IBAT Annual Convention

September 20-23, 2025  | Fort Worth

IBAT’s Annual Convention is a four-day event that takes an in-depth look at key issues impacting the banking industry, specifically those related to community banks. Join us at the Omni Fort Worth, September 20-23, 2025, for everything you’ve come to expect from an IBAT event: great keynote speakers, unmatched educational breakout sessions, regulatory updates, awards, peer-to-peer resource sharing opportunities and networking and entertainment options, including the Chairman’s Opening Party, PAC Auction/Dinner and great entertainment.

As always, the Annual Convention will be packed with brand-new actionable insights and practical takeaways on some of the most important topics in community banking you won't want to miss.

2024 Keynote Speakers


Kevin Brown

Motivational Speaker and Author
The HERO Effect®

  

Dr. Julie Bell

Founder and President of The Mind of a Champion
Succession Planning: Consulting for Today | Coaching for Tomorrow

Kevin’s unconventional path to business and personal success has taught him that winning in business and in life requires anything but conventional thinking. He is passionate about helping people expand their vision, develop their potential and grow their results. The HERO Effect® is a simple philosophy that separates world-class organizations and high-performance people from everybody else.
 
Learn More

  Dr. Julie Bell has worked with a variety of individuals, teams and organizations to improve their mindset through principles she developed to help business professionals and athletes deliver their best performance when it matters most. Combining 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur with lessons from coaching top athletes and executives, Dr. Bell is able to help organizations through leadership assessment and succession planning.

Learn More

2024 Fireside Chat – Moderated by IBAT President and CEO Christopher Williston


The banking industry is grappling with unprecedented regulatory burden.  Amidst a chorus of voices calling for the rapid consolidation of the banking industry, few voices stand apart speaking to the importance of independent banks for the good of every community. Among them, Miki Bowman, Governor of the Federal Reserve System and ICBA Chairman Lucas White.

In this fireside chat IBAT President and CEO Christopher Williston will sit down with Governor Bowman and Chairman White, for an update on the community bank fight in Washington, D.C. and with the regulatory agencies.  You won’t want to miss this candid conversation with two passionate representatives of the voice of community banking on the national level. 


Michelle “Miki” Bowman

Governor of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors

  

Lucas White

ICBA Chairman

Michelle Bowman took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on November 2018 to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2020. She was reappointed to the Board on January 23, 2020, and sworn in on January 30, 2020, for a term ending January 31, 2034.

   Lucas White is Chairman of the ICBA, the only national organization that exclusively represents community banks. White has served as president of The Fountain Trust Company since 2016 and actively practices law in the family firm of White & White Attorneys LLP.

 

2024 Entertainment: Cody Canada & The Departed


   

    
Bring the family on Sunday evening to enjoy some of the finest music you’ll hear all year, performed by Cody Canada & The Departed in an intimate show exclusively for IBAT.
 
American rock/country group Cody Canada & The Departed released a new single, "Elle," late last year, adding to the six albums the band has recorded, several hitting various Billboard charts. Canada was a founding member of Cross Canadian Ragweed and formed The Departed in 2010. The band’s first album, This Is Indian Land, is a tribute to Cody Canada’s homegrown musical roots, featuring songs written by the Oklahoma songwriters who inspired him: J.J. Cale, Leon Russell, Kevin Welch and legends from the region that birthed the "Red Dirt Sound."
 
"For me, the Red Dirt Sound fits into the older style of country—Merle, Willie, etc.," Canada says. "The thing about Red Dirt is it can be soul, rock, folk, country… It’s really about the honesty of the lyrics, nothing fake about it."

2024 AGENDA

 
Saturday, October 5
  
11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
 Registration
6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Chairman's Reception
   
Sunday, October 6
7:30-8:00 a.m. Devotional
7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Registration
7:45-9:00 a.m. Grab-and-Go Breakfast
8:00-10:00 a.m.  Associate Member and Banker Networking Event
9:00-10:00 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions and Tracks:

  • Leadership & Strategy: CEO Succession: Do you have a depth chart you believe in?
  • Risk Management: Building a Data Privacy Program 
  • Credit & Lending: Preparing for a Potential Economic Downturn: Credit Administration Action Items
  • Operations: Financial Firm Implications of GPT and Large Language Models
  • Wildcard: Banking Differently
10:00-10:15 a.m. Refreshment Break
10:15-11:15 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions and Tracks:

  • Leadership & Strategy: Immunity to Change: Focused Leadership Strategies to Help You Drive Personal and Organization Performance   
  • Risk Management: Compliance Management for the C-Suite
  • Credit & Lending: Why Getting More From Your Loan Review is Now Critical
  • Operations: Emerging Payment Trends
  • Wildcard: How Community Banks Can Win Against the Credit Union Competitor – An Inside Conversation 
12:00-2:15 p.m. Opening General Session and Lunch: Keynote by Kevin Brown
2:15-6:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Opening Reception
6:00-9:00 p.m. Evening Free
9:00-11:00 p.m.
 Sunday Night Entertainment: Cody Canada & The Departed
   
