Winning Team Presents at Banking Research and Policy Conference
The same three-member student team from Eastern Kentucky University that won the national 2018 Community Bank Study Competition at the Conference of State Bank Supervisors in May recently travelled to St. Louis to present at the Community Banking in the 21st Century Research and Policy Conference. The conference, sponsored by the Federal Reserve, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) provided the team with the opportunity tomeet and interact with federal and state regulators on Oct. 3, 2018. The winning paper entitled “Central Bank: Utilizing Technology in the Transformation of Superior Customer Service”, presented by Lorelei Nguyen, Aaron Schmidgall, and Dalton Stanley, can be found in the CSBS 2018 Journal of Community Bank Case Studies.
EKU College of Business and Technology Dean, Dr. Tom Erekson, who attended the Conference in support of the team, noted that the professionalism and intellect of the EKU team stood out not only to him, but also to the other conference attendees.
The Community Banking in the 21st Century Research and Policy Conference presents an innovative approach to the study of community banks, as academics is used to explore issues that have been raised by the community banking industry. Topics are explored in a neutral, empirical manner and then presented at the conference. Community bankers served as keynote speakers and provided feedback to the research presented. This year’s keynote speakers included Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta J. Mester, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal K. Quarles, and Beneficial Bank’s President and CEO Gerard Cuddy. The opportunities afforded them by presenting at the conference did not go unnoticed by Nguyen, Schmidgall, and Stanley.
Aaron Schmidgall stated it was an experience that he will cherish and said “the opportunity to present our case study at the CSBS conference in St. Louis in front of bankers, policy makers, regulators, and others was an overall amazing experience, as was being able to meet and network with everyone at the conference.”
Dalton Stanley said, “Being able to represent EKU and the state of Kentucky at the conference was an incredible privilege. The real world experience and networking opportunities that experiences like this provide students is invaluable. I was able to network with many very accomplished professionals in my future career field. It was because of this experience that I am now beginning to explore a career in banking law that I had previously never considered.”
All three students expressed their gratitude to their finance professor, Maggie Abney, for her passion, dedication and enthusiasm for her discipline and providing the team with the mentorship that helped them succeed. The three team members and Abney dedicated time each Saturday morning leading up to the conference to prepare.
Regarding the case study, Central Bank Chairman, President & CEO, Luther Deaton, Jr., noted: “Central Bank was very pleased to support the work of the EKU Student Team and want to acknowledge their dedication to the project. We were thrilled to be asked to participate with them and to express our admiration for their accomplishment.”
The team has received a lot of attention and recognition for their excellent work and representation of EKU. Their progress and work has been followed closely by KY Banking Commissioner Charles Vice, who stated: “I am very proud of the EKU Case Study team that won the 2018 CSBS/Federal Reserve Case Study Competition. The EKU team competed against several other universities throughout the United States in an effort to analyze challenges and opportunities relating to the community banking industry. The team's excellent work product and analysis resulted in them receiving much deserved recognition, and the opportunity to meet several influential individuals in the bank and regulatory communities. The students and EKU were excellent ambassadors for Kentucky.”
Photo, left to right: John Ryan, president and CEO, CSBS; Julie Stackhouse, executive vice president, Supervision, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Jelena McWilliams, chairman, FDIC; Dalton Stanley, EKU student team member; Maggie Abney; EKU faculty advisor and executive in residence; Aaron Schmidgall, EKU student team member; Lorelei Nguyen, EKU student team member; Stephen Kelly, executive vice president, Central Bank and Trust. Co., Lexington, Ky.; Loretta Mester, president, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; April Perry; chairman and CEO, Kentucky Farmers Bank, Ashland, Ky.; Charles Vice, commissioner, Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions; Charlotte Corley, chairman, CSBS and commissioner, Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance; and Thomas Erekson, EKU dean of the College of Business and Technology.
Published on November 05, 2018