Tracks & Breakout Sessions

Join Jack Harrington, a former financial crime prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, for an in-depth look at emerging trends in money laundering, bank fraud and other financial crimes impacting community banks today.

Gain practical guidance on meeting Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting obligations, including how to file effective Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and collaborate more effectively with law enforcement.

This session will also explore best practices for navigating regulatory and government investigations into BSA/AML programs, with key lessons drawn from recent criminal and civil enforcement actions, equipping you with insights to strengthen compliance and reduce risk.

Regulatory compliance continues to place increasing pressure on community banks, driving up both complexity and cost. So how can your institution effectively manage the growing volume of requirements without overwhelming staff or impacting the bottom line?

The answer lies in standardizing and simplifying your compliance processes. In this session, Strunk compliance experts will share a proven, practical approach to streamlining compliance while strengthening your overall risk management framework.

Learn how to better identify and understand your bank’s risks, ensure policies and procedures are both effective and actionable, and build processes that support consistent, day-to-day execution. Walk away with strategies that not only satisfy regulatory expectations, but also save time, reduce burden and improve operational efficiency.

Building and sustaining a unified company culture across multiple locations and workstyles is more important than ever in today’s workplace.

This session equips leaders with practical tools to clearly communicate values, inspire buy-in and consistently reinforce culture through everyday behaviors, both in person and remotely. Walk away with actionable strategies to strengthen alignment, engagement and connection across your entire organization.

To kickoff the Leadership and Strategy track, this breakout continues the conversation from the general session, offering a deeper dive into the evolving playbook for banking leadership.

Featuring the Leadership Division Executive Committee, this session moves from big-picture ideas to practical strategies, with focused discussion and actionable insights to help you apply these concepts within your organization.

Economic uncertainty is reshaping how banks connect with customers, making thoughtful, strategic communication more important than ever.

In this session, explore how to adapt your marketing strategy in response to interest rate fluctuations, digital transformation, AI and automation, and shifting consumer expectations. Learn how to market with both empathy and precision while staying aligned with changing market dynamics and customer needs.

Key topics include adjusting marketing budgets in volatile conditions, crafting messaging that builds confidence, trust and stability, and identifying opportunities to turn uncertainty into meaningful growth.

Financial institutions are at a critical inflection point, where the ability to effectively harness data can define future success.

This session explores how to transform fragmented data into a meaningful competitive advantage, with practical strategies tailored to institutions of all sizes. Learn how to prioritize AI initiatives, improve efficiency and reporting, and enhance overall performance through smarter use of data.

Walk away with a clear framework for making strategic decisions, along with actionable steps to guide your institution’s approach to AI and data-driven transformation.

Risk is embedded in every aspect of regulatory compliance—from fair lending and BSA/AML to flood requirements and third-party relationships. It also plays a critical role in day-to-day operations, whether evaluating new products and services, expanding geographically or managing ongoing monitoring and training.

So how can your institution effectively identify and assess risk across these areas? This session explores practical approaches to recognizing risk, leveraging the right resources and implementing effective controls.

Using real-world examples, including fair lending and third-party Banking as a Service (BaaS) relationships, you’ll gain insight into key considerations, decision points and strategies for managing risk across your organization.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the banking landscape, creating new opportunities to improve efficiency, enhance decision-making and deliver more personalized customer experiences.

This session explores how community banks can move beyond the hype to unlock the real potential of AI across operations, customer engagement and internal processes. Learn where AI can deliver the greatest impact today, how to implement solutions in a practical and scalable way, and what it takes to integrate AI into your existing workflows.

You’ll also gain insight into managing the risks that come with AI adoption, including governance, compliance and data considerations—equipping your institution to leverage AI with confidence and purpose.

Community banks are experts at managing financial data with precision. There’s a growing opportunity to bring that same level of intention to how we hire, lead and develop people.

This session introduces a practical framework built around three critical dimensions every decision should consider: Head (behavioral wiring and fit), Heart (alignment of values) and Briefcase (technical and adaptive skills). While most organizations naturally focus on the Briefcase, we’ll explore how a more intentional focus on Head and Heart leads to stronger alignment, faster execution and more engaged teams.

We’ll also examine what it means to lead in an environment that’s constantly changing. Today’s challenges aren’t just technical—they’re adaptive. Attendees will learn how to build self-awareness, better understand others and read context more effectively—skills that directly impact team performance and long-term execution.

