Plus
You're cordially invited
to celebrate the BHCA's
40th Anniversary!
Sunday Evening, October 2 at 5 pm
Forty years in the making, BHCA’s M&A-themed Fall Seminar is worth Celebrating!
Come, be a part of the Bank Holding Company Association’s 40th anniversary celebration and our fifth annual M&A-themed Fall Seminar on Oct. 2-3, 2022 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Bloomington, Minn., attached to the Mall of America.
Sunday offers an evening of merry-making and recalling the early years of the BHCA, which was founded in the early 1980s. Gather for an event-opening reception and enjoy a magnificent meal. We expect many of the association’s past-presidents to be in attendance, and some will share a few stories in a special panel presentation immediately prior to dinner. After dinner, an inspirational speaker will close our evening with insights and a hopeful message. A Champagne Toast is likely to be a highlight of the evening.
We get down to business on Monday morning with the best one-day community bank M&A seminar in the country. We bring together the industry’s leading investment bankers, attorneys and accountants to bring you up to date on the latest trends and developments in the community bank mergers and acquisitions arena. In addition, a panel of “deal-making” bankers will share their recent experiences. If you want to get a good sense for what it is like to buy or sell a bank, you won’t want to miss the BHCA Fall Seminar.
Plus, we’ve built in plenty of networking time, so you can connect with peers and experts who will be at the event. Arrive early on Monday and take in breakfast; midday, we offer a plated working lunch for all attendees. And, we invite you to stay after the formal education concludes for our event-closing reception. Sometimes, the most important information is exchanged over a libation.
With 40 years of experience, we have a legacy of hosting informative, impactful seminars that attract the industry’s most engaged bankers and bank owners, in addition to the best consultants, vendors, and other professionals who are devoted to helping you succeed.
HOTEL
Treat yourself to contemporary convenience at JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America. Our hotel features an unbeatable location in Bloomington, Minnesota, directly connected to the Mall of America and its renowned shopping, dining and entertainment. In addition, our location offers easy access to the Xcel Energy Center, US Bank Stadium and Nickelodeon Universe.
Enjoy local cuisine and craft cocktails at our hotel's signature restaurant, Cedar + Stone, or take a refreshing dip in our heated indoor pool. If you're hosting a social gathering or business event in the Minneapolis area, take advantage of almost 20,000 square feet of sophisticated space paired with exceptional planning and catering services. Feel right at home in Minnesota in elegantly furnished hotel rooms. Each room features deluxe bedding and a host of premium amenities, while many include floor-to-ceiling windows. JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America is committed to providing business and leisure travelers with a first-class experience.
SPEAKERS
William (Bill) Lentsch
Delta Airlines (retired)
Speaker Bio
William (Bill) Lentsch, serves as the first-ever Chief Operating Officer for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Prior to joining the Archdiocese in Fall of 2021, Lentsch served in various roles at Delta Air Lines over the past 30 years, most recently as Chief Customer Experience Officer. Lentsch led all customer-facing functions at Delta, including Airport Customer Service, Inflight Services, Reservations and Customer Care, and related support organizations. Lentsch has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Saint Paul Seminary and Saint John Vianney College Seminary.
Kirk Hovde
The Hovde Group
Speaker Bio
Kirk Hovde is Managing Principal & Head of Investment Banking at Hovde Financial in Chicago. Hovde is responsible for leading the firm’s investment banking practice, as well as evaluating the financial and strategic options of financial institutions. In this capacity, Hovde performs financial analyses and valuations of banks and thrifts, assists in the facilitation of M&A transactions and capital offerings, and assesses the impact of national and regional trends on the financial services industry. Hovde also is a member of Hovde Group’s Management Operating Committee, which is tasked with the day-to-day management of the firm and implementation of the longer-term strategic plan and vision.
Prior to joining Hovde Group, Hovde was with Deloitte & Touche LLP in Chicago, where he provided assurance services to both public and private clients in a broad array of industries. These services primarily consisted of regular financial audit and Sarbanes-Oxley attestation engagements, but also included special projects for acquisitions and divestitures. Hovde, a native of Chicago, earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, double majoring in Accounting and Finance, Investment & Banking, from the School of Business at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Illinois, has his series 7, 24, 63 and 79 FINRA licenses and has passed Level II of the CFA Program.
