As reported in September, the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking (SWGSB) Foundation will convene its 155th Assembly for Bank Directors next January in Florida. However, due to damage caused by Hurricane Ian to the original venue, the Ritz Carlton, the venue and destination for the assembly has changed to the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Palm Beach. The dates for the event remain the same: January 19–22.

“We were informed by the Ritz Carlton that they are unable to reopen their Naples facility owing to extensive, unforeseen repairs caused by Hurricane Ian,” Jeff Schmid, president and CEO of the SWGSB Foundation, said in a statement. “We believe it prudent to move the event to the east coast of Florida and return to Naples in 2025. We are, therefore, moving the 155th Assembly for Bank Directors from Naples to Palm Beach, Florida. The dates and events will all take place as originally planned at the new resort: January 19–22, 2023.”

The new resort venue is the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, just steps from the Atlantic Ocean. It is the equal of the previous venue, earning the prestigious Forbes Five-Star rating for both the resort and spa. It has also earned the coveted AAA Five-Diamond Award. Only a handful of resorts in North America have earned both travel awards. The resort has partnerships with several golf courses nearby.

The Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa is honoring SWGSB’s group room rate. There is no resort fee and valet parking will be just $30 per night, which is less than the Naples resort.

Situated on a secluded private beach across seven acres of the Atlantic coast with breathtaking ocean views and lush tropical gardens, the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa is a stunning escape, recognized as Florida’s top resort for five years running in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The resort’s many amenities include the Forbes Five-Star, 42,000-square-foot Eau Spa, three tennis courts, two pools and outstanding children and teen club and programs. Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa has four restaurants and is just minutes from lively Palm Beach nightlife and shopping. Book early! After December 23, rooms and group rates are subject to availability. Click here to make reservations, or call 855/388-0537 and reference the Assembly for Bank Directors.

Three airports service the Palm Beach area. The Palm Beach International Airport is located just 12 miles north of the resort. Attendees can also fly into Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, located 42 miles south of the resort. Miami International Airport is located 63 miles south. Click here driving directions and transportation recommendations.

In addition to the venue change, the agenda has been updated since Bankers Digest reported on the event in September. The good news is that new featured speakers have been added to the roster, including Jelena McWilliams, immediate past chair of the FDIC. Prior to serving as the 21st chair of the FDIC from 2018 to 2022, McWilliams was executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Cincinnati, Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank. Prior to joining Fifth Third Bank, she worked in the U.S. Senate for six years, most recently as chief counsel and deputy staff director with the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and previously as assistant chief counsel with the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. From 2007 to 2010, McWilliams served as an attorney at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

“We are pleased to announce that, for the first time in its history, the Assembly for Bank Directors will welcome—on one platform—some of the industry’s top regulators, including Mick Thompson, commissioner of the Oklahoma State Banking Department; Susannah T. Marshall, commissioner of the Arkansas State Bank Department, and Jelena McWilliams, former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.,” Schmid notes. “Their insights and candor will make this assembly one not to be missed.”

Click here to register for the event. For more information, write, call or email SWGSB, SMU Box 214, Dallas, Texas, 75275; 214/768-2991. Click here to download a brochure with details on the event.

Here is a revised agenda for the 155th Assembly for Bank Directors, which has been updated since Bankers Digest originally posted news of the assembly in September:

The conference will be guided by the industry’s leading authorities on community banks and their competitive edge. On the agenda are critical issues bank boards are facing nationwide, including specific areas of corporate governance, strategic planning and best practices. Extensive Q&A and director engagement moderated by panels of experts will afford you the opportunity to drill down further to gain a complete understanding of what’s expected of today’s boards of directors and their senior management. Recent peer exchanges at our other programs have been transformative.

The Assemblies for Bank Directors draw bank directors and senior management from throughout America to discuss the latest issues affecting the national banking industry. By monitoring the banking industry’s hot topics we ensure that the bank director program content is always fresh and dynamic. The locations are calm and relaxing, the speakers top-notch. The bank faculty and facilitators are drawn from the nation’s leading banking experts. With an eye on new bank regulatory expectations and D&O insurance provisions, these national banking programs are designed to complement a financial institution’s own efforts in assembling a board whose strategic vision and oversight is second to none.

The assembly will cover a number of important topics, including:

• Building a Resilient Culture and Winning Teams, Dave Martin, founder of bankmechanics, a retail banking performance company;
• Ten Commandments for Effective Community Bank Strategic Planning, Jeffrey C. Gerrish, chairman of Memphis, Tennessee-based Gerrish Smith Tuck PC;
• Keynote address, Jelena McWilliams, partner/corporate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.;
• Board Governance: Political and Regulatory Ramifications, Commissioner Mick Thompson, Oklahoma State Banking Department, and chair emeritus of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors;
• Community Bank Boards and Regulators, Commissioner Susannah T. Marshall, Arkansas State Bank Department, and board member for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors;
• Panel Q&A with Marshall, McWilliams and Thompson
• Understanding CAMELS Ratings and Working with Regulators, Bart Smith, managing director and partner, Performance Trust Capital Partners LLC;
• The Power of Demographics in Banking and Life, Albert W. Niemi Jr., Ph.D., William J. O’Neil chair in global markets and freedom, Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University;
• A Bank Director’s Guide to the Economy, Edmond J. Seifried, Ph.D., chief economist for the SWGSB Foundation at the Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University;
• Economic Forecast for 2023, Edmond J. Seifried, Ph.D.; and
• Roundtable Discussion with Gerrish, Martin, Marshall, McWilliams, Niemi, Seifried, Smith and Thompson.

Dory Wiley, president and CEO of Commerce Street Capital, will introduce the keynote address by McWilliams. Commerce Stree Capital is sponsoring the event’s keynote luncheon.