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October 6-7, 2025

2025 BHCA Fall Seminar

Banking in the Success Zone means a win for community bankers

The Bank Holding Company Association’s Fall Seminar redefines the success zone as your bank! Join more than 200 of your colleagues in the community banking arena Oct. 6-7, 2025 for “Banking in the Success Zone,” set for the Westin Galleria Hotel in Edina, Minn.

Speakers such as former FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams and S&P Global’s Nathan Stovall offer insight that will help you understand the current environment thoroughly enough to see the most promising opportunities for your bank. We will have panels made up of bankers and other experts who will share first-hand experiences related to deal-making (buying and selling), board effectiveness, capital management and much more. Experts from many of the nation’s top investment banking, accounting and law firms will be on hand to present case studies, share observations and offer ideas.

Presenters will also take a deep dive into the recently passed tax bill and explain what it means to you, as well as trends in insurance claims and property valuation. This two-day event packs more roll-up-your-sleeves information than any other meeting of its kind.

The seminar concludes with an inspiring and thought-provoking presentation from Lea B. Olsen, the Twin Cities native who played basketball for the University of Minnesota and is currently an entrepreneur and television sports broadcaster for the Timberwolves and Lynx. Having spent much of her career in the “success zone” herself, she will share stories and insights with the potential to help you take your game to the next level.

While the theme has remained constant (this is our eighth annual Fall Seminar focused on mergers and acquisitions), the information is always fresh and current. Our presenters are on the front lines of industry deals. We are fortunate to have some of the nation’s most respected community bank M&A professionals regularly participating in our seminar. Listen to their presentations and then visit with them directly during our reception and other invaluable networking time.

You are encouraged to bring along your board members, senior staff and trusted colleagues to this thought-provoking seminar. Even if you have no intention of buying or selling, conversations around the value of your franchise should be a part of your board agenda. You will get the information you need at this event to engage in those discussions in a way that is meaningful to your organization.

This is an exciting time to be a banker; make sure your organization is operating in the Success Zone by registering today!

GAME 1

Monday, October 6

11:15 am
Registration opens

11:45 - 12:30
Buffet lunch

12:30 - 12:40
Welcome
Tom Bengtson, BHCA Managing Director

12:40 - 1:30
The State of Community Banking
Nathan Stovall, Director of FIG Research, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Nathan will provide an overview of the operating environment and the outlook for community banking profitability and bank strategies going forward.

1:30 - 2:15
The Importance of Succession Planning
John Houlton, President/CEO, First National Financial Services, Elk River, Minn.
Doug Hiatt, attorney, Fredrikson, Minneapolis
Caitlin Houlton Kuntz, attorney, Fredrikson, Minneapolis
How prepared are you for the unexpected? Transitions from one generation to the next, or from one owner to the next, are never easy, but they are much more difficult if the relevant issues have been ignored until the parties are thrust into a transition unexpectedly.

2:15 - 2:45
The Future Starts Now
Beau Hurtig, attorney, Ballard Spahr, Minneapolis
Scott Coleman, attorney, Ballard Spahr, Minneapolis
What decisions do holding company officers need to make today to prepare for the future, regarding retention of key officers and employees, stay bonus and change in control agreements; managing the shareholder base through the shareholder agreement, tender offers, reverse stock splits and stock offerings; and preparing to be a buyer or seller or both?

2:45 - 3:10
Break

3:10 - 3:40
Active Capital Management
Gary Svec, Managing Director, Performance Trust, Chicago
As financial institution professionals, we regularly manage our assets and our liabilities, but do we actively manage our capital? In this session, Gary Svec will share best-in-class strategies for actively managing capital and preserving the option to remain independent.

3:40 - 4:10
Fireside Chat with a Buyer and a Seller
Brian Palmer, President, Olsen Palmer, Denver, Colo.
Chad Forkrud, President, Citizens Alliance Bank, Clara City, Minn.
Lee Stuart, CEO, NBC Bancshares, LLC., Lincoln, Neb.
Brian interviews two bankers who recently completed deals, seeking insight into the details that defined each of the deals.

