Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
Opening Remarks, 2012 ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking
LUIS G. LOBO
BB&T Executive Vice President
Multicultural Marketing Manager
2012 ABA Stonier Graduate School
Opening Remarks
June 2, 2012
Good morning!
Last year we learned a little Spanish, so let’s see if we remember it: “BUENOS DIAS”!
Buenos Dias everyone!
It is a distinct honor for me, my employer and my family to serve you and the ABA-Stonier organization as Chairman of the Board of Advisors. I am one of YOU, a graduate of the Stonier class of 1998.
I have been awed by the quality and dedication of our Board of Directors, our world-class faculty and our Stonier-ABA team. Please rise Board members, faculty and ABA
The American Bankers Association at 126 years and The Stonier Graduate School of Banking at 77 years are the hallmark institutions in banking and leadership development in the world. On this day, today, we celebrate the high water mark in enrollment in over 20 years.
Leadership, and its twin, Ethics, have been magnified during the Great Recession. All of us gathered here today and everyone in our industry have the most significant opportunity since the Great Depression, to lead the United States
I am the son of an immigrant. My father told us that it was his purpose to give his children an American education. Nearly 45 years later and with a vast racial, cultural, and gender diversity within our borders, each of us here today is proof of the value of that widely held purpose.
The next 75 years of the Stonier impact began last year with our partnership with Wharton Professional Education, and we are mutually satisfied by it. You are here for a reason, we are all here for a reason, and it is because of the impact you will have within your organization and in your community.
Congratulations and Welcome!
It is now my pleasure and great honor to introduce John Allison, recently retired Chief Executive Officer of BB&T Corporation and now Professor of Practice at Wake Forest University District of Columbia US
John is also one of YOU, a Stonier graduate from our days at Rutgers University
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
BANKING IS AN ETHICAL PROFESSION
This article appeared in the Winston Salem Journal on May 24th, 2012.
Luis G. Lobo, Guest Columnist
Banking is an Ethical Profession.
Recent economic events and the Great Recession have reduced the confidence that individuals, families and businesses once had in the banking industry. Bankers must now recommit to serving as ethical and involved financial advisors.
You can read volumes on how our economy got to where it is, but at the end of the day, consumers began to make financial decisions without seeking the advice of bankers. Bankers also failed to help individuals understand how to manage their finances. The two trends lead to poor financial decisions, including toxic mortgages. This is partially due to 1. the speed of information available through the Internet, and 2. a perceived devaluation of financial services. (Remember free checking?)
To help clients and communities achieve their financial goals, bankers must have strong character based on honesty and integrity. Such character leads them to routinely make sound decisions and provide financial advice in the best interest of others.
When I began my career in 1983, it was during one of the harshest recessions of the late 20th century. BB&T, my new employer, had come to Belmont Abbey College to recruit for its Leadership Development Program (LDP). On my first day of work, I found my LDP class to be one of the most diverse groups of North Carolinians I had witnessed: five whites (two of them female), three blacks and a Latino (me).
Our first job out of the training program was to collect on past-due loans. My father, an immigrant to this country, gave me great advice: Treat your clients with respect, help them manage their finances better, and they will be loyal for life.
When I joined the faculty of the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking 10 years ago, we had 12,500 banks in the United States. Today there are about 7,800, and the number is shrinking as bank failures and other challenges lead to more mergers and acquisitions. In a free-market economy only the best survive. The key lies in how you define "best." To me, the best bankers are those who know their success is tied to the financial success of their clients and the communities they serve. Doing what is right for clients in the long-term and helping them understand the discipline needed to achieve their financial goals has been the most rewarding part of my career. It has also been very painful to watch families, businesses and communities hurt by "easy credit," which caused the housing collapse and harsh economic downturn of the last five years.
