Register Now for the 2025 Community Banking Research Conference, Oct. 7-8

ST. LOUIS — Community bankers, academics, policymakers and bank supervisors will meet Oct. 7-8, for the 13th annual Community Banking Research Conference in-person at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The event also will be livestreamed.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Federal Reserve System, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

This year’s notable speakers include:

⦁ Antonio Salazar, commissioner, Office of Financial Regulation, Maryland Department of Labor, and chair, CSBS, at 9:05 a.m. CT on Oct. 7
⦁ Brandon Milhorn, president and CEO, CSBS, at 10 a.m. CT on Oct. 7
⦁ Andrew Felton, director, Division of Insurance and Research, FDIC, at 1:30 p.m. CT on Oct. 7
⦁ Alexander Price, president and CEO, Citizens State Bank, Ouray, Colo., at 4:45 p.m. CT on Oct. 7
⦁ Alberto G. Musalem, president and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, at 8:20 a.m. CT on Oct. 8
⦁ Michael Barr, member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at 8:30 a.m. CT on Oct. 8

2025 CSBS Annual Survey of Community Banks

Results of the 2025 CSBS Annual Survey of Community Banks will be presented at 9:15 a.m. CT on Oct. 7. Since 2014, the survey has provided insights into the opportunities and challenges that banks faced during the previous year.

Research Paper Sessions, Moderators and Discussants

Nine academic papers were selected to be presented at this year’s conference. Authors of the selected papers will present during one of three moderated panels being held throughout the conference.

The first session and panel, “Deposit Franchise Power and Market Power,” will be moderated by Elizabeth Berger, assistant professor at the University of Houston. The community bank discussant will be Bill Bickle, chief credit officer and chief risk officer at Stockman Bank of Montana in Miles City, Mont.

The second session and panel, “Failed Banks,” will be moderated by Christopher James, William H. Dial and SunTrust Eminent Scholar at the University of Florida. The community bank discussant will be Jim Edwards, CEO of United Bank Corp. in Griffin, Ga.

The third session and panel, “Innovation and Technology in Small Business Lending,” will be moderated by John Hackney, assistant professor at the University of Arkansas. The community bank discussant will be Kenneth Kelly, chairman and CEO at First Independence Bank in Detroit, Mich.

Two additional papers were identified and will be featured online and as poster presentations at the conference. A list of all papers and the complete agenda can be found on the conference website.

Panel Discussion: Buy, Sell, Create, Redefine

This year’s panel discussion will be moderated by Kyle Thomas, senior advisor of Policy and Innovation at CSBS, on Oct. 8, at 10:45 a.m. CT. The panel will delve into how banks explore the strategic choices they face as they look for new ways to serve their customers in a constantly changing banking environment. The panelists will include:

⦁ Leslie Anderson, CEO, i3 Bank, Bennington, Neb.
⦁ David Coxon, executive vice president and director, Georgia Banking Company, Atlanta, Ga.
⦁ Randall Guynn, advisor, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
⦁ Ilaria Rawlins, president and CEO, Fortuna Bank, Grandview Heights, Ohio

2025 CSBS Community Bank Case Study Competition

The University of Tennessee at Martin in Martin, Tenn., is the winning team of this year’s CSBS Community Bank Case Study Competition. The team will present at 4 p.m. CT on Oct. 7. This year, student teams partnered with local community banks to explore the impact of interest rates and inflation on banking with a focus on planning for the future through branch strategy, technology and managing regulatory burden.

[Note: Media interested in participating in this invitation-only event must register in advance with Vince Brennan at Vincent.Brennan@stls.frb.org.]