Pub. 1 2021 Issue 4

I developed an interest in banking and specifically agricultural finance way back in high school. I saw it as an opportunity to live and work in a small rural community while pursuing a rewarding career. Upon graduation from college, I worked for the Farm Credit System and immediately experienced the difficulties brought on by the Ag Crisis of the 1980s. It was a very difficult time, but it also provided a great training ground for my future in lending. After 18 years with FCS, I transitioned into community banking, and it has been my passion ever since. Now, with 20 years of experience, I am more convinced than ever that we need to work hard to preserve the community banking model. I firmly believe that the “too big to fail” institutions cannot and will not truly serve the needs of rural communities as effectively as community banks.

About Mid America Bank Established in 1914, Mid America Bank serves customers from six locations in central Missouri. Mid America Bank prides itself on being a proud, locally owned and operated bank that’s good for you and your community too! Visit us online at midambk.com or call the marketing department at 573-635-0019.  Mid America Bank

Our main bank is in Troy, Missouri, with branch locations in Troy, Hawk Point, Bowling Green, Elsberry, Winfield, O’Fallon, and Cottleville. Our market is primarily focused on residential and commercial, with some ag lending as well. The housing market is still doing very well in our area, which equates to closing numerous residential loans and financing homebuilders.

Since my last post, Governor Parson signed two bills into law: SB 106, sponsored by Sen. Sandy Crawford & Rep. Bill Owen, continues the modernization of Chapter 361 (Financial Institution Regulation); and HB 697, sponsored by Rep. Bruce DeGroot and Sen. Sandy Crawford that revises the Property Assessment Contract Energy program (PACE). MIBA Executive Director Matt Ruge and I attended the bills’ signing in Jefferson City June 29 in the Governor’s Office. Both bills will take effect Aug. 28, 2021.

In recent years, secured creditors have become more familiar with using receivers as one method of protecting and liquidating collateral. In 2016, Missouri enacted the Missouri Commercial Receivership Act (MCRA), which provided a comprehensive statutory framework for receiverships.

Recently in the Financial Services Committee at a hearing entitled “A Biased, Broken System: Examining Proposals to Overhaul Credit Reporting to Achieve Equity,” Chairwoman Waters and the majority made clear their efforts to move toward a government takeover of the financial services industry are moving full speed ahead.

Recently at the dinner table, my family had a fascinating conversation about the merits of short stories versus novels. My daughter, an avid reader, made the case that the novel is the superior form of storytelling because it allows the piece to deepen and evolve. My husband, on the other hand, argued that with a short story, every word counts, and that critical focus creates a vivid snapshot of an experience.

When it comes to implementing new technology, community banks have been faced with challenges. For one, we often don’t have the internal bandwidth to build the solutions we want, so we must seek products that exist in the marketplace — and that can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Once we find the right product, it has to integrate into our core systems. And when a product or service doesn’t perform, we may let it limp along instead of sunsetting it.

Community Bankers, it is time, once again, to gather at The Lake of the Ozarks to celebrate community banking in Missouri. MIBA and ICBA are the organizations serving as the exclusive voice of our industry: community banking! I invite you to show your commitment to our cause and join community bankers from across the state at the 44th Annual MIBA Convention and Expo at The Lodge of Four Seasons, Sept. 13-15, 2021.