Interview: Robert Just Jr.

Editor's Note: Robert Just, Jr., was elected Chairman of the Wisconsin Bankers Association at the organization's annual meeting last month. He is president/CEO of Mound City Bank, Platteville, Wis. NorthWestern Financial Review editor Tom Bengtson asked him a few questions: .Q. Tell me about WBA priorities..A. No. 1 is to get the message out about all the good that bankers do in our communities throughout the state..No. 2 is to provide help with compliance. We are seeing a shift with regulators to focus their attention on compliance. At the same time, we are having new regulations brought upon us so it is going to be very important for WBA to provide education for our bankers..And No. 3, advocacy is always a top mission. The change in the political environment in Wisconsin is very positive for business and for banking. It is possibly an opportunity for the banking industry to be a little bit more aggressive and positive in our take on regulation and on new legislation, whereas for the last eight years we have been playing defense. .Q. Do you see that now is a particularly good time to pursue parity with credit unions?.A. I think it is a good time. They say they want to increase their business lending, filling a need that banks aren't fulfilling. But the numbers indicate that credit unions' business lending volume has actually dropped over the past year, the same as commercial banking. The decline is the result of increased scrutiny, fewer creditworthy borrowers, and a lack of business entrepreneurship. Banks and credit unions have both seen their lending volumes decline. There are 33 credit unions nationwide that are close to bumping the current cap on business lending. So it is obvious that it is only the very large credit unions that want this expanded ability to lend. .Q. How would you summarize the sentiment of your colleagues throughout the state?.A. They feel a little disillusionment. They feel like they have been beat up. They are really worried about the regulatory atmosphere. There is concern about being able to meet the regulators' ever-changing requirements with regard to capital, asset quality and compliance. It would seem in some cases that the regulator has an ability to put banks on a path where they can't hardly succeed. Many of them could succeed if they were given the opportunity to work through their problems but instead there is a certain set of priorities put in front of them that they can't meet. .Q. You started your career in 1971 as a teller. What are the most significant things that have changed during your career?.A. Compliance, the regulatory burden has increased immensely, and the amount of capital that any bank has to spend for audit and compliance costs, and to meet those regulations, has to be one of the key things. When I started at the bank our lobbies were full. We were told not long after that, maybe 1975, that there won't be any checks in 10 years. Well, there are still checks but maybe in the next 10 years there won't be. And the movement then from the teller line to the drive-up, to the ATM, to the electronic processing internet banking. The fact that there has been a loss of touch with the consumer, but we still have people who want to come in, see the banker, deal with the banker face-to-face, and the fact that we can provide that is what makes us different, special and gives us a future. .Q. What are your thoughts on the future of banking?.A. There is always going to be room for community banks. I am afraid of the numbers I hear bandied about, that we are going to lose 2,000 to 2,500 community banks in five years. I think we will see some of that, 25 percent of that will probably be because of closures. So I do think there will be movement toward mergers and acquisitions. But I still think there is always going to be a place for community banks because we can provide the service in the local communities where some of the larger corporations really aren't interested in taking the community profile that we enjoy. The one-size-fits-all thing doesn't really work in most of our communities. Things are a whole lot different in Platteville, Wisconsin than they are in Appleton or Stevens Point. So I think there always is going to be room for community banks.