The American Bankers Association is trying to transform its annual convention from a weekend party to a serious school for senior executives.
The group's 120th meeting, which opens Saturday in Boston, features in- depth workshops on such topics as enhancing shareholder value without joining the consolidation craze and increasing competitiveness by boosting customer loyalty.
The focus on strategic planning is just one of several steps the association is taking to bolster sagging attendance numbers. ABA also decided to shorten the convention by a day and keep future meetings out of large convention halls.
The format change seems to be working. About 2,200 bankers are expected, the first time in six years that attendance has increased.
"They are back on the right track," said Roger V. Doughan, president of First National Bank, Hampton, Iowa, who is attending his first ABA convention in five years. "That is why I am going. There are more topics and meat to what we can use as community bankers."
"These workshops are about new ideas and new things being done in the industry that you can pick up on," said G. Thomas Andes, chairman and chief executive of Magna Group in St. Louis, who last attended an ABA convention three years ago. "It is a very good move."
The ABA convention attracted 3,000 bankers as recently as 1994. Conventions in the 1970s, when the industry was much larger, consistently pulled in more than 9,000 people, with the 1978 gathering in Honolulu drawing a record 12,000.
Declining attendance is the main reason why the Boston gathering is expected to be the last held in a traditional convention center, said J. Douglas Adamson, the ABA's executive director for bank programs and professional development.
"There were times when convention centers were smaller and our numbers were larger," Mr. Adamson said. "Back then convention centers were a better fit for us, but that is not the case today."
ABA has canceled plans to hold its 1998 meeting in New York's convention center, opting instead for the Hyatt Regency in Orlando.
For Boston, the group signed up 117 exhibitors-45 more than last year- and they vary from high-technology companies to compliance firms to jeweler Tiffany & Co. In addition to the usual giveaways, the Corporation for American Banking and MCI Communications Corp. will offer virtual golf lessons using an on-line link with a golf pro.
Surrounding the exhibit hall will be four theaters featuring 26 presentations from companies hawking their wares. Sessions include "Schmooze or Lose," "Show Me the Money: New Sources of Bank Profits," and "Insurance: If You Build It, They Will Come."
Also, the ABA has created a technology "playroom" that will offer demonstrations of software for iris detection, check imaging, and loan approvals. Plus, bankers can check out newfangled printers.
The theme for this year's convention is "Creating the Value Network." Sessions will focus on starting insurance agencies, using call centers, securitizing small-business loans, financing community development projects, outsourcing, and employing technology.
One of the highlights will occur Saturday morning, when Paul A. Buse, vice president of Aon Speciality Group's Risk Management Services unit in Washington, D.C., unveils the first comprehensive survey of bankers and insurance agents. The survey, jointly sponsored by the ABA and the Independent Insurance Agents of America, is expected to show that most bankers and agents are more interested in working together in joint ventures than in suing each other in court.
The session is one of five on Saturday devoted to in-depth training, with 90-minute sessions in the morning and three-hour workshops in the afternoon.
The ABA adopted the new format in response to evaluations collected at the past several conventions.
"Attendees said they want more in-depth sessions, rather than touching briefly on a subject," Mr. Adamson said.
Regulators speak Sunday morning after an inspirational talk by Lou Holtz, former football coach at Notre Dame and the University of Arkansas.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan will talk about the effect of technology on financial services. Andrew C. Hove Jr., Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. acting chairman, is scheduled to discuss financial modernization.
Bankers also will hear business tips from four successful peers, including State Street Corp. chairman Marshall N. Carter and KeyCorp chairman Robert W. Gillespie.
Monday begins with an address on technology leadership by John Gage, director of the science office at Sun Microsystems.
Sessions on disaster recovery and leadership follow. The afternoon includes 11 workshops on topics varying from managing diversity to building shareholder value.
Absent from this year's gathering is a specific discussion about the payment system, which was a major focus of last year's convention. Defending the omission, James Chessen, the ABA's chief economist, said payment system issues "are built into the technology track that flows through the convention."
As always, the convention features two major parties. The reception Saturday night features foods from Boston's various ethnic neighborhoods, and the convention closes at Symphony Hall with a Boston Pops concert conducted by Keith Lockhart.
