Calling all Regional Bankers! Join us at the 2023 BAFT Regional Bank Conference, an exclusive annual event designed for bank executives like you, taking place November 1 – 2 in Chicago, Illinois.
Although this is an exclusive event for banks with an asset size of no more than $250 billion USD, there are no geographical boundaries. The conference is open to all regional bankers, regardless of where in the world your bank is based.
Crafted by fellow regional bankers from the BAFT Regional Bank Council and program planning committee, this exclusive conference serves as a vital hub for networking, discourse and collaboration.
This is a unique conference format where ideas flow freely, and insights are shared openly among peers who understand you and your bank’s unique challenges and aspirations. Together with our carefully curated speakers, we’ll delve into the most pertinent topics shaping our regional bank community.
02:00 – 02:30 PM
02:30 PM
Daniel Pinho
Vice President, Operations and Business Management
BAFT
02:45 PM
Presenter
Christoffer Eriksson, Senior Vice President, Sales for North America and Europe, Cleareye.ai
Aaron Lieber, Solution Leader for the IBM Connected Trade Platform, Cleareye.ai
03:30 PM
Presenters
Asif Ali, Chief Product Officer, Traydstream
Moshe Wolfson, Global Head of Sales, Americas and Europe, Traydstream
04:15 – 04:30 PM
04:30 PM
Presenters
Janna Baer, Chief Client Officer, TradeSun
Devan Conness, Regional Director North America, TradeSun
Ian Laverty, Chief Revenue Officer, TradeSun
Juanjo Ruiz, TradeSun Business Partner
05:15 – 06:30 PM
Brought to you by
08:00 – 09:00 AM
09:00 AM
Ashley Allen
Vice President & International Banking Manager
Arvest Bank
Tom Beube
Senior Vice President, Head of International Banking
Wintrust Bank
Daniel Pinho
Vice President, Operations and Business Management
BAFT
09:25 AM
Dr. Veeramani will cover expectations on inflation, interest rates, and economic growth, including impacts on consumers and businesses. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy actions have transformed the liquidity and interest rate environment over the last few quarters, especially for regional banks. The recent banking crisis once again highlighted the need for dynamically managing both the short-term and long-term liquidity needs at regional banks. Dr. Veeramani will share his insights on how to effectively assess and manage liquidity to ensure stability in an uncertain environment.
Speaker
Dr. Venkat Veeramani
Chief Economist
Wintrust Financial Corporation
10:05 AM
The momentum is brewing. The Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR), introduced in 2017, holds the potential to revolutionize international trade. Additionally, UCC Article 5 changes to implement digital asset rules have been enacted by 8 states in the United States. Will other states follow? Will digital trade sweep the world like a tidal wave or unfold gradually to the most prepared regions?
Brace yourself for an enlightening session, exploring the implications for trade services processing shops and the global trade community. Get ready to be on the edge of your seat, as we unravel these developments shaping the future of trade.
Speakers
Brian Gordon
Senior Vice President & Manager, International Banking Group
Commerce Bank
John Murray
Senior Vice President, Corporate and Financial Institutions Trade Sales
BNY Mellon
10:45 – 11:05 AM
11:05 AM
Grant Leach, Partner at the law firm of Husch Blackwell, will provide a summary of recent sanctions developments for regional banks which includes a summary of current US sanctions against Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and discussion of new FinCEN encouraged practices for due diligence and reporting on certain transactions.
Speaker
Grant Leach
Partner
Husch Blackwell
11:45 AM
This session will uncover new solutions FX teams are exploring to reduce risk and automate processes within their foreign exchange business.
Speakers
Alexandra Burnett
Vice President, Sales
Integral Development Corporation
Michael Salerno
Vice President, Global Banking
First National Bank of Omaha
12:25 – 1:15 PM
01:15 PM
Hear directly from corporate clients on the benefits (and shortcomings) of working with regional banks vs. global banks. Hear the client’s perspective on how the banks did during the pandemic, the fallout from this year’s bank failures, and today’s inflationary economic environment.
