Primary season is already over both in Indiana and at the IBA. We held our first-ever internal “primary” process for candidates who want to run for the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis this year. When two Michigan seats were open on the Board last year, credit unions won both because they rallied behind their only two nominees while the bank vote was split among five candidates.
This year as two Indiana seats come open for election, the IBA worked to coordinate candidates so the banking industry in our state could rally behind just two candidates and avoid the same credit union sweep Michigan saw last year. While this was an IBA Board initiative, we left it for the membership to decide who they wanted to support. We accepted nominations for four weeks in April. Our intention was to then put all the nominees onto a ballot together and allow every FHLBI-member institution chartered in Indiana to cast two votes, one each for their two preferred candidates. The top two vote-getters would then receive the IBA’s endorsement in the final FHLBI election.
At the end of the nomination period, we had only received two nominations, so they will automatically receive the Association’s endorsement. Please join me in congratulating and rallying behind Jamie Shinabarger, CEO and director of Springs Valley Bank & Trust Company, Jasper, and Dan L. Moore, executive chairman at Home Bank SB, Martinsville.
The IBA Board and staff are always looking for new ways to support our members. When we undertook our current strategic plan, one element we discussed was the difference in experience and understanding with Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. The Board tasked the staff with creating a new resource that would help both those members who aren’t sure where to start and those who are looking for ideas on how to take existing programs to the next level.
The result is a new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Roadmap that we are excited to roll out with this issue. You’ll find several articles written by and about fellow Hoosier bankers regarding Diversity, Equity & Inclusion topics and how they have benefitted Indiana financial institutions of all sizes. Nothing about this Roadmap is prescriptive or in any way mandatory – it is simply a resource to use however your bank’s leadership deems best for your situation. Our thanks to the nine IBA-member banks that sent employees to take part in the committee that put this resource together!
If you have questions about either of these new Board initiatives, feel free to reach out to me or any of the other IBA Board members, and we will be happy to address them.
Ben is the CEO of Peoples Bank, Munster, and its holding company, Finward Bancorp. He also serves on the board of directors of the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, a position he was appointed to by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2019.
