Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Luis G. Lobo Stonier Address 2013
THE AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION STONIER
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BANKING
The University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton
School of Business
Luis G. Lobo, EVP BB&T Bank
Chairman of the Boad of Advisors.
Remarks before the student body, faculty and staff.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: June 8th, 2013
Good morning everyone!
Subha Ba-khair in
Urdu
annyeong hashimnikka I in Korean
Guten Morgen! in German
….. Just some of the
languages represented by students this year at Stonier.
In 2011, we welcomed the year
1 class that, this week, completes the academic
portion of Stonier. Yet throughout the remainder of your careers,
you will live out
the spirit of the American
Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of
Banking, now in its 78th year,
the ABA in its 128th year.
Today, we celebrate record
enrollment of 620 students.
In each of the last three years
we have broken 20 year attendance records.
We did not lower our
price.
We enhanced your experience.
We did not lower our quality.
We created the premier
banking leadership program in the WORLD.
We are today a reflection of
inclusiveness and diversity. Look
around. This once
was a single race, male-dominated
group and industry.
Please join me in
congratulating the faculty, ABA staff, and the Board of Directors
in this significant
accomplishment. (Please rise and be
recognized.)
__________________________________________________________________
2013 marks the 5th
year since economic catastrophe touched the entire world. Not
unlike the Great Depression
which began with the stock market crash of 1929, and
did not begin to be erased with
the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Great
Recession is merely a lens
that is gradually sharpening its image into a new era.
I am not sure when economists
and sociologists will mark the beginnings of a
new and sustained period of
economic expansion. It will now be rare for the US
economy to experience growth
while Asia and Europe encounter contraction or
vice-versa.
Ours is an interconnected
world of skills, resources, and markets.
Members of
my generation, born a bit
over a decade ahead of the end of World War II
and less than 10 years before
the lunar landing CONTRAST SIGNIFICANTLY
from a child born today who will have access to world-wide
classrooms,
multi-cultural and multi-racial
origins, “friends” in many places and the opportunity to IMPACT a global
society.
Yet, ignorance and isolation
will remain our biggest challenges.
When the music stopped in
early 2008, it became clear that the banking industry
had failed to provide
responsible products and advice to its clients.
Maybe your
bank did not market subprime
mortgages, or participate in self-service financial
products, or even knew what a
CDO was.
It is evident today that the
public makes no distinction between a Wall Street bank
and Main Street banks.
The banking industry’s
reputation is tarnished. It will be your
life’s work to
change this perception. The
question is HOW?
You may be a consumer banker,
a commercial relationship manager, a regulator,
compliance officer or president
of your institution. There will never be
a more
important time in our
economic history for you to be visible and involved in your
community.
Providing financial knowledge
to business owners, families and individuals, in a
proactive and sustainable
manner, in partnership with trusted community action
organizations, will help us
have more knowledgeable clients and more successful
mutual outcomes.
Financial literacy is not
something to be provided only to lower income and credit
challenged individuals. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
We must unleash this power where
it matters: in your town, city, and
markets
We must reclaim our markets
from SHADOW BANKING SYSTEMS through
our visibility and
involvement. This is not the
responsibility of your CRA area, or
your affordable home mortgage
program. This is YOUR responsibility.
I bring your attention to the
fact that 1/3 of the U.S. population is made up
of African Americans, Asian
Americans, and Latino-Hispanics. If your
institution
is not involved with 1/3 of
the market, it will fail.
There is no mysticism on how
to reach this segment of the market. You
must
show up where they work,
where they worship, where they learn and invite them in
the door.
Most every human being
responds favorably to RESPECT. Showing
up
and being present, gives that
respect that conveys your acknowledgement:
This is evidenced by three
behaviors:
1. I see you.
2. I wish to understand your goals.
3. I will help you achieve those goals.
I have a vision of bank
branches becoming financial classrooms after hours.
Inviting our neighbors to
come learn about basic family budgeting, saving for life’s
goals, responsible home
ownership, and business efficiency and growth.
Finally, our partnership with
Wharton began as a quest for building a leadership program unequaled anywhere.
The future of the US banking industry is present in
this hall today.
Leadership is not about who
gives the orders, or where you rank on the totem pole.
Leadership is about how you
behave and the decisions you make on behalf of
multiple STAKEHOLDERS.
Your decisions impact your
clients, your community, your shareholders and your
team members.
A little over 10 years ago,
we had 12,000 banks in the U.S. Today,
the figure is
around 7,000. There are many who believe consolidation is
necessary and
unavoidable. Maybe so.
I believe people do business with individuals they enjoy
being with and trust. Technology can magnify our reach and
presence. However,
our competitive advantage
remains with our ability to establish and nurture
relationships.
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I was a graduate of the
Stonier class of 1998. Over the years it
has been my great
honor to have served on the faculty and as a member of the
board.
Serving as Chairman these
last 3 years will forever remain one of the
most impactful personal
experiences in my life.
My father was an immigrant
from Costa Rica. He came here in 1964 at
the young
age of 21, not unlike millions
of other men and women since the founding
of the republic.
His dream was to give his
children an American education in the greatest nation
conceived by the mind of man.
My father changed
reality.
And with a HIGH EPA, an ENTHUSIASTIC POSITIVE ATTITUDE,
so can YOU!
Thank you!
Monday, June 10, 2013
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