IBA Chairman Brant Ahrens’ Inaugural Speech Excerpts

Good afternoon – for those of you whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting, I am Brant Ahrens, President of Retail and Digital Banking at CIBC Bank USA.

Seven years ago, when Linda Koch and Charie Zanck asked me if I would be interested in serving as the Chair of the Government Relations Committee, then join the Executive Committee, then serve as the Treasurer and eventually become the Board Chair, I never envisioned that I would be giving my welcome speech during a pandemic and during one of the nation’s most tragic episodes of protest, rioting and looting. In the name of “all men are created equal”– as Abraham Lincoln stated in the Gettysburg Address – we clearly have a long way to go to achieve the racial equality that Lincoln so bravely called for during our Civil War. I’d like us to just take a moment of silence for our country.

I was both flattered and humbled when I was asked by the Nominating Committee to Chair the Board of IBA. It was a decision that I gave tremendous consideration and contemplation– a decision that I did not take lightly. Somewhere in that 7-year timeframe, Linda Koch informed the board that she would be retiring in June of 2020 – just when I would be coming on as chairman.

I wasn’t sure if I should take that personally, but I completely understood why Linda had chosen that path. I want to take a minute to personally thank Linda for all that she has done for the Illinois Bankers Association and for me personally. Linda has been an exceptional CEO for the past 20 years.

I have always been impressed with Linda’s leadership skills, her patience, her negotiating abilities and her sense of humor. This pandemic is another example of how nimble and flexible the IBA is under Linda’s direction. You see, we have a perfect storm here. I’m coming in as the new board chairman– as Linda is exiting stage left– and Randy Hultgren is coming in as the new President and CEO WHILE the economy has come to a screeching halt and we have had to shelter in place.

All of the plans we had been making– the Annual Conference being one of them– got tossed out the window. Linda and Randy and all the creative minds at the IBA quickly changed course and put together this virtual conference to keep the traditions alive and to bring us all together.

I am grateful for Linda’s leadership and friendship and I look forward to getting to know Randy better and helping to shape the game plan during my term as Chairman and for the years to come.

Let me also give a shout out to Kevin Olson who just completed his term as board chair. He is going to be a hard act to follow. Kevin was on course to beat Dan Watts’ bank visit record but was sidelined by the Governor’s Stay in Place Order. Because I love a challenge, I am going to try and beat Kevin’s record. Randy and I may not be able to hop in the car and drive all over the state visiting bankers BUT we will find a way to connect through the use of technology. In that spirit, Randy and I plan on developing a strategy to visit with banks throughout the state in the manner that makes the most sense - it may be on Zoom or in may be in person, but I know for a fact that it will happen.

I would like to take a quick step back and share with you how my love for banking began. I started my career doing exactly what I will be doing as Chairman of the IBA – driving the roads of downstate Illinois visiting bankers! Yes, I was that young correspondent banker knocking on your door pitching holding company loans, cash letter, and deposits. This is where I learned the importance of the hometown bank and how these banks supported their communities and small businesses. After getting to know just about every small town in Illinois, about 9 years into my career, I got the break of a lifetime!

Ironically, however, I didn’t even know it, despite the fact that it hit me squarely between the eyes. And so I reluctantly went to work for Norm Bobins, the CEO of LaSalle Bank as his Chief of Staff. Boy was I in for a ride! Norm almost drowned me with a vast array of duties from 7 am to 7 pm every day. But I learned more in that position than any other in my career and, if asked, I would do it the banking industry took a beating, again in a heartbeat. Norm has become but we worked so hard to rebuild our a friend and an amazing mentor over reputation and our shattered economy. I the past 20 years and I want to thank am confident that the banking industry him for his guidance, wisdom and true will once again do its part to ensure that empathy that he has shown over the American society is given the assistance years! Mark Hoppe, I know you are out that it so desperately needs. there somewhere... don’t worry you were To quote one of my favorite country a close 2nd. Mark taught me that if I songs... “The house don’t fall when wanted to beat him into the office I had the bones are good.” During this to get there before the sun came up! pandemic, we have proven to ourselves,

So, deep down, I am a downstate kid our regulators, Congress and, most who just happened to make a career in importantly, to our customers that our the big City, which quite frankly I had house – collectively made up of each only been to once prior to my interview at of our banks– has a solid foundation, LaSalle Bank. sturdy beams and an Having come from a small community in central Illinois, I had I believe that during this indestructible roof. We should all be proud of what we did back in an idea that the local bank is often the heart of the community, but I current crisis, banks are March, April and May to keep the financial system running. We figured didn’t really get it until I worked those long days as a correspondent having one of their finest out how to conduct business through driveups; how to schedule banker. Whether it’s a mortgage to a firstmoments. appointments so that customers could safely time home buyer or an visit their safety deposit SBA loan for a start-up business, we, as boxes; how to get loan documents bankers, understand this phenomena, notarized; and how to keep calm and bank but the public often doesn’t quite get it. on. No panic. The public wants and needs their bank, Just a lot of hard work and but it’s not until something goes wrong perseverance by our dedicated employees. that they understand the importance of When Congress passed The CARES the hometown bank. And sometimes Act, banks were asked to participate when things go wrong, the banks in the Payroll Protection Program. actually get blamed. $500 billion dollars-worth of PPP loans

Throughout my career, the banking made their way to over 4 million small industry has weathered many storms – businesses in an effort to save jobs and the 1998 Asian crisis, 2001 tech crisis, often the business itself. 2008 financial crisis, and now this one. During my career, one of my proudest That said, I believe that during this moments was watching the team at current crisis, banks are having one of CIBC work 24 hours a day– nonstop– to their finest moments. develop a program that we could roll

The United States and the banking out immediately to our small business industry, in particular, have proven time customers. We served all 2,800 clients and time again that they are resilient who applied and made over $2.1 billion and adaptable. After the housing crisis, of small business loans.