Curtis Carpenter
The Hovde Group
Speaker Bio
Curtis Carpenter is Senior Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division at The Hovde Group. Carpenter covers regional and community banks in the Texas marketplace, as well as other select markets around the country. Carpenter has a long track record in the community bank space. Carpenter has been involved in about a hundred successful merger transactions representing both buyers and sellers. Earlier in his career, Carpenter helped direct the extensive merger and acquisition activity of a large regional bank holding company. His additional experience includes serving as CFO of a financial institution and the audit department of KPMG in Dallas. Carpenter is a registered representative with FINRA and holds the Series 24, 62 and 63 licenses.
Matthew Forgotson
Performance Trust
Speaker Bio
Matthew Reader Forgotson joined Performance Trust's Client Insights and Analytics Team as a Director in 2020. Forgotson works with hundreds of community banks, assisting them in their efforts to apply analytical principles to their decision-making across their balance sheets. Previously, Forgotson spent 10 years at Sandler O'Neill/Piper Sandler, most recently serving as Director of Balance Sheet Analysis and Strategy, specializing in strategic communication. Prior, Forgotson spent eight years as a Senior Equity Research Analyst covering small- and mid-cap banks and thrifts across the United States. In 2018, Forgotson earned dual StarMine Analyst awards for his investment recommendations and earnings projections. Forgotson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. in Finance from the Zicklin School of Business at the City University of New York. Forgotson is the proud great-grandson, grandson, and son of community bankers. He is Series 7, 63, 86, 87, 79, and 30 registered.
Dale Sheller
The Baker Group
Speaker Bio
Dale Sheller is Senior Vice President in the Financial Strategies Group at The Baker Group. He joined the firm in 2015 after spending six years as a bank examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Sheller has a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University. He works with clients on investment portfolio strategies, interest rate risk management, liquidity risk management, and regulatory issues. Sheller serves as a faculty member for multiple banking schools.
Paul Sirek
Eide Bailly
Speaker Bio
Paul Sirek is an accountant at Eide Bailly, working from the firm’s Minneapolis office. He has focused on the financial institutions industry since 1995. He provides management consulting, tax planning and tax compliance services to financial institutions ranging from $50 million to more than $1 billion. Sirek assists financial institutions with merger and acquisition issues, including assistance and execution of bank sale marketing strategies, tax structuring of transactions and the regulatory application process.
John Fischer
Eide Bailly
Speaker Bio
John Fischer joined Eide Bailly in 1985 and works closely with a variety of financial institutions. Fischer is an expert on matters related to regulatory reporting or compliance. He is also an expert on branching, whether it be opening or closing a branch, or buying or selling one. His expertise includes preparing regulatory applications and accompanying forecasted financial statements for banks and bank holding companies, as well as managing and supervising tax compliance engagements.
Craig Mueller
Oak Ridge Financial
Speaker Bio
Craig Mueller has nearly 40 years of experience working with community banks. He joined Oak Ridge Financial in 2007. Mueller spent the first 13 years of his career at the American National Bank of St. Paul, initially as a commercial lender and later in its Investment Department. In 1992, Mueller joined Dain Rauscher, Inc., to start its Financial Institutions Unit.
Mueller is experienced in lending, investments, capital raising, M&A and board responsibilities; he attributes the Financial Institutions Group’s success to four decades of cultivating banking relationships. Mueller has assisted multiple investor groups form and fund de novo bank charters. He has also served on two bank holding company boards, which provided first-hand understanding of a board’s fiduciary responsibilities. Mueller has a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts degree in finance from Creighton University, Omaha, Neb.
David Steiber
Oak Ridge Financial
Speaker Bio
David Stieber joined Oak Ridge Financial in 2009 as managing director and co-head of its Financial Institutions Group. Stieber has 20 years of experience advising community banks on mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital raises, stock valuation and other general financial advisory assignments. During his career, Stieber has completed more than 100 assignments for community banks.
Prior to joining Oak Ridge, Stieber spent 10 years at RBC Capital Markets focused on banking. Most recently, he acted as a consultant to a major Midwestern financial institution working directly with senior management on M&A strategies, target identification and analysis. He started his career at Ernst & Young as a tax compliance specialist. Stieber has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Iowa, Iowa City; he is a Certified Public Accountant.
