Money Talk: Fed’s Janet Yellen To Speak At Community Banking Conference in St. Louis

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FED’S JANET YELLEN TO SPEAK AT COMMUNITY BANKING CONFERENCE IN ST. LOUIS
Community bankers, academics, policymakers and bank supervisors from around the country will meet Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2015, in St. Louis for “Community Banking in the 21st Century,” the annual community banking research and policy conference hosted by the Federal Reserve System and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). The conference features the latest community banking research and will be webcast live throughout both days.

The webcast and related presentation slides can be viewed starting at 2 p.m. CT on Sept. 30 at www.communitybanking.org.

Speakers and moderators for the third annual conference will include:

• Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen;
• Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard;
• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard;
• CSBS Chairman/Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks David Cotney;
• CSBS President and CEO John Ryan; and
• Houston Astros President of Business Operations Reid Ryan,founding investor and board member, R Bank and R Corp Financial, Round Rock, Texas.

CEOs URGE CAUTION ON NEAR-TERM ECONOMIC PROSPECTS
CEOs are cautious about the U.S. economy’s near-term prospects and are trimming business plans for capital investment over the next six months, according to the third quarter Business Roundtable 2015 CEO Economic Outlook Survey. The report is a composite of CEO projections for sales and plans for capital spending and hiring over the next six months. It declined 7.2 points, from 81.3 in the second quarter of 2015 to 74.1 in the third quarter.

CEOs now expect GDP growth of 2.4% in 2015, a 0.1 percentage point decline from last quarter’s projection. CEO expectations for sales and hiring for the next six months decreased by 11.1 and 7.9 points, respectively. Expectations for capital spending slipped by a more modest 2.4 points, its second consecutive decline. The third quarter 2015 survey was completed between August 5 and 26, 2015. Survey results can be found here.

SIMMONS ANNOUNCES NEW HIRES IN WEALTH, PRIVATE BANKING DIVISION
Simmons First National Bank has announced the following promotions and new hires in the areas of wealth development and private banking. They include:

• Jay Meador, who will serve as the president of private banking for the Arkansas region. Meador previously served at IberiaBank for eight years, most recently as senior vice president of commercial banking.
• Carole Smith, who will serve as a senior vice president and private banking loan officer. Smith joined Delta Trust & Bank in October 2007. She joined Worthen Bank & Trust Co. of Little Rock in 1983 and became the bank’s first female senior vice president. She later was the owner of the retail business C.J. Nichols Inc. and the co-owner of New Traditions.
• David Coleman, who will serve as a vice president and private banking loan officer. He was a senior examiner for the Arkansas State Bank Department from 2005-08 before joining Simmons as a loan review manager.
• Kathryn Pannell, who will serve as an assistant vice president and a private banking relationship manager. Pannell began her banking career in 2007 as an assistant branch manager for Metropolitan National Bank.

ARKANSAS FARM BUREAU ADDS TO COMMODITY AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS TEAM
Mark Lambert has been hired as assistant director of commodity activities and economics in the commodity and regulatory affairs department at Arkansas Farm Bureau. Lambert will coordinate the activities of the wheat and feed grains and forestry divisions, and serve as administrator of both the Arkansas Wheat Promotion Board and the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Board. He will also assist in economic analysis work in support of Farm Bureau’s advocacy and communications efforts.

Lambert, a native of Stuttgart, previously served as sustainability coordinator at Riceland Foods Inc., where he helped develop a program to assist farmers with improving farm management and sustainability practices. He holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.