As long as banks have existed, they've deployed innovative technology to better serve their customers and improve efficiency. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast--sponsored by CSI Fintech Focus --two leading bankers discuss distinct approaches to partnering with fintech firms today.

At Lincoln Savings Bank, Mike McCrary leads fintech partnership efforts--and this more-than-century-old Iowa agricultural bank serves as bank of record for several fintech firms, including Acorns, Square, Money Lion and Qapital. LSB has flipped the script as a vendor to fintech companies. McCrary discusses how these partnerships bring in additional insured deposits in a time of heightened competition, as well as drive non-interest income. 

Dean Franzen has joined the South Dakota Bankers Insurance & Services (SDBIS), Inc. as its commercial lines specialist. Franzen is an accomplished underwriter who has earned eight insurance designations. He also had a long career teaching insurance and business practices at the college level.

The ABA on Monday unveiled new data showing that nearly 9 in 10 Americans (86 percent) say they are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their primary bank. Ninety-four percent rated their bank’s customer service as “good,” “very good” or “excellent,” according to the survey, conducted for ABA by Morning Consult. 

Registration is now open for the SDBA's 2019 National School for Beginning Ag Bankers set for June 24-27 at Black Hills State University in Spearfish. The purpose of the school is to prepare ag bankers to make better loan decisions. 

The school is designed to train in all facets of agricultural lending with emphasis on credit analysis, credit scoring, risk rating, problem loans and group case study. Attendees will receive personalized instruction and continual peer interaction fostered through a limited class size, case study and group exercises.

The South Dakota Indian Business Alliance will present the Indian Agriculture Finance Roundtable on Oct. 26 in Rapid City at the Best Western Ramkota. 

Peg Scott is a family farmer who joined Union State Bank a couple years out of high school as a teller and went on to hold virtually every role in the bank. When the bank’s owners were looking to sell, she and her husband got a group of investors together, bought the bank and kept it local in Greenfield, Iowa. “People who have no money buy things all the time,” she recalls telling her husband jokingly. “Let’s see what we can do.”

The Coalition of Bankers Associations has released the first Bank Exam Monitor, Insights on Recent Examinations report created by its Regulatory Feedback Initiative strategic partners at FinPro.

"Regulatory examinations continue to be tilted toward liquidity risk with stress testing, interest rate risk with a flattening yield curve, asset quality concerns in a highly competitive environment, and corporate governance," said Scott Polakoff, executive vice president, FinPro. "The examiners persist in their apprehension with the length of this economic expansion and the possibility of a downturn over the next 12 to 24 months.  Strategic planning remains the roadmap to planned performance, and the examiners expect to see quarterly assessments of actual to budget results documented in Board of Director minutes."

The ABA Foundation has recognized six banks for their outstanding commitment to their communities, including U.S. Bank for affordable housing.

The ABA Community Commitment Awards--to be presented on Oct. 23 during ABA’s Annual Convention in New York--are given in six categories to honor innovative, high-impact bank programs and projects that produce lasting results in the communities they serve. Categories are: affordable housing, community and economic development, economic inclusion, financial education, protecting older Americans and volunteerism. 

The SDBA's Lead Strong: Women in Banking Conference held Tuesday in Sioux Falls was a huge success with more than 230 women from across the state in attendance.

Abbie Ranschau, a trust and wealth advisor with Dacotah Bank in Sioux Falls, was the winner of the SDBA's communications survey giveaway of a $100 Visa gift card.

The SDBA last month conducted a survey of its members to learn their thoughts on the SDBanker Magazine and member communications. The SDBA wanted to know what readers like and dislike about the monthly magazine, in what format they read the magazine, how often they would like to receive the magazine, and how they prefer to get their information from the Association.

Agriculture lenders are invited to attend an Ag Lenders Conference hosted by SDSU Extension in Watertown on Oct. 17 and Sioux Falls on Oct. 19.