The economy plays a critical role in shaping outcomes across the community banking landscape, particularly during times of heightened uncertainty. This session takes a focused look at key drivers such as interest rates, inflation trends and regional lending activity, and how they are influencing local banking strategies.

With a clear, data-driven approach, this presentation emphasizes anticipating change rather than predicting it. Attendees will gain clear strategies to interpret market signals, stay agile and make more informed decisions as they serve their customers.

In a digital-first world, the fundamentals of marketing remain the same—audience, message, offer, frequency and timing—but expectations around accountability have changed. Today, performance can be tracked from impression to revenue, giving banks a much clearer view of ROI.

This session explores how to use that visibility to make smarter, data-driven decisions—reallocating budget based on performance and clearly demonstrating marketing’s impact on growth.

You’ll also learn how traditional channels fit into a more measurable, results-driven strategy, along with what to track, how to align metrics to business goals and how to turn performance into a clear, credible ROI story.

Treasury management continues to evolve as client expectations, technology and risk considerations rapidly shift. This session highlights the most pressing “hot buttons” impacting today’s banking environment—from payments innovation and fraud mitigation to liquidity management and client experience.

Led as an interactive conversation with Julie Courtney, President of IBAT Services, Inc., attendees will gain practical insights, share perspectives and explore strategies to address current challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities in treasury management.

Digital assets present both new opportunities and new complexities for community banks. This session explores how to evaluate digital asset strategies in a way that aligns with your organization’s goals, operating model and risk appetite.

Learn how to approach adoption thoughtfully, minimize unnecessary technical debt and make decisions that support long-term flexibility, efficiency and growth. Gain insight into how digital assets can fit within your broader institutional strategy while avoiding costly missteps in implementation and execution.

Cyber threats targeting financial institutions continue to grow in frequency and sophistication, making a well-defined incident response plan critical to protecting your bank’s operations, customers and reputation.

This session provides a practical, step-by-step guide to incident response, helping you understand what to do before, during and after a security event. Learn how to identify and contain threats quickly, coordinate across internal teams and external partners, and minimize operational and reputational impact.

You’ll also gain insight into building and testing an effective incident response plan, strengthening communication protocols and ensuring your institution is prepared to respond with speed and confidence when it matters most.

The future of community banking depends on how well we develop our people today. In this Human Resources panel, past mentors from the IBAT Mentorship Program share how intentional mentorship is driving real results—from accelerating employee growth to improving engagement, strengthening retention and preparing future leaders. You’ll hear what’s working, what scales and how banks of any size can build a culture that values development, connection and leadership at every level.

In the coming years, many financial institutions will face major technology transitions—whether upgrading a legacy core, implementing new digital platforms or navigating post-merger system integration. While the operational challenges are significant, the role of communication is often underestimated, despite its direct impact on customer trust and retention.

This session explores how to approach these transitions with a clear, strategic communication plan that minimizes disruption and strengthens customer relationships. Learn how to anticipate customer concerns, deliver timely and effective messaging, and reduce post-conversion attrition when critical systems change.

Gain practical strategies to turn complex technology changes into opportunities to build confidence, reinforce your brand and deepen customer loyalty.

Marketing isn’t just about clicks and impressions—it’s about driving measurable business results. This session explores how to position marketing as a true investment by aligning campaigns with your bank’s strategic goals, attracting high-value customers and delivering clear, demonstrable ROI.

Through real-world examples, learn which offers drive profitability, how to communicate marketing value to your CFO and how to turn creative ideas into campaigns that produce meaningful financial impact.

Artificial intelligence presents a significant opportunity for community banks—but many institutions are still trying to figure out where to start and how to apply it in a meaningful way.

This session explores practical ways to use AI to reduce operational complexity, improve efficiency and accelerate decision-making across your institution. Learn how to identify high-impact use cases, prioritize initiatives based on your bank’s size and resources, and implement solutions that deliver measurable results.

Gain a clearer understanding of how to move from concept to execution with AI, while maintaining the governance, controls and strategic focus needed to drive results.

Moving digital assets from pilot to production takes more than just a blockchain. It requires a clear understanding of the regulatory and operational infrastructure shaping the landscape in 2026.

This session delivers a tactical deep dive into that “plumbing,” breaking down the key differences between fiat-backed stablecoins and emerging tokenized deposit models currently being tested in global initiatives. Along the way, we’ll examine how banks can navigate the evolving supervisory framework for payment stablecoin issuers, how tokenized deposits maintain fractional reserve mechanics while introducing new layers of programmability and risk, and how interoperability layers can connect legacy core systems with on-chain infrastructure.