Meet Your New Illinois Bankers Association Chairman

Christopher Brant Ahrens President of Retail and Digital Banking and Head of US Strategy CIBC Bank USA Birthplace: Charleston, IL Education: Bachelors of Finance; University of Illinois If I Weren’t in Banking: I would love to be playing professional baseball. What are you most looking forward to as Chairman: I’m looking forward to meeting more bankers across the entire state. I would like to be remembered one year from now for: Helping banks think through how to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. What’s your very first IBA memory? The 1996 convention in Peoria where I met my ex-wife. Best Decision: Going to work for Norm Bobins as his chief of staff. Most Recent Accomplishment: Setting up the Paycheck Protection Program for CIBC and funding 2,800 clients for $2.1 bln in loans. Greatest Challenge in the Industry: Keeping up with the large banks from a technology perspective and developing young talent. Best Advice for Young Bankers: Always take on a new challenge. If a special project comes up, run toward it and excel at it. It will create opportunities. Best Advice I Ever Received: Always take the meeting! You never know

what might come of it. Who I admire the most: Norm Bobins

One thing people don’t know about me: I have a tattoo on my left shoulder

Favorite Vacation Spot: Sailing in the British Virgin Islands.

Still on my bucket list: Visiting the Far East

Most interesting thing in my office: Wine

Sports faves? St. Louis Cardinals Baseball – Fighting Illini Hoops and

What do you do to de-stress? Read

Football

Family: Carson Reece Ahrens (17) and Alexis Katherine Ahrens (14)

Despite the challenges with the roll out of the program, the banking industry proved that we were up for the challenge and that we could work with one hand tied behind our backs, basically blindfolded, while taking a huge leap of faith. It was a combination of tremendous leadership and the utilization of just about every bank department to ensure the program ran smoothly and efficiently.

Our team also created an excellent communication strategy that kept management, the Board, all of our employees, and our clients fully informed. I know in my heart of hearts that we helped a lot of businesses stay afloat by lending them their first tranche of money from the Payroll Protection Program. And now we are in the middle of the Forgiveness period– doing the same thing for our clients all over again!

The theme of this year’s annual conference is Standing Tall. While Abraham Lincoln was our tallest president – at 6 feet 4 inches– he was truly tall in his ideas and his principles. If you watched the miniseries on Ulysses S. Grant, you experienced incredible examples of amazing leadership with Lincoln’s resolve and Grant’s determination to win the Civil War. And that is what we need for the banking industry to thrive... Leadership.

We work in the world’s greatest banking system due in large part to the efforts of President Lincoln. He is responsible for signing into law the National Currency Act, which created the national banking system and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as its supervisor. Lincoln had the foresight and the wisdom to create, and I quote, “a reliable and permanent influence in support of the national credit, and protect people against losses in the use of paper money.”

When the pandemic caused most of us to stop going into our offices and conducting business as usual, we kept the banking system running by finding the safest ways to serve our customers while

keeping our employees – our frontline workers – safe. We did not experience panic because the safety nets had been built and they were there to protect our customers and the banking system.

While we, the banks, were able to keep paying our employees and assisting our customers, other industries could not operate under the new governmentimposed rules and, sadly, a lot of business have closed permanently and far too many people are now unemployed. It saddens me to think of all the mom and pop businesses that could not weather the storm. And then the riots and the looting started right when businesses were attempting to getting back to a semi-normal. Meanwhile, there is the threat that we will experience a second wave of COVID-19 in the fall.

What I can say is that we have used this pandemic to test our strength and the strength of our systems at each of our individual banks. It was not perfect. There were hiccups. But for the most part, we all made the necessary adjustments to keep our operations up and running while protecting our employees and our customers. We are reliable and we are permanent, thanks to Abraham Lincoln and his wisdom and courage.

As the Chairman of the Illinois Bankers Association, I am going to use my time in this position to champion banks and the positive contributions they make in every aspect of society and business. We should never again be vilified by consumers, small businesses, or large corporates. We finance the smallest to the largest and the economy would grind to a halt without us.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as I possibly can over the course of my term in whatever way will make the most sense. I am not sure when we will be able to safely have large gatherings again but, when we can all be back together, we will celebrate … we will celebrate Linda and her tenure at the IBA, we will celebrate our new CEO, Randy Hultgren, and we will celebrate each of you and your amazing institutions.

I am so very proud to be a banker and to be the Chairman of the Illinois Bankers Association. Together, all of us, will weather this crisis and come out on the other side stronger. Please join us a little later to have a virtual cocktail and toast Linda, Randy, the other new board members, and, of course, our incredible Illinois banking industry!!!