Monday, October 7
  
7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Registration
8:00-10:00 a.m.
 General Session and Breakfast: Keynote by Dr. Julie Bell
10:00-11:30 a.m. Exhibit Hall Open
11:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
 Awards Luncheon & General Session
(includes Best of Community Banking Awards celebration)
2:00-3:00 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions and Tracks:

  • Leadership & Strategy: Best Practices for Interest Rate Risk
  • Risk Management: Check Fraud on the Rise - Ways to Protect Your Customers and Bank
  • Credit & Lending: Thriving in Turbulence - Credit Risk Related High Interest Rate Strategies
  • Operations: How to Intelligently Bring AI to Your Bank
  • Wildcard: Innovate to Retain: Capturing the Next Gen Depositor 
3:00-3:15 p.m.
 Refreshment Break
3:15-4:15 p.m.

Concurrent Sessions and Tracks:

  • Leadership & Strategy: Under Pressure: Cost of Funds Strategies for Any Rate Environment
  • Risk Management: Attorney Panel
  • Credit & Lending: Consumer Spending, a Driving Force to Commercial Lending
  • Operations: Optimizing Onboarding & Cross-Selling in Banking: A Roadmap to Deeper Relationships
  • Wildcard: Credit and Pricing Enhancement Through the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority
5:00-6:30 p.m. Hospitality Suites
6:30-9:00 p.m. PAC Auction and Dinner
9:00-10:30 p.m.
 Nightcap Hospitality Suite
   
Tuesday, October 8
  
8:30-10:15 a.m.
 Closing General Session and Breakfast: Regulator Panel; Annual Meeting and New Chairman's Address

2024 EVENT SPONSORS
Strategic Sponsor




Diamond Sponsors

                              
                     

Gold Sponsors


                                       

                                              

                                

Silver Sponsors

ADVANTAGE, Powered By JMFA
Agent IQ
Alliance Bank
Alston & Bird LLP
b1BANK
The Bankers Bank
CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)
CollateralEdge
CP Insurance Associates
CSI
Diebold Nixdorf
Eide Bailly LLP
Fenimore Kay Harrison LLP
Finastra
Glory Global Solutions
   Holland & Knight LLP
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Independent Financial
IntraFi
Kasasa
KlariVis
Kleberg Bank
  
Kristopher James Company
Lamar National Bank
Norton Rose Fullbright US LLP
Olsen Palmer
RSM
R&T Deposit Solutions
Stephens Inc.
Texas First Bank
Texas Regional Bank
VeraBank
Bronze Sponsors

5ironCyber
Accubranch
Alkami
Data Business Equipment, Inc. (DBE)
Digital Onboarding, Inc.
ePayResources
   
FinGoal
Huron Consulting Group
ICI Consulting, Inc.
Ironcore, Inc.
Jack Henry
revio.
Strategic Resource Management, Inc.
SW Graduate School of Banking - SMU
Travelers
Whitley Penn LLP
Blue Ribbon Sponsors
 
Henry & Peters, P.C.		  
Kameo Marketing LLC
Yennik, Inc. 


2024 EXHIBITORS


5ironCyber
AccuBranch
Advantage Health Plans Trust
ADVANTAGE, Powered By JMFA
Agent IQ
American Security and Privacy, LLP
Array US, Inc.
BAFS - Business Alliance Financial Services, LLC
Baker Asset Management
BCC
Bedel Security
BMA Banking Systems
CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)
CollateralEdge
College Ave Student Loans
Comco Systems
Community Capital Technology Inc.
Computer Services, Inc. (CSI)
Condley and Company, LLP
Convergint
CP Insurance Associates
Data Business Equipment, Inc. (DBE)
DCI (Data Center Inc.)
DEI Incorporated
Deluxe Corporation
Deluxe Merchant Services
Diebold Nixdorf
Digital Onboarding, Inc.
Dolphin Debit Access, LLC
Eclipse Brand Builders, LLC
Eide Bailly LLP
Eko Investments
Engage Fi
Farmers National Company - Energy
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
Federal Protection, Inc.
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
FinGoal
FIntegrate Technology
FINTX, LLC
Forvis Mazars
Glory Global Solutions
Gulf Coast Business Credit
Haberfeld
Hamilton Vaultronics
HC3
IBT Apps
ICBA CRA Solutions
Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA®)
Infinant
InfoAgora Inc.
Integris
IntraFi
Ironcore, Inc.
Kasasa
KlariVis
Kristopher James Company
La Macchia Group
LemonadeLXP
MeridianLink Inc.
MG Architects
Moss Adams
Ncontracts
PhaseOne Design Builders
Privacy Lock
PULSE, a Discover Company
Purple Wave Auction
R&T Deposit Solutions
revio.
RiskScout
S&P Global Market Intelligence
SBS CyberSecurity, LLC
SHAZAM
Spry Inc.
SRA Watchtower
Strategic Resource Management, Inc.
StrategyCorps, LLC
Stratman Solutions
Strunk LLC
Teslar Software
The James Paul Group
TransFund
USDA Rural Development
Verge Network Solutions
Vertical IQ
Vitex, Inc.
Xactus