Scott Coleman
Ballard Spahr
Speaker Bio
Scott Coleman, an attorney in the Minneapolis office of Ballard Spahr, has represented banks and bank holding companies for more than 25 years in connection with mergers, stock purchase transactions, branch purchase and assumption transactions, capital raising, corporate restructuring, branching, non-bank acquisitions, changes in bank control, and charter conversions.
He also has represented organizers seeking to form bank holding companies, apply for deposit insurance, and charter new depository institutions. Coleman has significant experience in a wide range of regulatory matters, including Reg O, Reg W, Reg Y, interstate banking, and branching, lending limits, Basel III, and regulatory capital guidelines. He also represents bank stock lenders and subordinated debt purchasers, and advises financial institutions regarding liability for negotiable instruments under Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Anton (Tony) Moch
Winthrop & Weinstine
Speaker Bio
Anton (Tony) Moch joined the Minneapolis law firm of Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A., in 2001 and is a shareholder practicing in the field of community banking. He has been involved in the chartering and formation of state and federal banks, and routinely works with and advises banking institutions and bank ownership on mergers and acquisitions, branch assumptions, corporate restructuring, bank expansion strategies, branching issues and the sale of banking organizations to third parties. Moch routinely advises his clients on bank holding company and bank subsidiary issues, bank management issues, permissible banking growth strategies and activities, capital issues, stock redemptions, shareholder agreements and ownership transfers.
Moch has extensive experience in bank compliance and regulatory issues, assists banks with regulatory filings and applications, and works in close connection with his numerous contacts at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, FDIC, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Minnesota Department of Commerce and various other state banking agencies. He also has substantial experience in drafting and negotiating third party vendor agreements for his banking clients.
Karen Grandstrand
Fredrikson & Byron
Speaker Bio
Karen Grandstrand of Fredrikson & Byron is a nationally recognized bank regulatory and M&A attorney, and a financial industry advisor. She advises clients on examination matters, compliance and enforcement actions, mergers and acquisitions, the recapitalization and acquisition of troubled banks, private equity and other investments in banking organizations, corporate governance, risk management, and payment system and trust matters. Prior to joining Fredrikson, she had a 14-year career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis where she was initially in the Law Department and ultimately the Senior Vice President of the Banking Supervision and Risk Management Departments. In this position, she was the senior officer in charge of safety and soundness, consumer, CRA, trust, and IT examinations, as well as applications involving banks and holding companies.
John Reichert
Reinhart, Boerner Van Deuren
Speaker Bio
John Reichert of Reinhart, Boerner Van Deuren, is the managing shareholder of Reinhart’s Waukesha, Wis., office and a member of the firm’s Banking and Finance Practice. He works to cultivate deep, long-term relationships with his clients, serving as general counsel for community banks, bank holding companies and other businesses involved in the financial services industry. His clients include presidents, directors and other senior executives as well as lenders, compliance personnel, accountants, treasurers, human resources officers and branch employees. John’s practice involves corporate governance, capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, asset sales and purchases, regulatory and compliance matters, commercial lending transactions and general securities matters.
Elia Blankenship
RSM
Speaker Bio
Elia Blankenship is a member of the financial institution management consulting team at RSM. She focuses on operational efficiencies, organizational alignment, process automation, implementations, and system or vendor selection opportunities for financial institutions, Community Development Financial Institutions, and Housing Finance Authority. Prior to joining RSM, Elia had more than 20 years of managerial and technical background in branch operations, lending operations, deposit operations, card services, electronic banking, treasury services, risk management, vendor management, organizational analysis and processes improvement implementations.
Amber Kraemer
Winthrop & Weinstine
Speaker Bio
Amber Kraemer represents community banks on a range of corporate matters, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and the associated financing, employment, regulatory work, corporate governance and third-party vendor agreements. She also represents companies on similar issues including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, business formation, contracts and corporate governance.