Moderator
Mark Garfield
Head, Global Financial Institutions
Zions Bancorporation
Panelists
Christopher Mehta
Treasurer
Rainbow Chemicals Company
Aaron Pearce
Chief Financial Officer
Hoogwegt US
01:55 PM
Get ready to unlock the secrets of financial support for businesses – opportunities, advantages, and incredible insights you never knew you needed (or knew!) - as we explore the thrilling world of government-guaranteed lending in this interactive game show session.
Game Show Host
Michael Babbit
Senior Vice President & Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance Sales, Treasury & Payments Solutions
Synovus
Contestants
Mark Klein
Managing Director, Lender Accounts
Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank)
Daniel Pische
National Director of Trade Finance, Office of International Trade
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
2:35 – 2:55 PM
02:55 PM
This session will examine efforts for faster and frictionless payments by region.
Speakers
Ashley Allen
Vice President & International Banking Manager
Arvest Bank
Barry Tooker
Principal
TransactionBanker.com
03:35 – 04:30 PM
Facilitators
Ashley Allen
Vice President & International Banking Manager
Arvest Bank
Michael Salerno
Vice President, Global Banking
First National Bank of Omaha
04:30 PM
Ashley Allen
Vice President & International Banking Manager
Arvest Bank
Calling all Regional Bankers! Join us November 1 – 2 in Chicago, Illinois at the 2023 BAFT Regional Bank Conference.
This is an exclusive event for regional banks only – financial institutions with an asset size of $250 billion USD or less.
Only those who are eligible to participate will receive the link to register. Contact us if you didn’t receive your registration link.
Registration Rate | Early Bird (Until October 3) | Regular (After October 3) |
Member | $300 USD | $400 USD |
Non-Member | $425 USD | $525 USD |
Interested to attend but not sure if your institution qualifies? Contact [email protected] to find out.
Over 30 years of trade experience across business management, product development, client sales & operations & risk control in banking. Experience includes In-depth banking industry and working knowledge, including product development, relationship management, business understanding, strong product knowledge, and impact of key market trends on business strategy. Current responsibilities Heading team of Product and Technology team building a software solution (SaaS) automating trade finance processing.
Devan Conness is the Regional Sales Director for the Americas at TradeSun. She supports global and regional banks in their exploration of and transition to digitalizing their trade finance processes. She believes in meeting clients where they are on their digitization journey and prioritizes relationship building. She’s previously worked in sectors such as international economic development, market research, and non-for-profit and has a double bachelor’s degree in International Business and Spanish.
Chris has over 20 years of expertise in sales and revenue operations and has delivered innovative solutions to financial institutions worldwide. He started his career at Citizens Bank and RBS. He then led and transformed several sales businesses within Citi’s FX and Local Markets (FXLM) in New York and London for 13 years.
Ian Laverty is the Chief Revenue Officer at TradeSun where he manages the relationship between TradeSun and their commercial partners. Ian joined the organisation following the acquisition of the CoriolisESG platform in 2022 where he was Chief Operating Officer. Ian has an extensive background in trade and finance, having spent 11 years in banking with Lloyds Banking Group. On leaving the bank Ian spent 10yrs supporting SMEs to grow their export sales, working with management consultancy businesses and latterly governmental economic development agencies, before joining Coriolis Technologies. Within Coriolis, and now TradeSun, Ian has led the development of the CoriolisESG platform, working with a collaboration of banks, industry bodies, partner organisations (including BAFT) and regulators, to develop the only fully automated assessment capability with mapping to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and a number of regional taxonomies and regulatory frameworks.
Aaron Lieber is the Solution Leader for the IBM Connected Trade Platform. He has a 25-year career in software development and extensive experience in global trade and logistics, spanning product and engineering leadership at IBM, a venture-backed Silicon Valley startup, and a boutique web design firm during the dot-com era.