Today, the banking industry has a black eye. I understand why. In the last five years, it has become obvious that many — regardless of social or economic status — do not have the knowledge or discipline needed to make wise financial decisions. It is also true that my industry cannot ignore the nearly 20 percent of the American population affected by job losses and other financial hardships of recent days. Bankers must once again get involved in their communities and provide financial training to various groups — from small business capital investment to responsible home ownership and basic personal financial management.
Financial institutions, regulators and industry educational organizations offer a variety of resources. Banks are using their websites to provide learning plans and financial calculators on basic budgeting, education savings and retirement planning. The Federal Reserve and the FDIC, in print and online, offer banks, organizations and individuals courses on life-cycle budgeting and planning. During this upcoming school year, the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania will offer middle- and executive-level students a course on how to provide financial education in their home communities throughout the United States.
Clearly, the resources are there. But bankers can no longer expect the public to educate themselves. Involvement requires us to team up with businesses to reach their employees and share this knowledge. To reach into our communities, we must work with faith-based and other trusted organizations to educate established and newer multicultural groups. Banks can use their significant branch networks, throughout our nation, as classrooms and centers of learning.
The public looks to banks to keep their finances secure and be responsible providers of credit. As a result, we are also one of the main job creators and contributors of economic progress.
I am proud to be a banker!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Interview with Luis Lobo in ABA Banking Journal 2012
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0212/index.php?startid=46
Stonier Board & Wharton Faculty
American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking
Board of Directors 2011-2012
Luis G. Lobo - Chairman
Stonier registrations at 20 year high.
REGISTRATIONS FOR STONIER BANKING SCHOOL HIT 20-YR HIGH
ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking sees surge in
registrations for executive-level bank training
WASHINGTON
— Registrations to attend the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking have
reached the highest level in 20 years, according to the American Bankers
Association, which runs the school in Philadelphia in partnership with the
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
The Wharton School is ranked as the nation’s number one business school
in the U.S. by The Wall Street Journal.
“We are thrilled that bankers are recognizing the
unequaled value of a Stonier education in preparing the future leaders of our
industry,” said Luis Lobo, chairman of Stonier’s advisory board and executive
vice president of BB&T Corp. in Winston-Salem, N.C. “This surge in registrations is clearly the
result of our two-year-old partnership with Wharton. It’s also a sign that the banking industry is
emerging from the financial crisis and is ready to start investing again in the
training of its brightest leaders.”
Registrations
are at the highest level since 1992 and a 25 percent increase from the worst
point of the financial crisis in 2008.
The ABA
Stonier Graduate School of Banking trains the future leaders of the industry;
most students hold the titles of vice president or senior vice president.
Twenty percent are executive vice presidents, chairmen, or CEO’s. In addition,
many represent federal regulatory agencies or firms serving the industry. All
are considered rising stars in their organizations and represent more than 45
states and 18 foreign countries. In the past 75 years, Stonier has trained more
than 20,000 of the nation’s top banking executives and government regulators,
many of whom have reached the pinnacle of their organizations.
This
year’s keynote speaker is John Allison,
former chairman and CEO of BB&T Corp. Allison was recognized by the Harvard
Business Review as one of the world’s top 100 CEO’s of the last 10 years.
Stonier faculty members include Wharton’s Mario Moussa, PhD, MBA, who also serves
as Stonier’s Wharton academic director. New faculty members this year include:
· Jo Ann S. Barefoot, Co-Chair, Treliant Risk Advisors, former U.S.
Deputy Comptroller of the Currency
· Mark W. Olson, Co-Chair, Treliant Risk Advisors, former
member of Federal Reserve Board of Governors
(more)
Applicants
to the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking are encouraged to apply soon. Registration closes May 1 for the 2012
session which runs May 31 to June 7, 2012.
Graduates will receive a Stonier
diploma in addition to a Wharton Leadership certificate. More information on
the program is available by calling 1-800-BANKERS or by visiting www.abastonier.com.
The
American Bankers Association represents banks of all sizes and charters and is
the voice for the nation’s $13 trillion banking industry and its two million
employees.
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