% increase in assets, with Black banks experiencing the most growth at 75% in assets , including over $3 billion in ECIP funding to the sector.
Addressing the Anti-DEI Movement
Despite these successes, our industry faces significant challenges, particularly the current Anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) movement. We delved into this issue in a dedicated session later in the retreat.
Vice Chairman's Priorities
Jaimee Collins of Liberty Bank spoke on behalf of our Vice Chairman, outlining the NBA's priorities for the coming year:
Growth: Expand the asset base of MDIs through strategic partnerships and investment opportunities.
Talent: Develop comprehensive recruitment strategies to attract and retain top talent, which continues to be a key challenge for our banks.
Deposits: Strengthen core deposits, increase corporate deposits and capitalize on federal deposit programs.
Technology & Infrastructure: Invest in cutting-edge technology to improve operational efficiency and customer experience.
Enhance digital banking capabilities to meet the evolving needs of consumers.
Ensure alignment of technology with business strategies to support long-term goals.
Session 1: Best Practices & Strategy - Revenue Generation
Jaimee Collins led a discussion on collective revenue generation, sharing best practices among member banks. Key revenue streams identified included:
Bond issuance
Merchant services
Treasury and government contracts
Grant opportunities
Municipal deposits
Session 2: Best Practices & Strategy - Balance Sheet Management & Impact Deposits
Dom Mjartan of Optus Bank led this session, focusing on balance sheet management and impact deposit strategies. Topics covered included rate sensitivity, understanding rates and deposit flow, and ECIP reporting. Members shared best practices on risk management, policy creation, and committee formation.
Sessions 3 & 4: Technology, Innovation, and Operations
These sessions centered on the results of our MDI ConnectTech assessments for a cohort of MDI member banks and the application of current technology trends to MDIs. Cornerstone Advisors presented assessment findings such as:
Urgent need for digital account opening solutions
Enhanced digital banking capabilities
Alignment of technology and business strategies
Addressing training and support deficiencies within the bank
We also discussed the state of fintech and technology, including threats and opportunities like:
The impact of challenger banks fragmenting market share
Partnership opportunities in embedded finance, banking-as-a-service, and embedded fintech
Session 5: Anti-DEI Wave & Industry Response
We started day two with an interesting conversation on the anti-DEI movement, NBA’s response and how the association can seize the narrative. This session was led by our Chairman Robert James II and he set the stage with a history lesson on how minority banks were born out of key Civil Rights milestones like Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and even George Floyd. There was an acknowledgement that our banks play a pivotal role in eliminating the racial wealth gap and we’re here to stay.
With that said, given the current political climate, there was a conversation on whether we should focus on the short term or the long term—we landed on both by:
Holding the private sector, this administration and a potential change in administration accountable while
Maintaining our commitment to driving our communities forward and eliminating the racial wealth gap.
The conclusion was that DEI will always be a legal apparatus and that we need to be mindful and thoughtful of how we proceed.
Session 6: Corporate Strategic Advisory Council Discussion
This sentiment was echoed in the following session which featured members from our Strategic Advisory Council. They reinforced that they are committed to their work with the NBA and MDIs, while highlighting trends within Corporate American including that the way DEI programs are talked about may change. To support strategic partners, MDIs should strive to:
Amplify partner’s work
Collect and engage in data-driven discussions
Be responsive to opportunities
We are grateful for their continued support.
Session 7: MDI Bank Survey
Members participated in the inaugural NBA survey of MDI bank leaders, addressing market conditions, challenges, and opportunities. Preliminary results indicated:
General confidence in the economy and capitalization
Challenges in recruiting skilled talent (91% find it "difficult" or "very difficult")
Prioritization of expanding digital services (96% of respondents)
We urge members to complete the survey for comprehensive data: NBA Survey.
Session 8: Best Practices & Strategy - Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
Amir Kirkwood, CEO of the Justice Climate Fund, discussed preparations for the EPA’s Clean Communities Investment Accelerator grant. Key takeaways included:
Opportunities for banks to learn through climate lending, particularly in multi-family properties and commercial real estate
Potential deposits from impact investors
We conducted another survey on climate funds and impact investing. Again, please take the time to respond if you haven’t already: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2024NBAFClimate
Conclusion
We are grateful to our member banks and guest speakers for their participation, especially during the CrowdStrike outage. We left this retreat feeling invigorated and ready to tackle the year ahead, ensuring continued success for MDIs for generations to come.
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