4:10 - 4:40
How to manage a capital raise and turn it into a marketing campaign
David Stieber, Partner, TruStar Advisors, St. Paul, Minn.
Craig Mueller, Partner, TruStar Advisors, St. Paul, Minn.
David and Craig will walk through current market conditions and capital planning scenarios including the balancing act of providing shareholder liquidity while growing your bank. Also discussed will be the different stages of a capital raise including compliance and other logistics. Real-life examples from other bank offerings will show how capital raises have successfully transformed an offering into a marketing program.

4:40 - 5:15
Observations from a former FDIC Chair
Jelena McWilliams, Managing Partner, Head of Financial Institutions Practice, Cravath, Washington, D.C.
Taking questions from the audience and BHCA Managing Director Tom Bengtson, Jelena McWilliams during this virtual interview shares observations about the Trump Administration’s approach to bank regulation and what it might mean for the industry during the next several years.

5:15 - 6:30
Reception

6:30
Dinner on your own

GAME 2

Tuesday, October 7

7:15 - 8:00
Buffet Breakfast

7:45 - 7:55
BHCA Annual Meeting
Laura Meyer Dick, BHCA President, First Kansas Bancshares, Hutchinson, Kan.

8:00 - 8:30
A Look Inside a Large Community Bank Acquisition
Anton Moch, Attorney, Winthrop & Weinstine, Minneapolis
Brad Roden, President/CEO, NATCOM Bancshares, Inc., Superior, Wis.
Steve Burgess, Director, NATCOM Bancshares, Inc., Superior, Wis.
Tony Moch shares the stage with leadership from NATCO Bancshares, the holding company for National Bank of Commerce, which recently purchased the $700 million-asset Riverwood Bank, Baxter, Minn., creating a $2.1 billion bank.

8:30 - 9:15
Board Composition and Governance in the Context of M&A
Jenn Docherty, General Counsel, Performance Trust, Chicago
Brad Roden, President/CEO, NATCOM Bancshares, Inc., Superior, Wis.
Do you have the right people and the right process for strategic success? This session will explore the current and emerging challenges facing banks today, the critical role of the board in addressing those challenges and how to enhance board effectiveness to drive strategic success. In particular, we will explore how to best position your Board to evaluate strategic opportunities before a transaction is being considered, M&A can strengthen your Board and the challenges of integration.

9:15 - 9:45
From Strategy to Action: Preparing Your Community Bank for M&A Success
Michael Holdren, Accountant, Eide Bailly, Des Moines, Iowa
Community bank M&A success starts with strategic clarity and a forward-looking mindset. This session focuses on the thought process behind the preparation for M&A and how leadership teams can evaluate their long-term goals, assess organizational readiness, and define what the right opportunity looks like. Attendees will gain insights into building internal alignment and a strategic focus on guiding future M&A decisions, whether as a buyer or potential seller.

9:45 - 10:15
Be Ready for M&A
Paul Ouweneel, Accountant, Wipfli
Melissa Lanska, Attorney, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren
This presentation outlines the strategic steps buyers and sellers of banks must take prior to executing a transaction to ensure a successful outcome. Due diligence, optimize financial positioning, and address regulatory considerations will be discussed. The presenters will use their vast deal experience to provide actionable insights to enhance preparation, minimize risks, and maximize value realized for both a buyer and seller.

10:15 - 10:45
Should You Consider Selling to a Non-Traditional Buyer (Redux)?
Joseph Ceithaml, Attorney, Barack Ferrazzano, Chicago
For the last two to three years, few sales of banks to non-traditional buyers were being completed, mostly due to regulatory hurdles and an unfavorable political backdrop. Fast forward to today—these deals are back in vogue and receiving approvals. Investor groups with novel business plans involving banking-as-a-service, cryptocurrency, stablecoins and other fintech services are looking to buy banks again and are typically willing to pay a substantially higher premium than traditional bank buyers.

