Main Street Banking: A Podcast for Community Bankers

Welcome back to the Superhero Community Banking series! It’s been a minute since we last dove into Sun Tzu and The Art of War and how it applies to community banking. There’s so much really cool stuff in the book that we can all learn and apply...particularly in this new environment where we find ourselves. If 2020 had a silver lining, it’s that banks were forced to adapt and change...and that’s a good thing. Bankers had to seriously consider the innovations that maybe had been pushed to the back burner in 2019. We had to grow up (so to speak) very fast. Undoubtedly, there are and will continue to be growing pains...but that’s ok too!

To register for our Understanding Bank Profitability program: https://barretbanking.org/landings/understanding-bank-profitability-2/

We're wrapping up our series we've been doing on technology and innovation with Ray Chandonnet from Neocova. Technology really does not have to be the scary thing we sometimes make it out to be. In a world with razor-thin margins and still needing to maintain those customer relationships...technology and humanity have to be seen as extensions of each other.

To find out more about Neocova, check out their website at https://neocova.com/

As always, thanks again to ICBA Securities for their sponsorship!

My favorite episode every year...the Barret team year in review. And what a year it's been. But on flip side of that...what a year 2021 is going to be. We have a very special team at Barret and, each year on the podcast, we let you all take a look "behind the curtain" and get to know us a little better.

Also, we have a new sponsor! Go check out ICBA Securities at their website, https://www.icbasecurities.com/

Have a great new year!!!

Charles Potts is the SVP and Chief Innovation Officer for the Independent Community Bankers of America. "Innovation" and "community bankers" don't often go together you might say...but...Charles (and Barret frankly) say otherwise.

Charles lays out his vision for the ICBA's role in bringing innovation to the community banking space and shares how they've already been doing that. There really is no excuse for community banks to lag in this area any more thanks to the ICBA and the ThinkTECH accelerator which you've heard some about on this podcast in the past.

To find out more about the ThinkTECH accelerator, check out https://www.icba.org/solutions/thinktech

Jimmy Sawyers needs very little introduction to students and alumni of Barret, but for our new listeners, Jimmy Sawyers is CEO/Chairman of Sawyers and Jacobs in Memphis, TN. They are a consulting firm specializing in technology, security, and many other areas for community banks. He has been one of our highest rated faculty members year-in, year-out for over 23 years.

Each year, Jimmy does his predictions for the coming year and it's become a sort of tradition here on the podcast to take a look at those predictions at the end of the year to see how he did.

For more about Sawyers and Jacobs, check out their website at https://sawyersjacobs.com/

It's one thing to say "go make ag loans" but as anyone who has ever tried to do that...it's a little more difficult than that. What makes a good ag lender? How can banks find and/or develop that talent within? If you're a college student or looking to move into agri-banking...what should you be looking for?

We'll talk about those today with the guys from Ag Head Hunters. Find out more from them at their website...https://www.agheadhunters.com/

Agriculture is facing many of the same problems community banks are facing today...reaching that next generation of producers through technology while still retaining the relationships necessary to be successful. Scott Sartor, with CropLine Financial, is our guest today and addresses the concerns both banks and farmers have in leveraging fintech to meet farmers' needs.

To read more about CropLine Financial: https://www.croplinefinancial.com/

To check out Barret's Ag Lending Summit on-demand register and we'll send you the links: https://barretbanking.org/landings/ag-lending-summit/

Who needs a breather? I do...so, I thought I'd write down and share with you my community banking gratitude list. These are the things that I am thankful for in our industry that have arisen out of this "one of a kind" year. We have a tremendous amount to be thankful for in our industry as we each do in our lives. Hope this helps you be proud of all the hard work you have done this year!

We welcome Jim Reber, CEO of ICBA Securities, back to the podcast to give us an update as to what is going on with bank's balance sheets. We have election season behind us, good news with the vaccines, earnings appear to be strong...what does all of this mean for your bank?

Why fix it if it ain't broken? Well, the answer is simple...you're looking at two different problems. No two situations are ever identical and while there may be many similarities, it still requires us to approach each situation differently.

Hope you're enjoying the series and if you're interested in our Ag Lending Summit, here's the website.: https://barretbanking.org/landings/ag-lending-summit/