Daniel Pinho was appointed the Vice President of Operations and Business Management at BAFT on July 31, 2023. Daniel previously was the SVP & AGM at PNC's Trade Finance group. He has over 20 years of experience in structured trade financing programs. Prior to joining PNC, Daniel was a Manager at UPS Capital Business Credit where he supervised the Export Credit Agency Operations group. He also served as the Director of Trade Finance at a consulting firm in Brazil. Pinho also previously served on BAFT's North American Council and co-chaired the Structured Trade and Export Finance Committee. He is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting and is chair of the board of Ten Thousand Villages in Pittsburgh, a fair trade nonprofit organization.
Juanjo Ruiz leads IBM products and solutions for Trade Finance, including the Connected Trade Platform. He works with leading banks and Fintechs/Tradetechs to accelerate trade finance digitization and deliver better customer experiences. At IBM he has developed first-of-a-kind industry solutions (e.g., IBM Food Trust and TradeLens) that leverage emerging technologies to address systemic challenges. Juanjo has twenty years of strategy, business development, and offering management experience in Financial Services in Information Technology bringing a global perspective after having worked in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In his free time, Juanjo is an active start-up mentor in the NYC area and volunteers in local youth sports organizations.
Moshe joined Traydstream in 2020 and is Global Head of Sales and Implementations for Europe and the Americas. Before joining Traydstream, he was Executive Vice President at Surecomp for over 12 years responsible for sales and pre sales. Moshe has an MSC in Computer Science and an MBA degree from Tel Aviv University and has been a lecturer on Information systems for over 20 years.
Ashley Allen, Vice President and International Banking Manager for Arvest Bank, graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Master of Business Administration, in addition to holding a Bachelor’s in Marketing from the University of Oklahoma. Ashley thrives on providing technical advice for payment risk mitigation and coaching those new to international trade on best practices. She is experienced in all aspects of international banking and trade finance, including import and export commercial letters of credit, international and domestic standby letters of credit, documentary collections, and foreign currency advisory services. Ashley maintains a CDCS certification (Certified Documentary Credit Specialist) from the International Chamber of Commerce. Actively involved in the community, Ashley serves as Treasurer of the Oklahoma District Export Council, which utilizes business experience in support of the Nation’s export expansion effort. In her personal time, Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, reading, and traveling.
Mr. Tom Beube is Senior Vice President and Director of Wintrust Financial Corporations International Services Group. The Wintrust International Services Group supports the bank’s commercial and retail bank customers for all activities involving cross border trade finance, Foreign Exchange payments and hedging strategies, global payments, Standby letters of credit and cross border guarantees. Mr. Beube joined Wintrust 10 years ago after spending 14 years with ABN AMRO Bank and 3 years with Bank of America. While Chicago is his home, Mr. Beube has had assignments in Hong Kong, Detroit and Shanghai during his time with ABN AMRO.
Alexandra Burnett is a senior member of Integral’s sales team in the Americas, based in the company’s New York office. She joined the business in early 2021 and specializes in foreign exchange solutions with a focus on regional banks and asset managers. Prior to joining Integral, Alexandra worked in FX Sales at HSBC, Société Générale & RBS (NatWest). Her career in FX spans over ten years, working with market participants from banks to private equity sponsors, as well as corporations of all sizes. Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University, NY.
Mark Garfield’s current role is Head of Global Financial Institutions at Zions Bancorporation responsible for foreign bank relationship development. He joined Zions Bancorporation in 2005. He has over 30 years of banking experience with 25 years in international banking management covering trade finance, trade services, foreign exchange, correspondent banking and product development. Throughout his career he has worked closely with corporate and commercial entities in the Midwest and Western U.S. providing banking support for cross-border trade. Mr. Garfield currently serves as a Director of BAFT and Chair of the Utah District Export Council. He served on the DEC National Advisory Board and Board of the World Trade Center, Utah.
