December 5, 2025

Calling all MIBA member bank staff, Associate Member firm representatives, and bankers interested in leadership and professional development: We invite you to join MIBA for a fun-filled outing at the Blues!

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If you could articulate one common goal shared by most businesses today, it can probably be summed up in one word: growth. But what does “growth” mean, and what does it look like in practice? What is the best way to achieve growth? It may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes an organization needs to shrink to grow. Bigger is not necessarily better, and that becomes evident when you’re talking about financial institutions and the ways in which they can achieve growth through improving efficiency.

As a teenager standing under the bright lights of my hometown football games in Albany, Missouri, I learned the meaning and value of teamwork. That lesson stuck with me. After high school, it was reinforced during high-stress training at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Academy, where I trained to become a trooper.

Since we started seeing Halloween decorations in August, I felt it was high time we started thinking about the holiday season. More specifically, as it relates to community banking. And still more specifically, about a checklist for the balance sheet. There are some seasonal items that bear attention prior to, and immediately after, year-end. So let’s take a look at what may be on the radar.

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As I previously reported, there were two special sessions this summer, and three bills advanced by the legislature currently have litigation pending. The ballot issue to change the threshold for passing a constitutional change is being opposed by the Missouri Realtors Association and organized labor; the new congressional redistricting map is proving contentious, with a petition campaign underway to have the map put on the ballot; and the stadium funding bill that contained the property tax rate freeze is being litigated.

When leading a panel presentation on participation agreements for the International Factoring Association a few years ago, I asked the panelists what they considered the most important element of a participation agreement; they unanimously answered “trust.” I can draft the tightest participation agreement, but ultimately, having the right partner in the deal is what determines its success. (Well, that and whether the borrower pays.) Therefore, I started adding a provision to my participation agreements that required the other party to be trustworthy. All joking aside, that was the right answer, but trust can’t be properly drafted into an agreement. Here, I outline a few key provisions to strengthen the trust factor between a lead and a participant.

I never gave much thought to banking before I worked in a bank. It has amazed me the way banking touches every aspect of life and business. The most interesting thing that I have learned from working at this bank is … everything. Having everything under one roof has exposed me to retail, operations, deposit operations, loan operations, compliance and security. It has been a great opportunity to learn about all aspects of banking and how much it takes to make it all happen.

As part of our new series spotlighting the post-career journeys of retired bankers, we’re sitting down with some of the industry’s most respected names to learn where life has taken them after banking. In this issue, we are featuring Stephen “Steve” Kroenke, a long-time community banker and proud member of the Missouri Independent Bankers Association

Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed an alarming upsurge in the number of nonbank financial technology firms applying for national bank trust charters. We can track this trend back to a shift in policy in 2021 (Interpretive Letter #1176) in which the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reinterpreted the trust charter to eliminate its exclusive focus on fiduciary activities and redefined it to create an opening for digital asset firms to apply.

For community banks, digital transformation has moved from an industry colloquialism to a punch list reality. While we have always offered exceptional digital services that complement relationship banking, the emergence of artificial intelligence, the demand for integrated experiences and the 24/7 nature of banking have taken our plans to the next level.