On Friday, November 13th, First Community Bank and Trust Senior Vice President, Karen Burgess and Commercial Loan Officer, Cameron Ohlendorf attended the 13^th Annual Community Bankers Symposium hosted at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. 

Speakers included Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President and CEO Charles Evans, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Jelena McWilliams, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Joseph Otting. Topics of the day ranged from current trends in community banking and opportunities in fintech to a discussion on monitoring credit risk. Chairman McWilliams spoke of the importance of community banks in her remarks stating, “These institutions play a much greater role in meeting the credit needs of small businesses than their asset size alone would suggest. At mid-2018, for example, banks with assets less than $10 billion held about 50 percent of small loans to businesses. A recent FDIC survey suggests that the amount of loans to small businesses extended by small banks may be even higher.” 

Cameron Ohlendorf expressed that the symposium, along with interactions with other community bankers from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin allows for community bankers to work together and share ideas for improving their banks and customer experiences.

Karen Burgess agreed with Chairman McWilliams comments on the role that community banks play in their communities and how the personal, relationship-based services they provide are vital to their local economies. This is what First Community Bank and Trust strives to provide for our communities and customers every day.