I had the opportunity to attend the 2025 Community Bankers of West Virginia (CBWV) CEO & Directors Conference at Stonewall Resort. This gathering brought together community bank leaders, directors, and regulators to exchange ideas, share challenges, and focus on the evolving landscape of our industry.
The sessions were both informative and thought-provoking, covering board responsibilities, shareholder expectations, payments fraud, regulatory updates, and emerging banking trends. Philip Smith’s keynote on the “Five ‘Impossible’ Things Community Bank Directors Must Do” set the tone, reminding us that leadership in community banking requires both courage and adaptability.
Balancing Shareholder Expectations
Greyson Tuck of Gerrish Smith Tuck led a session on Ensuring Stakeholder Relevance, which underscored the complexity of keeping shareholders engaged and satisfied. A few points stood out:
- Equity growth vs. cash flow – As shareholder demographics shift, older investors increasingly prioritize cash flow (dividends) over long-term equity growth. Banks must carefully balance both.
- Evolving employee expectations – Employees want more flexibility in today’s workplace, which directly shapes institutional culture and long-term shareholder value.
- Strategic community support – Local investments should drive growth. For instance, sponsoring a travel ball field not only supports youth sports but also brings in visiting teams and families who spend on lodging, dining, and retail.
- Regulatory confidence – Shareholder success depends on a safe, sound institution. Maintaining examiner confidence, avoiding undue FDIC scrutiny, and preserving strong CAMELS ratings are central to sustaining value.
This session emphasized that relevance is not passive — it must be deliberately cultivated through balanced decisions that serve shareholders, employees, customers, and communities.
Key Takeaways from the Regulator Panel
The Regulator Panel, moderated by Sharon Anderson of Williamstown Bank, gave attendees a chance to hear directly from supervisory voices. Questions tackled included:
- What is expected from boards when it comes to oversight of risk and compliance?
- What are common findings and weaknesses institutions should work to avoid?
- How does the tone at the top effect the culture of compliance, and how important is culture from the top down?
- How can institutions adapt with limited resources?
- What does it take to remain an independent community bank and avoid the pressure to merge?
- What are the biggest challenges for regulators themselves, and what one piece of advice would they give to community bank leaders?
The responses reinforced a consistent theme: strong governance, accountability, succession planning, and culture are non-negotiables. Regulators stressed that boards must set the tone for compliance and ensure it permeates operations, regardless of resource constraints.
Another theme that arose repeatedly was the importance of robust IT programs. Regulators emphasized that cyber risk, vendor oversight, and technology resilience are now inseparable from overall safety and soundness. Just as importantly, boards themselves must understand IT risk well enough to provide informed oversight, not simply rely on management or vendors. Strong IT governance, they noted, is as critical to long-term survival as credit or liquidity management.
The Rising Fraud Threat
One of the most sobering sessions came from Lloyd McIntyre of the FDIC, who highlighted the alarming rise of payments fraud:
- Check fraud has surged, fueled by mail theft and organized crime. Even as check use declines, fraud tied to counterfeit, stolen, or altered checks is rising sharply.
- McIntyre referenced a recent Request for Information (RFI) from the Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC, seeking industry feedback on how regulators can better combat payments fraud across checks, ACH, wires, and instant payments. The request received significant feedback, and regulators are now reviewing it to determine the best path forward.
The RFI highlights five critical areas:
- Collaboration among regulators, banks, law enforcement, and technology providers.
- Consumer and business education.
- Clearer supervisory guidance (particularly for community banks).
- Better fraud data collection and standardized reporting.
- Enhanced tools from the Fed as a payments operator.
Perhaps most striking was McIntyre’s cautionary example of Shan Hanes, former CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank in Kansas. Over just eight weeks, Hanes wired away $47 million into a cryptocurrency “pig butchering” scam. The collapse of his bank wiped out shareholders, devastated his community, and became one of only five U.S. bank failures in 2023. The case underscored a sobering reality: fraud can ensnare anyone — even seasoned executives — and unchecked leadership failures can topple entire institutions.
Debit Fees: A Hidden Burden on West Virginians
Community bankers also raised serious concerns about merchants charging fees to consumers who use debit cards. For many West Virginians, debit is the most common way to pay for everyday needs — groceries, gas, utilities, and even healthcare bills. When merchants add fees, the impact falls hardest on families living paycheck-to-paycheck or on fixed incomes.
These fees are not just unfair — they’re prohibited under card network rules:
- “U.S. merchants cannot surcharge purchases made using a Visa debit card or prepaid card.” – Visa Core Rules
- “These fees are not allowed on Debit Mastercard or Mastercard prepaid cards.” – Mastercard Rules
Despite these clear rules, bankers noted that enforcement has been inconsistent. Fees are sometimes added even by utilities, municipalities, and healthcare providers — essential services where consumers have little choice but to pay. This erodes trust in the payment system and puts added strain on already vulnerable households.
The networks do take violations seriously: Visa has fined merchants as much as $25,000, and industry reports cite penalties of up to $50,000 for a first offense. Enforcement has expanded through mystery shoppers, warning notices, and accelerated fines. But community bankers stressed that too often, local concerns about these practices fail to gain traction — leaving West Virginia consumers to carry the burden.
Other Highlights
Sessions like Ben Schexnayder’s “Charting a Clear Course Through Enterprise Risk Management” and Daniel Anderson’s (Stifel) update on asset/liability management in today’s rate environment provided practical strategies for navigating volatility. The conference closed with Michael Emancipator of ICBA, who offered insights on the shifting policy environment in Washington, D.C., and its impact on community banks nationwide.
Connecting Back to NPG
At NEACH Payments Group (NPG), these conversations directly align with our mission. From board oversight and risk governance to fraud prevention, consumer protection, and shareholder value, we help community banks design frameworks that are practical, compliant, and resilient.
The CBWV CEO & Directors Conference was a powerful reminder that community banks remain at the heart of their local economies. By combining strong governance, modernized fraud and IT strategies, and a commitment to consumer fairness, our industry can continue to protect independence, support growth, and build trust.
I’m grateful to CBWV for hosting such a meaningful event and look forward to bringing these insights into the work we do every day at NPG.