Asset/Liability Management Seminars

March 25, 2010
Hilton Garden Inn
Springfield, IL

March 26, 2010
NIU Naperville
 Naperville, IL

The Illinois League of Financial Institutions is pleased to announce that in March it will sponsor its annual Asset/Liability Management Seminar.  This year's program will be conducted by Dr. Jim  Clarke of Villanova, PA.

This program will focus on asset/liability management , and the critical issues bank ALCOs will face in 2010 with an economy in recovery, and an interest rate environment that dropped dramatically in 2008, but eventually we will face rising interest rates.  The events in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2008 were unprecedented in modern financial history, but the financial markets have stabilized.  The recession was the deepest since the 1970s and the yield curve is the lowest in the last 50 years.  Your bank's ALCO was challenged in 2008 and 2009, hopefully 2010 will be a year things settle down, but there will be challenges including concern over interest rate risk.

The program will begin with a projection of the fallout from the financial crisis of 2008 and the impact on community banks – new regulations, followed by a business cycle forecast with a special emphasis on housing market and the Illinois economy.  Short-term interest rates have decreased over 500 basis points since September 2007 and it is likely that they may begin to increase in late 2010 or early 2011. Margins have stabilized in 2009 as the cost of funds continues to fall - the thrift industry in particular has benefited from the low rate environment – what is the forecast for 2010. The challenge for bankers is managing credit risk in the current environment, but with the anticipation of a different economic and interest rate scenario in 2010 and 2011. The program will include a discussion of the recent pronouncement by the FFIEC on interest rate risk and its implications for balance sheet management.  

Both the short-term and the long-term challenges facing bank ALCOs will be discussed. The program will examine both asset and liability decisions for 2010.  Dr. Clarke will examine the modeling of your balance sheet as the interest rate cycle continues to evolve with a focus on both market risk and liquidity risk. The program will conclude with a discussion of growth strategies for 2010, particularly asset allocation, and leverage strategies for this point in the rate cycle. 

Seminar Agenda 

Ø      Current Environment
         The Financial Crisis and Impact on Regulations
      Business Cycle Conditions
      Yield Curve Forecasts
      Bank Risk Profile in 2010
      Bank performance -- Impact of credit cycle
      Issues in Interest Rate Risk -- FFIEC Pronouncement

Ø      Managing Assets in the Current Environment
         Loan Portfolio Management
      Investment Options in the Current Environment 
      Reducing Interest Rate Risk Exposure

Ø      Managing Liabilities in the Current Environment
      Deposit Trends
      Protecting Core Deposits
      Retail Strategies to Fund Assets
      Reducing Interest Rate Risk Exposure
      FHLB Strategies -- Caps
      Growth Strategies for 2010 -- Do leverage transactions make sense at this point in cycle?
      Challenges Facing ALCOs in 2010 & 2011

Who Should Attend

This program is designed for CEOs, CFOs, controllers, and any manager with responsibility for the ALCO functions.  This would include lenders, retail personnel or internal auditors.  The program would also be valuable to board members who sit on the ALCO or would like to become more familiar with the process.

Speaker:  Jim Clarke, Ph.D.

Dr. Jim Clarke is the principal of Clarke Consulting, Villanova, Pennsylvania.  He lectures on asset/liability management at the National School of Banking sponsored by ABA, and the New England School of Banking.    Dr. Clarke conducts ALM seminars for many state associations, and for the Risk Management Association (RMA) and the Financial Managers Society (FMS).  He also conducts board education programs on ALM for a number of state associations.  In 2009 and 2010, he spoke at the RMA Annual Convention,  the Connecticut Bankers, Massachusetts Bankers and Louisiana Bankers Conventions, and ABA’s Mutual Conference.  Dr. Clarke is on the Board of two community banks, and is a Director of an investment company.