10:45 - 11:15
Break

11:15 - 12:15
Breakout sessions:

Round 1
11:15 - 11:40

What's Behind the Branch?
Understanding Bank Sales Beyond the Numbers
Sean Raboin, HTG Architecture, Hopkins, Minn.

What the Big Beautiful Bill Means for Bankers
Brandon Jones, RSM US LLP, Minneapolis

Round 2
11:45 - 12:10

Transition or Long-Term Relevance: Building a Strategic Plan that Survives Disruption
Travis Whiting, CLA, Minneapolis
David Heneke, CLA, St. Cloud, Minn.

Trends in Cyber Crime and Fraud
Kevin Yoegel, Mullen Coughlin, Devon, Pa.
Kris St. Martin, Vice President, CBIZ, Minneapolis
Tiffany Garcia, Managing Director, CBIZ, Austin, Texas

12:15 - 1:00
Sitdown Lunch

1:00 - 1:50
Playing to Win
Lea B. Olsen, Broadcaster, Timberwolves/Lynx
Many of us are high-achievers who want to Win in everything we do. While that attitude has served many of us well through the years, it can also be overwhelming and self-defeating. When we Rethink the Wins in our lives and at work, we find a path that is sustainable and healthy. Finding our Wins in life always starts with knowing ourselves and owning our Winning Ways. From there anything is possible. As a Big Ten collegiate athlete, sports broadcaster, entrepreneur and mother, Lea B. Olsen has learned first-hand and from other world-class athletes and businesspeople what truly makes a Win. Through her Winning Ways model, Lea B. helps your audience dig into what they are really trying to find for themselves when they play to Win.

PRICING

Full Seminar

$650 per person

$900 per person - non-member

Best Value

Full Day | Monday ONLY

$375 per person

$500 per person - non-member

Full Day | Tuesday ONLY

$350 per person

$425 per person - non-member

At Center Court

Jelena McWilliams

Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Speaker Bio

Jelena McWilliams is Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office and Head of the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) Practice. She is a former Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Ms. McWilliams focuses her practice on advising public and private companies, financial institutions, fintechs, and early-stage and venture companies on regulatory and corporate matters, as well as on mergers and acquisitions, IPO and other capital markets transactions.

While at the FDIC, Ms. McWilliams managed over 6,000 employees supervising approximately 5,000 banks, including through the COVID-19 pandemic. She participated in interagency negotiations, policy developments and joint agency rulemakings both as agency principal and as a voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). Ms. McWilliams chaired the Resolution Group at the Financial Stability Board (FSB); chaired and served on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC); and served on the Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee (FBIIC). She testified before U.S. Congress on numerous occasions and engaged extensively with U.S. and international regulators, including the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Association of Deposit Insurers. She established the agency’s first office of innovation to implement technological advancements through supervisory channels and collaborative partnerships between banks and fintechs. Ms. McWilliams also spearheaded the agency’s effort to develop prudential banking policy on digital assets, including through a “crypto sprint” with the Office of the Currency Comptroller (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), and in collaboration with the President’s Working Group multiagency effort on stablecoins. She envisioned and created Mission Driven Bank Fund, a novel private/public partnership investment fund to support investments in low- and moderate-income communities served by the Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions.

Prior to her tenure as FDIC Chairman, Ms. McWilliams served as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Fifth Third Bank (FITB) where she managed over 100 lawyers and legal staff, oversaw legal and regulatory matters, and served on the Enterprise Committee and several internal committees, including Management Compliance, Enterprise Risk, Risk and Compliance, Operational Risk, Enterprise Marketing and Regulatory Change. In this capacity, Ms. McWilliams had extensive interactions with numerous federal and state regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the FDIC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Before that, Ms. McWilliams served as Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs where she engaged in oversight of FRB, FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), CFPB, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FSOC and Office of Financial Research (OFR). She interacted with law enforcement and regulatory agencies, including U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Previously, Ms. McWilliams served as Assistant Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship where she engaged in oversight of Small Business Administration (SBA) and its lending programs, and served as a principal advisor handling matters related to financial services.

