If this year’s conference comes even close to being as successful as the first two were, and I expect it will be, I hope that we have established an ongoing role for this gathering, which provides such a great opportunity for bankers, regulators, and academic researchers to come together to share ideas and insights about the issues that matter most in community banking.
Based on the agenda and conference materials I have seen, I expect participants over the next two days will tackle some of the most important issues facing community banks, provoke discussion and debate about opportunities and challenges, and generate some promising ideas about how community banks can continue to play the indispensable role they have played in so many communities.