SCHEDULE
5:00 to 6:00 pm
Reception
6:15 to 6:35 pm
Remembering The BHCA Early Days
Bob Barsness, first BHCA President
Bob Whitlock, founding attorney
And others…
6:35 to 6:40 pm
Champagne Toast
6:45 to 7:30 pm
Dinner
7:40 to 8:30 pm
The Customer Experience at 40,000 Feet
Bill Lentsch, EVP & Chief Customer Experience Officer, Delta Airlines (retired)
Customer experience and community service are key concerns for most bankers. Bill Lentsch will share his unique experience with both. Lentsch was responsible for managing the customer experience at one of the world’s largest airlines during the pandemic. And, last fall, after 31 years with Delta, he transferred his executive experience to serve the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis as its first Chief Operating Officer.
8:30 pm
adjourn
7:30 to 9:00
Buffet Breakfast
8:20 to 8:30
Welcome
Tom Bengtson, BHCA Managing Director
8:30 to 9:25
A Survey of the Community Bank M&A Landscape
Kirk Hovde and Curtis Carpenter, The Hovde Group
9:30 to 10:25
Regulatory Issues That May Affect Your Deal
Karen Grandstrand, Fredrikson & Byron
10:30 to 11:00
Break
11:00 to 11:45
Breakout sessions
Choose one session:
Advancing from the Earn-Back
Matt Forgotson, Performance Trust
Matt Forgotson, an award-winning equity research analyst at Performance Trust, has analyzed scores of community bank acquisitions. He always suspected that the tangible book value earn-back was punching way above its analytical weight, but just couldn't prove it. Why did this single-scenario snapshot metric distinguish a franchise-enhancing use of capital from a franchise-diluting use of capital? In this session, Matt will examine the earn-back and expose the limitations of conventional wisdom. He will also introduce the concept of the Capital Level Playing Field, which can lead to clearer and more confident capital allocations.
Asset/Liability Management in Uncertain Times: Is Your Balance Sheet Recession Ready?
Dale Sheller, The Baker Group
The Federal Reserve is aggressively raising interest rates to combat inflation at a 40-year high and many economists believe we are either already in a recession or soon will be. This session will begin with an economic/market update and then discuss the potential impact on community banks and recommendations to better prepared. Topics will include loan and deposit pricing, managing interest rate risk, excess liquidity management and investment portfolio strategies.
M&A Tax Law Update
Paul Sirek and John Fischer, Eide Bailly
Policymakers in the Biden Administration are advocating for new approaches to taxation which may affect bankers and bank owners across the country. Find out what’s likely to pass, what’s not, and how it all will affect you.
Digital Transformation and its impact on your bank
Elia Blankenship, RSM US
Digital technologies are transforming businesses within the community banking world. We will explore digital strategy, the significance of cultural transformation needed, the criticality of security, and key technologies and operational impact of digital technology enablers such as automation and having a data-driven enterprise. Finally, we will discuss how you can jumpstart your digital journey.
11:50 to 1:00 Luncheon Session
Strategic Planning in the Twilight Zone
Craig Mueller & David Steiber, Oak Ridge Financial
Inflation, rising interest rates, the falling value of the bond portfolio… how do today’s economic conditions affect your bank’s strategic planning with respect to growth by acquisition or the possible sale of assets? Drawing on experience from previous periods of economic uncertainty, Mueller and Steiber will walk through the issues, helping to identify the factors most relevant to you and your situation.
1:10 to 2:30
Dealmakers’ Panel
John Reichert, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren - Moderator
- David Saber, Park Financial Group, Minneapolis
- Brenda Johnson, Charter Bancshares, Eau Claire, Wis.
- Tim Siegle, Ameri Financial, Stillwater, Minn
- Jim Tubbs, State Bank of Cross Plains, Wis.
2:30 to 2:50
Break
2:50 to 3:45
M&A Strategies for the Times
Scott Coleman, Ballard Spahr
This session will discuss challenges encountered in recent transactions between community banks and non-bank buyers, emerging negotiation trends, things sellers should consider before commencing a sales process and during the negotiation and things buyers should consider in the transaction.
3:50 to 4:45
Meet the folks who started Entre Bank, the Upper Midwest’s first de novo in 14 years
Tony Moch, Winthrop & Weinstine - Moderator
Amber Kraemer, Winthrop & Weinstine - Moderator
- Daniel A. Boeckermann – Founder and Board Chair
- Timothy J. Viere – Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Todd R. Hovland – Founder and President
- Melissa A. Johnston – Founder and Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer
- Erik R. Knutson – Founder and Executive Vice President, CFO
4:50 to 6:00
Closing reception