Cyber Security, Management Consulting, IT, and Community Bank Services Available for WBA Members

The WBA has approved the following service providers as new WBA Associate Members.

Bedel Security bedelsecurity.com

Contact: Laura Zeck Greensburg, Ind. Tel: 833-297-7681, ext. 701 laura@bedelsecurity.com

Bedel Security believes community banking is critical to the economy, as well as the families and businesses they serve. They also believe that information security is important to the well-being of community banks, and that each one should have an independent, qualified, CISO guiding them, regardless of their size, geography, or current job market. That’s why Bedel Security created their virtual CISO services and help banks nationwide with: Governance, Incident Response Planning & Preparation, Risk Management, Monitoring Oversight, Policies, Vendor Management, Board Cyber Awareness, User Testing & Training, Business Continuity, Audit & Exam Preparation, ID Theft & Red Flags, and IT Change Management.

For more information, please contact WBA at sales@wisbank. com or visit www.wisbank.com.

CCG Catalyst Consulting

ccg-catalyst.com

Contact: Paul Schaus Phoenix, Ariz.

Tel: 623-536-6900 paulschaus@ccg-catalyst.com

CCG Catalyst Consulting is a management consulting firm specialized in banking and FinTech. CCG Catalyst Consulting connects strategy to implementation and provide a broad range of services in strategy development, core migration, digital transformation, payments, BaaS, technology evaluation, and contract negotiations. As an industry leader, CCG Catalyst Consulting brings continuous industry knowledge to support their clients, improve their performance, and create lasting value across organizations.

Glia glia.com

Contact: Elysia Hernandez New York, N.Y. Tel: 480-788-3768 conferences@glia.com

Glia is reinventing how businesses support their customers in a digital world. Glia’s solution enriches web and mobile experiences with digital communication choices, on-screen collaboration and AI-enabled assistance. Glia has partnered with more than 350 banks, credit unions, insurance companies and other financial institutions across the globe to improve top and bottom-line results through Digital Customer Service. The company has raised over $100 million in funding from top investors. To learn more visit glia.com.

IT Resource

itrw.net

Contact: Jessica Slendak Coopersville, Mich. Tel: 616-837-6930 jessicas@itrw.net

IT Resource is not just IT consultants — they are your partner. IT Resource delivers technology solutions that simplify IT environments, improve productivity, and reduce costs, allowing you to focus on your business, not IT

IT Resource offers your bank solutions to: Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery, Cloud Services, Collaboration, Intuitive Managed Support, Network Infrastructure, Security & Compliance, Managed Compliance & Risk, and vCIO Services.

IT Resource serves customers throughout the Midwest, with a majority located in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Optimal Blue

optimalblue.com

Contact: Caryn Wiggins Jacksonville, Fla. 32204 Tel: 904-307-6803

Caryn.Wiggins@bkfs.com

Optimal Blue supports the industry’s largest network for secondary market buyers and sellers on its premier Marketplace Platform.

Capabilities include product, pricing and eligibility, hedge analytics, loan trading, MSR valuation, social media monitoring and publishing, and counterparty oversight.

The Saturn Partners, Inc. saturnpartners.com

Contact: Carole Crawford Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Tel: 312-961-9469

Carole@saturnpartners.com

The Saturn Partners, Inc. conducts state of the art penetration testing services for smaller banks in Wisconsin and Illinois, focusing on this under-served market, along with in depth compliance consulting, and cyber security audit prep at various levels including GLBA.

WBA Associate Membership should not be construed as an endorsement of the company’s products or services by the WBA.

WBA Associate Member Program

The WBA Associate Membership program offers three membership package levels (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) in addition to the standard Associate Membership. Through their investment in a package-level membership, these WBA Associate Members not only streamline their involvement with the association through advertising, sponsorships, and exhibiting opportunities, they further demonstrate their commitment to supporting Wisconsin’s banking industry. Visit wisbank.com/associates or contact WBA‘s Nick Loppnow at nloppnow@wisbank.com or 608-441-1259 to learn more about the WBA Associate Member Packages.

Helping Ag Bankers Stay Ahead of Industry Challenges

Across Wisconsin, agricultural bankers are seeing monumental changes both throughout the banking industry and within the farming communities they serve. To assist bankers in preparing for the many conversations beyond the traditional discussions of financing, the Wisconsin Bankers Association’s (WBA) Agricultural Bankers Section is excited to announce the WBA Agricultural Bankers Conference this spring!

Each year, more than 125 ag bankers from across the state come together for the two-day event featuring over seven hours of presentations, the opportunity to network with peers, and exhibitors offering products and services geared specifically at ag banking.

The 2023 conference will kick off on April 13 with an update from Eric Snodgrass of Nutrien Ag Solutions. Snodgrass, a science fellow and principal atmospheric scientist, will provide a weather update that focuses on how high-impact weather events influence global agriculture productivity. His current research uses machine learning to better understand field-level weather impacts on yields in the U.S. and to increase confidence in longrange weather prediction.

Throughout the first day, ag bankers will have the chance to network with peers from across the state and hear from several other speakers Leonard Polzin from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Edwin Elfmann of the American Bankers Association (ABA).

A regular at WBA events, Dr. David Kohl will share his expertise and offer valuable resources to ag bankers looking to make the most of the unique challenges and opportunities within the agricultural industry.

The following day, April 14, attendees will reconvene for a keynote session by Dr. David Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

During his engaging presentation, ag bankers will gain strategies and actions to utilize in positioning their local agricultural businesses to take advantage of opportunities and negate adversity. Dr. Kohl highlights that a few key takeaways from his presentation include the business IQ assessment, financial ratio benchmarking tools, and non-financial factors that bankers can apply as they work with their customers.

Following the keynote, Dr. Kohl will hold a Q&A session to provide attendees with insight, best practices, and outlooks for the upcoming year ahead.

“In this fast-paced world, I encourage agricultural bankers to attend this year’s WBA Agricultural Banking Conference to be informed, network, and learn strategies that can help them take action,” says Dr. Kohl. “The current environment of volatility, higher interest rates, and inflation mean that bankers need to be prepared to work side by side with their borrowers to assess risk and help ensure adequate liquidity to weather adversity.”

Interested in attending and joining ag bankers from across the state this April 13–14? Visit wisbank.com/ag to learn more and register today!