Asset/Liability Management Seminar

April 29, 2008
Hilton Lisle/Naperville
Lisle, IL

April 30, 2008
Sangamo Club
 Springfield, IL

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

The program will focus on asset/liability management and the critical issues ALCOs are facing in 2008 with an economy possibly on the brink of recession and yield curve that changed substantially in the 4th quarter of 2007.  The program will begin with an overview of the Illinois business cycle with a special emphasis on housing and the sub prime crisis.  Short-term interest rates have decreased over 225 basis points since September 2007 and it is likely that they may continue to fall depending on the economy.  The challenge for bankers is management of the balance sheet in a new environment. 

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 the rest of 2008 and examine the modeling of balance sheets as the interest rate cycle continues to evolve.  The program will conclude with a discussion of growth strategies for 2008, particularly funding growth, and leverage strategies for this point in the rate cycle.

Seminar Agenda 

Ø      Current Economic Environment & Performance
         Business Cycle Conditions
      Yield Curve Forecasts
      Impact of Fed Rate changes over the last two years

Ø      Refining the ALCO Process at our Banks
      Bank Risk Profile in 2008
      Impact of Sub Prime Crisis on Community Banks
      Issues in Interest Rate Risk – Policy and Procedure 

Ø      Managing Assets in the Current Environment
         Loan portfolio management
      Investment Options in the Current Environment 

Ø      Managing Liabilities in the Current Environment
      Deposit Trends
      Protecting Core Deposits
      Retail Strategies to Fund Assets
      FHLB & Brokered CD Strategies 

Ø      Growth Strategies for 2008 – Do leverage transactions make sense?

Ø      Challenges Facing ALCOs in 2008

Who Should Attend

This program is designed for CEOs, COOs, CFOs, board members and other management team members with ALCO responsibilities.  The program also serves as a general educational experience for all bankers, management team and board members desiring familiarity with the ALCO process.

Speaker:  James Clarke, Ph.D.

Dr. James Clarke is the principal of Clarke Consulting, a Villanova, Pennsylvania firm specializing in ALCO issues and strategic planning for thrifts and community banks.  He is on the faculty of the American Bankers Association’s (ABA) National Graduate School of Banking, and has served on the faculty at the ABA’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking. 

Dr. Clarke has conducted seminars on asset and liability management and strategic planning for numerous financial institution trade associations and individual banks.  He frequently speaks to bank boards and at banking conventions and conducts director training for several state banking trade associations. 

Dr. Clarke holds a B.A. degree in economics from LaSalle College and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame.  He is a retired faculty member of the finance department at Villanova University.