Speakers Bureau
Alloya has a long-standing tradition of providing presenters for credit union events that speak on topics that impact credit unions directly (operational topics, liquidity concerns, new technology, cybersecurity, etc.) or indirectly (economic and political current events, both at home and around the globe).
Our dynamic speakers draw on years of experience in the financial industry, providing general and specific knowledge on a wide array of topics to stimulate lively, credit union focused discussion. Consider inviting a member of Alloya’s team of professionals to your event to speak on one of the multitude of topics we have to offer!
Speaker topics include...
Click or tap a topic title to be directed to its brief description below.
- Serving the Underserved | Relationship-Based Lending for Financial Inclusion
- Faster Payments
- Where's the Recession?
- Liquidity
- Portfolio Management
- Cybersecurity
- ABC’s of ABS
- Capital Solutions
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the available topics. Don’t see a topic that works for you? We will work with you to customize a speaking engagement designed to fit your needs. Our ability to provide specific content is based on availability of our staff for the requested dates. Please note that for the foreseeable future, speaking engagements are available on a virtual basis only.
We look forward to working with you and speaking at your event. For more information, contact your Alloya representative or email events@alloyacorp.org.
Speaker Topics
Serving the Underserved | Relationship-Based Lending for Financial Inclusion
When life happens, financial access is key. Do you know where your members turn for cash when there’s more month than money or unexpected expenses arise? It should be your credit union, not a payday lender.
During this session, we’ll discuss the important role credit unions play in protecting their members’ financial futures, driving financial inclusion and improving the well-being of underserved communities.
Takeaways:
- Why financial inclusion matters
- How relationship-based, small-dollar lending plays a part
- What your credit union can do to better serve those who are underserved
- How this could impact your credit union’s future success
Faster Payments
Some predict that instant payments will drastically change payments as more consumers and businesses embrace the capability. The Clearing House’s RTP® network blazed the trail for instant payments six years ago. The launch of the FedNow® Service in July 2023 upped the game as suddenly a battle had begun between The Clearing House and the Federal Reserve to add financial institutions to their networks.
The ultimate measurement is transaction volume. At what point will consumers and businesses opt to send instant payments in lieu of using cards, wires, ACH or checks?
During this session, we will explore how instant payments are impacting the payments world. In addition, other payment-related topics including fraud, peer-to-peer payments (P2P) and payment revenue opportunities will be covered. This session is your opportunity to review current statistics and trends for insight on the world of payments.
Where’s the Recession?
Where’s the Economy Heading in 2024 and Beyond?
At the beginning of 2023, 85-90% of economists had forecasted a recession by the end of 2023. It did not happen. In fact, the Q3 GDP soared at 4.9%! Now the widespread consensus view is that we are in for another solid year of GDP growth and the U.S. economy will be in a perpetual soft landing, which never happens in the aftermath of such a pernicious Fed tightening cycle.
The gurus are focused on lagging and coincident indicators, but they tell you what has happened and what is happening, not what will happen in the near future. In essence, virtually every economist is doing what they did at the end of 2007, 2000 and 1989 – gazing into the rear-view mirror instead of looking through the front window.
Let’s face it, do you really want to make plans for 2024 based on 2023 real GDP? This is the danger of making forecasts based on lagging indicators, but such is human nature (plus it’s easy to merely extrapolate and safe to follow the herd).
Alloya Investment Services’ Tom Slefinger will take the contrarian position and say that Mother Nature is alive and well. It could very well be that the recession has been delayed because of the massive and unprecedented fiscal stimulus acted as an antidote to the Fed rate hikes. But the business cycle has not been eliminated, interest rates do matter and this is the year the lags from this rate hike campaign kick in and kick in hard.
Further, many of the same economic concerns from earlier this year, which led economists to predict recession, are still very much in place – from contracting money supply and credit, to worsening leading economic indices. More importantly, with the camouflage of “excess savings” and “fiscal stimulus” subsiding, there is a significant hit on consumer spending which is going to be very damaging to the U.S. consumer driven economy – an environment where inflation pressures continue their downward trend.
Tom Slefinger will argue why the consensus may be wrong yet again and a recession is still a high probability event in 2024. Even if the economy does avoid a recession, the economy will slow materially from the recent pace and inflation and interest rates are likely to revert to pre-COVID-19 levels. In other words, economic growth will decelerate, inflation will revert to 2% and interest rates will decline sharply from current levels.
In this session, we will review a host of topics including employment, the credit cycle, housing, and monetary and fiscal policies along with their implication for balance sheet and portfolio strategy.
Liquidity
Credit unions have felt the pinch of liquidity for nearly a year now. While there are many reasons why we are at historical lows as it relates to liquidity, one of the most important, yet least talked about, reasons is the lender’s role in it all.
During this session, you will learn how front-line lenders, in conjunction with their finance teams, must think beyond their local market to understand the intricacies of liquidity. You will also learn the various options that you may need to consider moving forward to ease potential burdens during future liquidity crunches.
Portfolio Management
Dueling Strategies | Both Sides of the Balance Sheet
What’s better than one capital markets expert giving their unfiltered opinion on the liquidity and investment landscape? Two!
In this session, two of our experts will dive into strategies that are currently being enacted by credit unions to manage today’s economic landscape. They will also provide some insights on what you should be considering as you manage your credit union’s balance sheet and provide some advice on what may be next for credit unions in the immediate future.
Cybersecurity
Cyberattacks continue to compromise confidential data in increasingly advanced ways, making it difficult to control and combat the risks to your credit union. From the front line to the board room, taking proactive steps to protect both your credit union and members is essential. During this session the presenter will cover the current cybersecurity landscape, how you can identify cybersecurity risks at your credit union, proven methods that can be used to resolve and mitigate those risks, and how to effectively communicate your cybersecurity risks to your board and examiners.
ABC’s of ABS
Seemingly, a month doesn’t go by without a new lengthy article about a credit union issuing an asset-backed security (ABS). You yourself may be wondering, “What is this about?”
In this session, we’ll discuss the ins and outs of asset-backed securities, the various players involved with this complex process and the regulatory landscape of it all. We’ll also touch on whether this solution is right for your credit union and other options you may have as you navigate your balance sheet management.
Capital Solutions
Today, more than ever, credit unions need to be ready to access capital to enable their strategic initiatives. However, unlike other financial depository institutions, credit unions cannot issue capital at the snap of a finger. That’s why credit unions need to understand their options and which option may be the best for them depending on their goals.
During this presentation, we will compare and contrast the two ways credit unions can increase their capital positions without retained earnings – issuing subordinated debt or embarking on a sale leaseback transaction. We’ll weigh each option’s pros and cons and determine when and why a credit union may choose one or both of the readily available options.