Bankers study their industry at Stonier School

Northwestern Financial Review, Jul 1-Jul 14, 2005

The American Bankers Association conducted its 71st session of the Stonier School of Banking at Georgetown University in Washington D. C., June 11-17. Completing the threeyear program were 102 students who graduated on June 17; in addition, 255 bankers from all over the country participated in their first year or second year of the program. The figure includes 24 masters degree students taking a two-year accelerated version of the school.

"The Stonier School of Banking is about the business of banking, and management and leadership. It's really about capitalism," said Robert Weiss, chairman of the school's advisory board and a former Stonier student. Weiss is chairman and CEO of Beacon Bank in Shorewood, Minn. "Capitalism thrives on the quest for knowledge. And so I ask you, what about maximizing the value of knowledge? Not for the sake of just knowing, but for the sake of applying knowledge toward improving your life. More people are finishing high school, more people are finishing college and more people are training to upgrade their job skills today than at any time in the past 20 years. Why? Because in our capitalist system, knowledge pays off.

"When it comes to maximizing the value of the human mind and spirit, no other economic system even comes close. Capitalism is the best system on earth for unleashing the power of the human mind and spirit because it's incentive-based. It rewards those who take risks," Weiss said as he welcomed the students on the school's opening day.

The students came from institutions of all sizes: 129 students came from banks with assets ranging from $100 million to $1 billion; and 129 students came from institutions with more than $1 billion in assets; 35 students came from institutions with less than $100 million in assets, with the remaining students coming from regulatory agencies or non-banks.

Two journalists participated in the weeklong session: Tom Bengtson, editor of NorthWestern Financial Review; and Cathy Chu of Dow Jones News/the Wall Street Journal.

Following is a look at the attendance according to the home state of the students: Colorado 2; Illinois 16; Indiana 12; Iowa 4; Kansas 4; Michigan 11; Minnesota 16; Missouri 11; Montana 2; Nebraska 5; South Dakota 2; and Wisconsin 1. Fourteen students came from foreign countries.