“Our compliance love is in Jeopardy, baby, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh” is a line from a hit song by the Greg Kihn Band — okay, we added a word. Join us for a fun game of Jeopardy covering topics of interest to lenders, including flood insurance, insider transactions, UDAAP and more. The goal isn’t to make you a Compliance Officer, but to spark discussion around key compliance concerns for lenders. Kelly Goulart will serve as host, with Apryl Salazar moderating and acting as judge. Join us for a little fun — and you might learn something along the way.

When banks merge, consolidate or restructure, integrating systems is often a complex and resource-intensive undertaking. But while the technology challenges are significant, aligning people, processes and culture can be even more difficult.

Differences in leadership styles, risk philosophies and operational approaches can create friction, leaving teams uncertain about direction and expectations.

This session explores how leaders can turn those moments of friction into productive conversations, build trust across teams and create a more unified, collaborative culture. Learn practical strategies to align teams, navigate competing perspectives and lead through change with clarity and confidence.

Whether it’s a core conversion, expansion into a new market or a material transaction, your bank can’t afford for the outcome to fall short.

This session explores what leaders should consider at every stage of a strategic initiative—from planning through execution—including the challenges you’re likely to face and how to position your institution for success.

Through practical, experience-driven insights, learn how to increase the likelihood that your initiatives deliver real value for your bank, its owners and its customers.

Fraud is a growing threat, impacting financial institutions and their accountholders through increasingly sophisticated tactics. But it also presents an opportunity to strengthen relationships, build trust and deepen customer engagement.

This session explores how to integrate fraud awareness into your marketing strategy to drive meaningful engagement and measurable growth. Learn how to position education as a value-added experience, address concerns about overwhelming customers and deliver messaging that resonates.

Gain practical steps to implement a fraud awareness approach that not only protects your customers, but also reinforces your institution’s role as a trusted partner.

This session explores the key elements of third-party relationships, including practical approaches to contract negotiation and the critical components of an effective vendor management program.

Learn how to structure agreements, identify and manage risk, and implement oversight practices that support a strong, compliant and well-managed third-party framework.

The AML/CFT landscape is shifting rapidly, shaped by new regulations, emerging risks, digital asset innovation, real-time payments and increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes. This session provides a practical update on the regulatory developments and financial crime threats community banks should be watching closely, including FinCEN’s proposed AML/CFT program overhaul, the 2025 SAR FAQs, the STREAMLINE Act, Nacha’s 2026 fraud rules, stablecoins and tokenized deposits, and the risks associated with Fed “skinny” master accounts.

Designed for BSA officers, compliance leaders, risk managers, operations executives and bank leaders, this session offers timely, actionable insight to help your institution better understand what is changing, what it means and how to respond.

As cannabis-related banking continues to evolve, community banks face unique compliance and fair lending risks that require careful oversight and thoughtful program design.

This session explores key risk management considerations for banks currently serving or evaluating whether to serve marijuana-related businesses. Learn how to incorporate appropriate controls, monitoring and oversight into your compliance framework to support fair lending expectations while managing regulatory uncertainty.

Learn how to align your policies, procedures and risk management approach to navigate this complex and developing area with confidence.

In today’s evolving workforce, community bank leaders are navigating teams made up of multiple generations, each with different expectations, communication styles and approaches to work.

This session explores how to turn those differences into strengths, transforming potential friction into stronger collaboration, innovation and performance. Learn how to better understand the perspectives, motivators and skills each generation brings, and how to leverage them to build more engaged and effective teams.

Leaders will gain practical tools to improve communication, strengthen alignment and create an environment where every team member can contribute at a high level, supporting both individual success and overall organizational performance.

In many banks, the lending and retail teams operate like neighbors who rarely speak, each focused on their own goals, metrics and pressures. But when these teams align, the results are transformative: stronger performance, deeper trust and a culture that actually feels like one team.

This course dives into the root causes of siloed thinking and explores how to build bridges between departments that often feel worlds apart. Through candid insights, real-world examples and practical tools, Larry guides participants toward a more collaborative, service-driven culture.

Whether you're a market manager, executive or team lead, you'll walk away with a renewed understanding of how to lead across functions, foster mutual respect and create a culture where collaboration isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected.

Welcome to a journey beyond the ordinary, where the boundaries of traditional community banking dissolve and financial interactions are becoming more seamless, intuitive and personal. In this engaging session, ET: The Extra Transactional, we’ll explore the evolving landscape of fintech and its impact on banking behavior, customer experience and financial advice.

