It is customary for us to take stock every year of what has happened in the global and domestic environment. We last met in April 2011, at a time when adverse developments in the euro zone were gathering momentum and financial stability risks were intensifying, thereby threatening the sustainability of the global recovery.
During last year’s conference I met with a group of St. Louis area community bankers to hear what was on their minds. I will conduct a nationwide webinar with community bankers next month. In fact, I speak regularly to a number of bank executives, including those who run smaller institutions.