2025 IBAT EDGE

May 6-7 | Waco

An event designed to meet the educational needs of community bankers in Texas and beyond. 

Hosted by the Education Foundation of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, this two-day event is designed to help you Educate, Develop, Guide and Empower your team to take the next steps in their careers, for the good of your bank and its customers. 

This event will include sessions featuring thought provoking and inspiring keynote speakers. Attendees will be able to pick from 48 breakout sessions, divided into six tracks: Compliance, Credit & Lending, Human Resources, Operations, Leadership & Strategy and Marketing.

Each breakout session will provide the opportunity to dive deep into hot topic issues related to each track. No matter what your role is in the bank, you will benefit from greater knowledge of how you can build a team and affect positive outcomes in your organization.

2025 Keynote Speakers


Dave Martin, BankMechanics

Speaker, Writer, Banker Advocate 
Keeping Banker Teams Resilient and Relevant in Times of Change

Christopher Williston, IBAT

President and CEO
Taking the Leading Role from Behind the Scenes

2025 Breakout Session Tracks

EDGE includes educational breakout tracks focused on six distinct topic areas.  Attendees may choose a single track to follow for the entire event or jump from track to track to create the learning experience that best supports your career growth.  Check out the full schedule as we get closer to the event to see the full lineup of topics and presenters. 

 

Compliance

 
Credit & Lending
 
Human Resources

Sessions in this track focus on mitigating risk and managing compliance efficiently. Topics covered:

  • AML/CFT Enforcement Actions: Lessons to be Learned
  • How to Get Your SARs the Attention They Deserve: Effective SAR Narrative Writing
  • Everything You Wanted to Ask Bank Regulators But Were Afraid To
  • Check Fraud on the Rise–Ways to Protect Your Customer and Your Bank
  • Managing Third-Party AI Risk: What You Need to Know Today
  • Risk Assessments and Elder Abuse
     
 

Best practices in finance for a sound loan portfolio, regulatory overview on lending, as well as creating new opportunities of engagement for market growth. Topics covered:

  • How to Generate More Profit and Add More Discipline to Your Pricing Process
  • Fair Lending & UDAAP Update
  • More to come…
  As businesses and bank operations continue to evolve, Human Resources plays a vital role in handling employees to positively influence a bank’s growth and success. Topics covered:

  • Can You Hear Me Now? Improving Internal Communications
  • Panel Discussion With Community Bank HR Experts
  • More to come...

Leadership & Strategy

 
Marketing

 
Operations

This track reviews the power behind technology advancements to grow business, processes to deploy smarter strategies for market expansion and how to exceed customer expectations. Topics covered:

  • Collaboration: Working Across Boundaries in Your Bank
  • The Good Kind of Data Hack: How to Make Your Data Drive Revenue
  • Significant Leadership: Making a Difference in the Lives of Those You Lead
  • Your Bank Needs a Payments Strategy
  • Transformative Branch Conversations
  • Interest Rate Risk in 2025: Impacts of a Soft Landing Versus a Recession
 
  Get the inside scoop on properly marketing your bank to customers. Discover how to transform your existing brand and data into tools and branch aesthetics that will help your bank's brand stand out. Topics covered:

  • Strategies for Creating a Best-in-Class Debit Program
  • The Magic of Multisensory Technology
  • The Future of Banking for Generation Z: What They Want and What They Really Need
  • Content Marketing Made Simple: A Guide for Community Banks of All Sizes
  • Brand Intelligence: Building a Strong Foundation for Your Bank's Identity
  • Improve Digital Onboarding Success Within the First 30 Days
 

  From staffing to project management to marketing to product development, this track covers a wide range of topics to help you optimize and strengthen your back-office operations. Topics covered:

  • Taking the Mystery Out of Vulnerability Metrics
  • Accelerate Transformation: Protect, Synergize and Build a More Sustainable Operations Model
  • Unlocking the Potential: AI in Banking
  • Revolutionizing Customer Service in Community Banking
  • Financial Institution Robbery Prevention and Preparedness
  • A Fraudsters Paradise
 

Who Should Attend and Pricing

This event was designed with your team in mind. It is intended to be a "one-stop shop" for live education and networking for a diverse group of bank officers and emerging leaders.

Registration Fees:
IBAT Member:  $995
Non-Member and Non-Associate Member: $1,595
If your bank or company is registering more than four employees, please contact Mandy Robinson ([email protected]) for discount options.

2025 Tentative Agenda 

Monday, May 5  
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. AM Banker Networking with Refreshments
5:00 p.m.
Dinner on Your Own
   
Tuesday, May 6
7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Exhibit Encounters
7:30 – 8:15 a.m. Breakfast
8:15 – 9:30 a.m.  General Session
9:30 – 10:00 a.m. 
Refreshment Break
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Breakout Sessions/Tracks 
11:00 – 11:15 a.m.  Refreshment Break 
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.  Breakout Sessions/Tracks 
12:15 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch with Exhibitors
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.  Breakout Sessions/Tracks 
2:30 – 2:45 p.m.  Refreshment Break 
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.  Breakout Sessions/Tracks 
3:45 – 4:00 p.m.  Refreshment Break 
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.  Breakout Sessions/Tracks 
6:30 – 9:00 p.m.   Dinner and Entertainment 
   
Wednesday, May 7
 
7:30 – 8:15 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.  Breakout Sessions/Tracks
9:30 – 10:00 a.m.  Refreshment Break
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.  Breakout Sessions/Tracks 
11:00 –  11:15 a.m. Refreshment Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.  Breakout Sessions/Tracks 
12:30 – 1:45 p.m. Closing General Session + Lunch 
2:00 p.m.  Event Concludes

2025 IBAT EDGE Sponsors

 EXCLUSIVE EDUCATION PARTNER

 

Strategic Sponsors

 

Diamond Sponsors



Gold Sponsors

                                  

             

Silver Sponsors

Bedel Security
CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)
CP Insurance Associates
Diebold Nixdorf
 

Fenimore Kay Harrison LLP
Glory Global

IntraFi

Bronze Sponsors

AccuBranch
Agent IQ
Data Business Equipment, Inc. (DBE)
Digital Onboarding, Inc.
Eide Bailly LLP


FIntegrate Technology
HC3
Kristopher James Company

LemonadeLXP
Revio Insight
 
 Blue Ribbon Sponsors
 
Dolphin Debit Access, LLC

 

Exhibit Encounters


5ironCyber
Accubranch
Advantage Health Plans Trust
Agent IQ
Bedel Secuirty
CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)
Community Capital Tech
CP Insurance Associates
Curated Cyber


 
Data Business Equipment, Inc. (DBE)
Diebold Nixdorf
Digital Onboarding, Inc.
Eide Bailly LLP
Fenimore Kay Harrison LLP
FIntegrate Technology
Forvis Mazars
Glory Global

 
HC3
Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA®)

Integris
IntraFi
Ironcore, Inc.

Kristopher James Company
LemonadeLXP
MainStreet, Inc.

   
NuSource
PULSE, a Discover Company
Revio Insight
S&P Global Market Intelligence
The Baker Group
TransFund