During the 2007–2010 financial crisis, Ms. McWilliams served as a consumer protection attorney at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors where she worked on several rulemakings, including to amend consumer protection regulations under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) and Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, as well as bank and third party practices related to section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, which prohibits banks from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices (UDAP).

Ms. McWilliams is a frequent speaker on trends and topics in the financial services sector, including bank regulatory policy, governance trends, digital assets, fintechs and early-stage company regulatory policy. She is a past member of the Economic Council of Washington, D.C., and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking Foundation at Southern Methodist University.

Ms. McWilliams was singled out by Chambers USA as an “Eminent Practitioner” in the Financial Services Regulation (Nationwide) category.

Ms. McWilliams was born in Belgrade, Serbia. She received her B.A. with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 and her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2002.

Nathan Stovall

S&P Global Market Intelligence

Speaker Bio

Nathan Stovall is the director of the financial institutions research team for S&P Global Market Intelligence, which is responsible for data-driven news and research focused on banks and insurers. Nathan has 20 years of experience covering the financial institutions sector, with a focus on U.S. banks.

He is the author of the banking blog, Street Talk, and host of the podcast by the same name. His in-depth analysis of the banking industry, including a focus on community banks, can be found on SPGMI's Research & Analysis feature, which includes historical and forward-looking performance figures.

During his tenure, he has regularly covered and participated on the conference circuit as a speaker and moderator of panels and webinars focused on major issues facing banks. He has been quoted in a number of trade publications and the national press, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Economist and has appeared on CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Fox Business News and NPR's Planet Money.

Nathan holds a Bachelor of Arts degrees from Washington & Lee University, where he majored in business journalism.

Lea B. Olsen

Broadcaster, Timberwolves/Lynx

Speaker Bio

As a Division 1 athlete, sports broadcaster, entrepreneur and mother, executive speaker Lea B. Olsen has spent her life learning about the benefitsand costs to Winning.

Lea was raised in a blended family in South Minneapolis. Growing up in poverty, with parents and siblings who all looked they came from different families, created social dilemmas for Lea from a young age. Lea learned early that when your family doesn’t fit the mold, you have to be comfortable breaking the mold. This was one of Lea’s first Wins in life.

Introduced to sports relatively late, Lea began her basketball career her junior year of high school and after only two years, went on to play Division I basketball at the University of Minnesota. Sports changed Lea’s life for good. Surrounded by coaches and teammates and doing what she loved, Lea found her place in the world. Playing sports gave Lea a deep appreciation for the important role process plays in success. Whether you win or lose, success lies in your process for getting there.

Lea transformed her success on the court into a sports journalism career. She broadcasted basketball on ESPNS national WNBA coverage, as a game analyst for the Minnesota Lynx, and as a television sideline reporter for the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with numerous college and high school games. Throughout her sports journalism career, Lea has interviewed dozens of Winning athletes, from high school to pro, about what it takes to Win.

Lea’s experiences playing and covering sports, and seeing the pressure youth athletes face to Win at all costs, lead her in 2015 to found Rethink the Win. Rethink the Win is an organization dedicated to preserving the fun in youth sports while teaching kids how to apply lessons learned in sports to the real world.

Lea’s unique perspective on Winning in sports, in business and in life has given her a game plan on how to Win with purpose and passion. As a speaker and thought leader, she thrives on helping people and businesses find their Wins while staying true to their values and beliefs.

HOTEL

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The Westin Edina Galleria
3201 Galleria, Edina, Minnesota, USA, 55435
Tel: +1 952-567-5000

The BHCA Fall Seminar takes place at the Westin Hotel, which is part of the Galleria in Edina, Minnesota. This is a top-flight hotel located in a vibrant part of the Twin Cities, less than 10 miles from MSP Airport. Walk to the shops and restaurants of the Galleria or visit Southdale Mall across the street. Connect with colleagues in our vibrant, upscale hotel lobby, including Prelude Bar. Whether you’re exploring the food, culture, or arts scenes, you’ll always be able to make the most of your time at the Westin Edina Galleria Hotel.