Pub. 4 2016 Issue 2

www.uba.org 4 The Bottom Line By Howard Headlee, President, Utah Bankers Association I’m fascinated by the wide variety of theories people have regarding the future of banking. Some are well-informed, others are more of a gut reaction. Many are heavily influenced by the great recession or by personal frustrations with regulations and seemingly unnecessary rules and policies. All the prognostications integrate a component of emerging technology. The Future of Banking A s you can imagine, there are limitless numbers of theories about where banking is headed and I could argue or agree with all of them. But that is what makes the future of bank- ing so exciting. It will not be the same as it was 20 years ago, but guess what? It never has been. And the most successful bankers, the ones who leave legacies that are discussed and admired are the ones that adapted to the forces shaping the future, not the ones that held-on to the past. Don’t get me wrong, some things will never change. Things like people needing a safe and reliable place to save their money, or wanting quick, safe and reliable access to their money when they need it; or businesses needing access to capital to grow, or expertise regarding appropriate types and amounts of debt. The fundamental role of banking, to attract capital, facilitate pay- ments securely and safeguard savings while managing the risk of putting those resources to work in the economy, will always exist in some form or fashion. But the way in which banking services are delivered will never stop changing because the economy and communities banks serve never stop changing. During the past year, UBA leadership spent a lot of time discuss- ing what the Association should be doing to focus on the future of the industry. We asked each member bank to send us their best and brightest young minds and we conducted a focus group to see what we should be doing to attract, retain, develop and promote the next generation of leadership for the industry. I was blown away by what I saw. These emerging leaders gave me an enthusiasm for the future of the industry. They are not just enduring the changes taking place, but they are genuinely excited about the opportunities that change provides. They are fortunate to work for banks that are innovat- ing and seizing opportunities wherever they emerge. Utah is truly the center of financial innovation and these emerging leaders will play a central role in making sure it stays that way. As a result of the focus group, they created a new initiative to attract, develop and retain the future leaders of the industry and promote outreach that will strengthen our connection with our local communities. They organized themselves into four commit- tees each with key assignments in recruiting, mentoring, network- ing, and training. Seeing their enthusiasm and watching their vision emerge, I am confident this emerging leadership initiative will grow and be tremendously successful. And while I can’t say exactly what the future of banking is going to look like, no one can; but today I can say with more optimism than ever, it is a very bright and posi- tive future indeed. n