Topics include best use tax analysis, farm stress survey, weather/climate outlook, macroeconomic outlook, crop market outlook and value-at-risk marketing tool, FSA update and crop budgets, and livestock market outlook. 

Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes--the nation’s third-largest agricultural cooperative--will be a keynote speaker at ABA’s National Agricultural Bankers Conference, Nov. 11-14 in Omaha, Neb. Also keynoting the conference will be Cameron Holbrook, head of agtech at Amazon Web Services; former USDA Chief Economist Joseph Glauber; and Kansas State University biosecurity professor Stephen Higgs.

The SDBA would like to learn your thoughts on the SDBanker Magazine and our member communications.

Published monthly by the SDBA, SDBanker Magazine is dedicated to enhancing the state's banking profession by providing useful and timely information on important events and trends in the banking industry. The SDBA wants to know what readers like and dislike about the monthly magazine, in what format they read the magazine, how often they would like to receive the magazine, and how they prefer to get their information from the Association.

Michael Dummer has been named the new deputy director at the South Dakota Division of Banking.

Dummer replaces Deputy Director John Crompton, who retired Aug. 1 after more than 30 years of dedicated service to the department.

More than 200 people are registered to attend the SDBA's Lead Strong: Women in Banking Conference on Oct. 2 in Sioux Falls at the Hilton Garden Inn South. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last Friday announced the appointment of all-new panels on its advisory boards, including the Community Bank Advisory Council (CBAC). 

Jeanni Stahl, senior vice president and chief risk officer at MetaBank in Sioux Falls, was one of seven appointments to the CBAC board. Stahl has more than 25 years of financial services industry experience in roles in both business development and risk management. At MetaBank, she has responsibilities for overseeing a large network of innovative payment and lending products offered through nationwide delivery channels. She worked as a senior bank examiner at the FDIC for eight years examining banks throughout South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. She then served in leadership roles at two Midwest financial institutions before joining MetaBank in 2009. Stahl regularly speaks at industry payments conferences on third-party risk management and compliance. 

The start of a new school year is a great time for your bank to get engaged with the youth in its community—and the ABA has two easy ways for you to do so. Get Smart About Credit and Lights, Camera, Save! are programs that challenge teens to expand their financial capabilities in fun, interactive ways.

Looking for an out-of-the-box way to encourage teens to be savvy with their money? Register to be a local host for this year’s Lights, Camera, Save! contest that encourages teens to use video to communicate the value of sound money management. 

Get Smart About Credit is a volunteer opportunity for bankers to raise awareness about the importance of using credit wisely—with presentation guides on identity protection, money management, paying for college, careers in banking and more. Sign up to attend a free webinar on Thurs., Sept. 13, at noon CDT to learn more about the program, its free resources (available in both English and Spanish) and the new materials on careers in banking.

The South Dakota Bankers Association is currently offering advertising in its 2019 South Dakota Bank Directory, which is an indispensable reference tool for financial executives and those conducting business with financial decision makers in South Dakota.

A limited number of full-color ads are available on the directory's tabbed divider pages. Full-page and half-page black-and-white ads are also available in the front section of the directory. The deadline to place an ad is Friday, Sept. 28. Ads are due Oct. 15. More information and the advertising form. 

American Banker Magazine on Tuesday published its sixth annual list of the 85 best banks to work for, with two SDBA member banks and one associate member making the list. Dacotah Bank, Aberdeen, was named number 49, and First PREMIER Bank, Sioux Falls, was named number 71. SDBA associate member Bell Bank, Fargo, was number three.

For the banks that made the list, lavishing employees with perks and benefits is part of the culture. These banks’ largesse also extends beyond their employee base. Volunteering in the community and charitable contributions are a cornerstone of their philosophies.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Monday announced details of actions the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified retaliation by foreign nations.

President Trump directed Perdue to craft a short-term relief strategy to protect agricultural producers while the Administration works on free, fair and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally. USDA will authorize up to $12 billion in programs, consistent with its World Trade Organization obligations.