Q&A: An Inside Look at RMA’s 2024 Annual Conference

Sessions from RMA’s 2024 Annual Risk Management Virtual Conference  will be available on demand until February 13, 2025. To get an idea of what’s featured in the conference, the RMA journal spoke to Laurie Foster, RMA’s credit risk program director and the conference’s leader of content development.  

The theme of this year’s conference was “Risks, Regulations, Opportunities, and Disruptors—Preparing for the Uncertainties of 2025.” While we don’t know what the next 12 months have in store for us, what is the state of risk as we head into a new year?  

A good overview is available in the RMA CRO Outlook Survey report that was released in December, and which was the subject of one of our conference sessions. Chief risk officers told us that financial institutions are being challenged on multiple fronts. Operational risks like cyber, fraud, third-party, and technology—including AI—are spiking. At the same time credit risk is as important as ever to manage well. And on top of everything else, the effects of the 2023 regional bank crisis are still rippling through the financial system. We all remember the deposit flight that contributed to failures at a few banks and the need to shore up liquidity at many others. While liquidity worries have subsided, many RMA members tell us they expect the pressure to compete on deposit rates to continue—even if the fed funds rate continues to drop a bit, as expected. To address this fundamental banking function, we have an annual conference session that analyzes the performance of U.S. consumer and small business deposits from 2024 and what we expect in 2025.  

Another way the regional bank crisis has continued to affect the industry is through the increased scrutiny it prompted from regulators: 84% of those CRO survey respondents said that, compared to before the crisis, their institutions are being held to a higher standard by their supervisory teams. But clearly the overturning of Chevron deference by the Supreme Court and planned deregulation in the second Trump administration could bring yet another change in the regulatory picture. Our “Banking Regulatory Outlook for 2025” conference session details the possibilities.  

We also hear directly from regulators. In one session, panelists from the OCC, FDIC, Federal Reserve, and National Credit Union Administration discuss top concerns regarding AI, managing all risks, and documenting effective challenge. Another session is a fireside chat with ProSight CEO Debbie Bianucci and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu.  

Regulation might be the most direct way government affects banks, but how government policies shape the overall economy is critical as well.  What are some other sessions that will prepare banks for potential challenges and opportunities under the incoming administration?   

One of our keynote speakers, Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s, discusses how policies on tariffs, immigration, and taxes could affect GDP, inflation, and all-important consumer spending. Another keynote speaker, Carrie Sheffield, a senior policy analyst at the Independent Women's Forum, talks about issues at the intersection of politics and the economy and what they mean for banks in her “View From Washington” session.  

RMA has long been valued for its thought leadership in credit risk management. How is this year’s conference addressing that topic? 

The “Developing a Credit Downturn Playbook” session helps risk professionals manage their bank’s asset positions and mitigate possible future losses. A related session on managing nonperforming loans will provide information on new disclosures of significant financially distressed assets, building a workout team, and reporting and regulations.  

We seem to be on course for a soft landing, but even in economic times that are generally stable, banks always need to be ready for an influx of delinquencies caused by problems in a particular sector or region. Just look at office real estate. In fact, that’s what our speaker Victor Calanog, managing director and global co-head of research and strategy at Manulife Investment Management, does. In “The Economy, Commercial Real Estate, and What’s Next,” he discusses how changes to monetary policy and increased geopolitical risk could impact key metrics for investment and lending performance for office as well as other areas of CRE.  

There is also the potential for rising distress in consumer credit. The Fed’s most recent Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit found that a rise in income is helping consumers handle rising debt levels. But it’s also true that many consumers have spent down cushions of savings built up during the pandemic years due to inflation and higher interest rates. We have a session that looks at how consumer behavior is affecting bank risk, and what is anticipated going into 2025. 

The sessions you have mentioned so far are only a small representation of what is covered at the conference, which also features panels on cybersecurity, the risk of rising insurance premiums to banks, strengthening the three lines of defense, and evolving compliance standards for banks and the role of AI. What other elements of the conference would you like to highlight here?  

We have several sessions that feature the perspectives and address the challenges of community banks and their leaders. Separately, we hear from United Community Bank CEO Lynn Harton on “The Financial Services Industry of Tomorrow,” and Amalgamated Bank CEO Priscilla Sims Brown, who discusses “Managing Diversified Growth in a Changing World.”  We also have sessions on developments affecting the future of community bank M&A and using AI to boost efficiency.   

Sounds great, Laurie. Thanks for your time, and congratulations on another great Annual Risk Management Virtual Conference.  

We are thrilled to be able to offer such a valuable event to our members and the industry. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about it.  

Click here to access the RMA’s Annual Risk Management Virtual Conference on-demand sessions, available through February 13, 2025.