Learn how changing expectations, new technologies and emerging delivery models are reshaping how customers interact with their bank. We’ll connect these trends to practical opportunities for community banks to enhance relationships, improve service and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving environment.

Gain a fresh perspective on how to move beyond transactional interactions and deliver a more connected, customer-focused experience.

Think of AI agents as the friendly, tireless assistants you’ve always wanted, minus the coffee breaks. In this session, we’ll demystify what AI agents are and show how they can help community banks stay competitive without losing the personal touch customers value.

We’ll cover what an AI agent really is, its everyday banking “superpowers,” how to keep it safe and secure, and practical steps to start small and scale smart.

You’ll leave with ideas you can actually use and maybe even a smile, because AI doesn’t have to be intimidating. It can be a powerful tool for delivering better service and driving smarter operations.

Disclaimer: Yes, we did use AI to build this presentation.

Regulation E disputes continue to be a high-risk, high-scrutiny area for financial institutions, with evolving expectations and increasing operational complexity.

This session explores key risk management considerations within the dispute process, including common pitfalls, recurring issues and areas drawing heightened regulatory attention. Learn how to strengthen your approach, avoid costly mistakes and ensure your processes align with current expectations.

Gain practical guidance to help your institution manage disputes more effectively, reduce risk and improve consistency across your operations.

Texas home equity lending continues to present unique requirements and complexities for community banks. This session addresses the most common questions lenders face, based on real-world inquiries received by PPDocs.

Explore key compliance considerations, recurring challenges and areas where confusion often arises. Gain clarity on how to navigate Texas-specific requirements, avoid common mistakes and apply best practices in your day-to-day lending operations.

Walk through practical scenarios and strengthen your ability to confidently manage Texas home equity loans.

Your ability to grow starts and stalls with your team. Hiring is hard, and keeping great people is even harder. In this panel, HR leaders share how they’re navigating today’s workforce challenges, from recruiting and retention to building teams that can grow and adapt. You’ll hear how they’re creating cultures that attract and engage top talent, along with practical strategies, real-world successes and fresh ideas you can take back to your bank.

Golfers know that playing from the tips, the longest and most challenging tees on the course, is where the game gets real. It demands precision, discipline and strategy. That challenge mirrors what community bank leaders face today when it comes to protecting net interest margin. Every decision matters, and the margin for error is smaller in a more competitive, complex environment.

In this session, we’ll connect lessons from the course to the realities of community banking. Just as golfers must manage each hole to stay out of trouble, CEOs and CFOs must use the right tools, strengthen earning power and plan for the long game. When margins tighten, it’s not about the clubs, it’s about strategy and execution.

We’ll cover practical approaches that translate from the fairway to the balance sheet. From understanding your market to managing risk and capital effectively, you’ll learn how to stay competitive while maintaining stability and performance.

In this session, learn how to turn Call Report and UBPR data into a strategic marketing tool that improves targeting, supports lenders, differentiates your bank and drives noninterest income without adding balance sheet risk.

ATM jackpotting is one of the most costly and sophisticated threats facing community banks today. In this session, ATM security expert Paul Cowley will walk through how these attacks occur, the indicators criminals leave behind and the steps banks can take to prevent them.

Gain insight into common jackpotting methods, learn how to recognize signs of compromise and explore practical, up-to-date strategies to strengthen your defenses. Equip your bank to stay one step ahead of evolving threats.

Join a candid conversation with top community bank leaders as they share the real-world challenges that are keeping them up at night. From rising fraud and shifting regulatory expectations to resource constraints, exam surprises, operational pressures and the pace of change across the industry, no topic is off the table.

This interactive panel will highlight the risks and trends banks should be watching closely, along with the issues leaders are actively navigating across their institutions.

Gain a clearer perspective on emerging challenges, what your peers are experiencing and how others are responding, along with insight into what’s ahead for Texas community banks.

Community banks are under increasing pressure to grow quality loans without adding headcount or risk. This session explores how Texas banks are redesigning agricultural and commercial credit workflows to improve speed, clarity and consistency for borrowers, bankers and examiners.

Walk through real-world examples of modern intake, financial spreading, exception tracking and portfolio monitoring, and see how these enhancements can be layered onto existing core systems without a full replacement.

The focus is practical, covering governance, vendor due diligence, data flow and change management strategies that credit, operations and product teams can apply immediately.