Brian Gordon started his banking career at National Bank of Commerce in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1989 while attending the University of Nebraska. In 2000 he joined Wells Fargo (via acquisition) where he focused his calling in the 7 states surrounding Missouri as a business development officer for the Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank. He then joined Sovereign Bank in the Mid-Atlantic & New England markets to build from scratch a structured trade finance group. Before returning to the Midwest to join Commerce Bank, he was with HSBC in New York City as an international business development officer covering CT, NJ, NY, PA, MD, VA, and Washington DC.
Mark is a Managing Director, Lender Accounts with EXIM and works closely with Lenders throughout the United States and promotes EXIM’s product/services that are beneficial both to the banks and their exporting customers. Mark also maintains Regional Director responsibilities and works with exporters, small/medium/large, throughout the Midwest; primary focus is the KY, OH, MO, and KS markets but also works with companies located throughout the nineteen (19) state territory of the Central Regional Office. Mark has been with EXIM Bank for more than 13 years. Prior to joining EX-IM Bank, Mark was an International Banking Services Specialist for three commercial banks and worked with exporters in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Mark counseled these exporters on a variety of issues including, but not limited to, Letters of Credit, Foreign Exchange Risk Mitigation and Export Credit Insurance.
Grant has extensive experience helping clients navigate complex issues related to international commerce and its associated compliance challenges, including CFIUS. As part of his practice, Grant advises clients on requirements under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Export Administration Regulations (EAR) administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) administered by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), trade sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and other import- and export-related regulations.
Christopher spent his early career in the financial services industry before he joined Rainbow Chemicals in 2008. Over the past 15 years, he has managed various aspects of the business, including sales, procurement, manufacturing and managing a complex supply chain that spans Asia, Europe, and the Americas. In his current role as Treasurer of Rainbow Chemicals, Christopher oversees corporate treasury, international banking, and trade finance operations. He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Kansas.
John T. Murray is a Senior Vice President in Global Trade Product and Portfolio Management in Treasury Services Global Product Management. His responsibilities include Trade and Supply Chain Finance Product Management for North America corporates, ECAs and BNY Mellon Network. Previously John worked with acquisition and distribution of trade-related assets from bank counterparts and risk mitigation with non-bank (insurance) and World Bank IFC programs. He also worked in sales for the Mid-Atlantic and Southern U.S. investment grade corporate and financial institutions for trade processing and supply chain finance. Prior to his sales roles, John managed the Client Services and Implementations unit within the Trade Finance Services division, responsible for trade product relationship management, new business implementation and business administration.
Daniel Pinho was appointed the Vice President of Operations and Business Management at BAFT on July 31, 2023. Daniel previously was the SVP & AGM at PNC's Trade Finance group. He has over 20 years of experience in structured trade financing programs. Prior to joining PNC, Daniel was a Manager at UPS Capital Business Credit where he supervised the Export Credit Agency Operations group. He also served as the Director of Trade Finance at a consulting firm in Brazil. Pinho also previously served on BAFT's North American Council and co-chaired the Structured Trade and Export Finance Committee. He is a member of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting and is chair of the board of Ten Thousand Villages in Pittsburgh, a fair trade nonprofit organization.
Daniel Pische serves as the National Director of Trade Finance within the SBA’s Office of International Trade in Washington, DC. As Director, Daniel is responsible for the design and delivery of SBA’s export loan programs and oversight of SBA’s national staff of Export Finance Managers. Prior to joining the SBA, Daniel worked at First American Bank for over 15 years where he led their Trade Finance Division and served as a member of the bank’s Senior Loan Committee. Daniel served on Department of Commerce’s Trade Finance Advisory Council during the second charter term and continues to serve as the SBA’s ex-officio representative where he assists with recommendations on improving access to Trade Finance for small and midsized exporters.
