Kansas independent bankers push personal responsibility

Northwestern Financial Review, Aug 1-Aug 14, 2004 by Hilgert, Jackie

Now that the Community Bankers Association of Kansas has a new "face person" in place at the top, a new logo, a plan for increased visibility and growth, and a renewed sense of purpose, the only thing that remained for the association to accomplish at its annual meeting in Wichita was to transfer all its momentum to its membership. And that's just what the association did July 80-10 as it laid out new insurance offerings, examined financial crimes, and touted responsible lending with an indepth look at bankruptcy. Each topic was sewn with a common thread - personal responsibility.

CBA has contracted with health care insurance vendor and associate member, the Woodbury Group, to bring a variety of health care plans, including Health Savings Accounts, to its member banks and, ultimately, to their customers. Health Savings Accounts are designed to lower individual's insurance premiums as individuals assume the responsibility for managing their own cash outlays for health care expenses. By taking personal responsibility for the costs, it's presumed individuals will be wiser health care consumers.

Personal responsibility is a favorite talking point for CBA's President and CEO, Shari Weber. "You have to be responsible for how you eat and sleep and what activities you participate in," Weber said. "That has a huge impact on the amount of expense you have for your medical health." CBA contracted with the Woodbury Group a year ago for its staff coverage and Weber viewed partnering with the associate member as a way the association could add value to membership.

"Bankers don't take it lightly about taking someone's health insurance and handing it over to someone different," Weber said. But on the issue of Health Savings Accounts, Weber added, "It does exactly what our bankers do, which is think through the monetary decisions and take on personal responsibility."

Gregg Lewis, CBA immediate past chairman and chairman of First Option Bank, Osawatomie, anticipates banks will appreciate having more options. "The Kansas Bankers Association has had the lockdown on the medical program with Blue Cross & Blue Shield forever," Lewis said. The majority of banks in Kansas belong to KBA for their medical insurance, he said.

Steve Handke, CBA chairman and president of Union State Bank, Everest, said rising health insurance premiums take a huge chunk of his bank's income. "Our bank has 30 fulltime equivalents and my health insurance costs around $225,000," Handke said. Although his bank and his employees share that cost, Handke is still in awe of the number. "That's 50 percent of what I hope to earn this year at the bank to return to stockholders." After an annual payroll of approximately $1.4 million, health insurance premiums amount to one the biggest expenses for Handke's $77 million institution.

Lewis anticipates the affiliation with the Woodbury Group will be a way for the association to build nondues revenue, a goal that emerged following the association's strategic planning sessior., which was facilitated by Chris Williston, CEO of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas.

CBA has undergone some restructuring since 2000, when longtime executive Sue Anderson retired. Her replacement, Robert Kennedy, stayed with the association a couple of years before leaving suddenly. That's when Shari Weber's, name emerged as a candidate to lead Kansas' independent banking group. Weber has been tha association's leader since May 2003. "Shari was hired for this position because of her passion for small towns and her passion for community," Handke said. "That's the same passion we have as community bankers."

That pass:.on became evident when she interviewed for the job, Lewis recalled. "We had the best group of resumes and the final four people we interviewed were unbelievable candidates," Lewis said. "But her passion for community and our passion for community, when she spoke about community, it was like Yeah! That's us!'"

"During the restructuring, we saw the resilienc3 of Kansas community bankers," Handke added. "Hard times distilled down to gold. I think we run hard and execute the plan next year," he continued. "For me, that's exciting."

Weber said CBA is member directed and creating a non-dues revenue stream, increasing visibility and educating members and customers are challenges that are getting top priority. Crime education is shifting from a first-year focus on robbery prevention to an initiative on identity theft and fraud.

Financial crimes update

Brad Bryant of the Wichita Police Department gave bankers an oftentimes chilling accounting of the scope of financial crimes perpetrated in the state. "Most financial crimes are drug driven and thieves have a mercenary attitude toward their victims," Bryant said. Check fraud, he said, is a crime that doesn't capture the attention of law enforcement the way it used to, although losses can be staggering. The Kansas legislature, he added, created a revolving door for crooks with a lenient system known as "presumptive probation." Crooks are often returned to the streets after only a night or two in jail, he said.