Life—and leadership—rarely goes according to plan. This session focuses on building resilience, adaptability and forward momentum when facing unexpected challenges. Attendees will gain practical tools to navigate change, support their teams and continue growing through uncertainty.

Effective strategic planning starts with more than leadership discussions. It requires alignment, understanding and engagement across your entire organization.

This session explores how to build a strong foundation for strategic planning within your bank, including how to equip internal teams with the knowledge and context needed to support your institution’s direction. Learn how to translate strategy into clear priorities, strengthen communication across departments and ensure your staff understands their role in executing the plan.

Learn how to build a more informed, aligned and engaged organization, so your strategy is not just developed, but effectively carried out.

Personalization isn’t new, but how it’s being used today is. This session explores how community banks can use data, segmentation and messaging strategies to deliver more relevant, timely and meaningful communications.

Learn how to move beyond broad targeting to more precise, individualized messaging that drives engagement, strengthens relationships and improves marketing performance. Explore practical ways to apply micro personalization across channels without adding unnecessary complexity.

Leave with a more practical, real-world approach to making your marketing feel more personal, more effective and more connected to your customers.

Generative AI and automation are creating new opportunities for community banks to streamline operations, improve accuracy and work more efficiently. This session explores how banks are beginning to apply these tools across their organizations in meaningful, real-world settings.

Learn where AI and automation can have the most impact, how to identify the right use cases and what to consider before getting started. We’ll also cover how to integrate these solutions into existing processes without adding unnecessary complexity or risk.

Leave with a clearer understanding of how to take the first steps, build momentum and use AI and automation to drive meaningful operational improvements.

Banking-as-a-Service sponsorship and fintech partnerships introduce new opportunities, along with increased complexity in vendor oversight and compliance management. This session explores the key considerations community banks should evaluate when entering or expanding these relationships.

Learn how to strengthen your vendor management and compliance frameworks to better identify, monitor and mitigate risk while supporting innovation. We’ll cover how expectations are evolving, where gaps commonly emerge and how to align your approach with regulatory scrutiny.

Gain a clearer understanding of how to structure these partnerships in a way that protects your institution while positioning it for long-term success.

Community banks are facing rising dispute volumes, tighter Regulation E expectations and increasing customer frustration, yet many still rely on manual, error-prone processes. This session explores how banks are modernizing dispute management through automation, improved workflows and greater visibility.

Learn how to reduce risk, streamline operations, accelerate investigations and improve the customer experience without increasing staff. We’ll walk through real examples from Texas community banks and highlight approaches that can be implemented within your existing environment.

Learn how to develop a path from reactive, fragmented processes to a more controlled, consistent and efficient dispute management framework.

Effective feedback is one of the most powerful tools for growth when it’s done well. This session explores how to give feedback that drives performance and how to receive it with openness and confidence.

Through real-world examples, discussion and practical scenarios, participants will learn how to communicate feedback clearly and constructively, approach difficult conversations with greater confidence and turn feedback into meaningful action.

Strengthen your ability to build a culture of trust, accountability and continuous improvement across your team.

In a world defined by uncertainty, having a clear strategy is essential. This panel explores how community banks can prepare for the unexpected by building well-executed strategic plans that guide decision-making and position the institution for long-term success.

Led by John Bloss of The Baker Group, this discussion brings together experienced community bank leaders to share how they approach strategy, prioritize initiatives and adapt when conditions change.

Gain insight into how to strengthen your planning process, align your team and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.

Close out the Marketing Track with a high-energy, attendee-driven discussion focused on the real challenges and opportunities facing community bank marketers today. After two days of ideas, insights and strategy, this roundtable will create space for honest conversations, peer learning and practical takeaways.

Celebrate the victories you've had, share where you are feeling stuck, tell us how you are approaching social media and content strategy, and what new tools or ideas you are eager to explore next. Bring the energy, big vibes and come ready to exchange ideas, ask questions and leave with fresh perspectives from peers who understand the unique world of community bank marketing.

Fraud doesn’t care how a payment moves, whether by check, ACH or instant payment. The threat is real and evolving quickly. With the resurgence of check fraud, increasing ACH compromise and the pressure of real-time transactions, banking professionals need to stay ahead of the curve.

In this engaging session, payments professionals will walk through real-world fraud scenarios and risk exposures across multiple payment rails. Learn how fraud is showing up across channels, what red flags to watch for and where vulnerabilities are emerging.

Walk away with practical tools and ideas to help strengthen your controls and better protect your payment environment, no matter which rails you’re riding.