Mr. Michael Salerno is the Vice President of Global Banking at First National Bank of Omaha where he manages a diverse portfolio of corporate and correspondent bank customers. He consults with trade and treasury management professionals to help define, create, and implement effective trade finance, global payments and international risk management solutions. Mr. Salerno specializes in providing foreign exchange and international payment solutions for financial institutions. He is the Treasurer for both the Nebraska District Export Council and the National Association of District Export Councils.
Barry is the Principal at TransactionBanker.com, a payments consultancy, and is a recognized expert in wholesale banking and the payments industry. He has been involved in payment operations, systems transformations, and modernization related projects for global banks and hardware and software firms for decades. Barry has managed day to day operations, as well as planned, organized, directed, and managed, major banking initiatives for banks around the world. Barry is a current member of the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) Payments Committee and Co- Chairs their Payments Roadmap Workgroup. He is a past member of their Board of Directors. He was recognized in 2021 and 2022 as one of two BAFT Ambassadors of the Year. Barry is also a member of the US Faster Payments Council where he serves as the Chair of their Cross Border Payments Workgroup and as member of their Operational Considerations Workgroup.
Venkat is a Financial Services executive with a demonstrated history of successfully leading high visibility initiatives at global and midsize financial institutions. He is currently Chief Economist with Wintrust Financial Corporation. He leads the bank’s Liquidity, Market & Interest Rate Risk Oversight, Economic Analysis & Forecasting, and Risk Strategy & Analytics functions. Mr. Veeramani is a published author and frequent speaker on topics related to risk & financial analytics, creation of data-driven business intelligence, and economic trends. Prior to joining Wintrust Financial Corporation, he held various risk management positions at Morgan Stanley, Discover Financial Services and HSBC.
Sponsorship opportunities for the 2023 BAFT Regional Bank Conference are SOLD OUT.
Please contact us regarding sponsoring next year’s BAFT Regional Bank Conference and/or other BAFT Events sponsorship opportunities.
Interested in sponsoring the 2024 Regional Bank Conference?
For more information, please contact:
Matthew Kaitz
Director, Business Development
[email protected]
+1 (703) 200-9071
The 2023 Regional Bank Conference will be held November 1 – 2 at the corporate headquarters of Wintrust Financial Corporation in Rosemont, Illinois. Rosemont is a suburb of Chicago and is located next to O’Hare International Airport.
Wintrust Financial Corporate Headquarters
9700 W. Higgins Road
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
United States
There is not an official block of rooms being held for this event. Hotel reservations are the responsibility of attendees and should be made directly with the hotel. Below is a list of hotels that are in close proximity to the Wintrust Financial Corporate Headquarters.
Hyatt Rosemont
6350 North River Road
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
+1 (847) 518-1234
Hampton Inn & Suites Rosemont
9480 W. Higgins Road
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
+1 (847) 692-3000
Chicago Marriot Suite O’Hare
6155 North River Road
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
+1 (847) 696-4400
The Westin O’Hare
6100 North River Road
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
+1 (847) 698 6000
“BAFT hosted a great event with a meaningful agenda and on-point topics for the participants to provide content.”
Charlotte, North Carolina
“Good discussion of common topics of interest.”
Cleveland, Ohio
“Passionate speakers! It's good we've included banks from other geographies as well. We would like to meet more of them and hear their perspective.”
Chicago, Illinois
“My favorite BAFT experience yet! ”
Memphis, Tennessee
“The format of the sessions fostered dialogue between the participants. It is a comfortable setting that encourages participants to talk openly.”
Seattle, Washington
“Great networking and collaborative discussions!”
Washington, District of Colombia
Interested in sponsoring the 2024 Regional Bank Conference? We can tailor your sponsorship package to meet your goals.
To discuss your sponsorship options, please contact:
Matthew Kaitz
Director, Business Development
[email protected]
+1 (703) 200-9071
© 2024 BAFT (Bankers Association for Finance and Trade)