LAS VEGAS — America's Community Bankers last-ever conference included lots of discussion on the credit crisis, regulatory burden, and other hot-button issues, but it wasn't all business.
Perhaps the most memorable session of the three-day conference here last week was one featuring Emmitt Smith, the National Football League's all-time rushing leader and a recent winner of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" competition.
Mr. Smith, who retired from football in 2005, offered advice on how to succeed and then invited questions in what turned out to be a warm and lengthy exchange with the enthusiastic bankers. The session went on more than a half-hour after it was supposed to end.
Asked how he stays grounded, Mr. Smith said it is a matter of realizing that no matter how much success a person has, some of the credit goes to "the people all around you" who provide support.
He proved the point when he asked the bankers a few questions of his own, such as how many voted for him in the dance competition. A dozen or more hands went up across the large ballroom. "Thank you for making me a dancing champion," he said.
One banker asked whether other football players razzed him about the television show. Mr. Smith got laughs as he recounted having dinner with retired wide receiver Tim Brown, who reacted to the news with a sharp "What? You're going to mess with your legacy. Don't be like Jerry with all those tight pants and stuff." (Jerry Rice, the NFL's all-time leading receiver, had appeared on a previous season of "Dancing with the Stars.")
In an interview before his speech, Mr. Smith said he gets attention for what he says because of his fame as an athlete, but he thinks the real heroes are "the folks in the trenches that you never hear about, like community bankers."
He said he is impressed with bankers for helping people improve their lives through financial literacy programs.
He had heard about several such programs during a lunch with a dozen community bankers, including George Haynes, the president and chief executive of Brattleboro Savings and Loan in Vermont; Elizabeth E. Hance, the president and CEO of Magyar Bank in New Brunswick, N.J.; and Peter Judkins, the president and CEO of Franklin Savings Bank in Farmington, Maine.
"I was like, 'wow,' " Mr. Smith said. "That's what community banking is all about."
After his speech, he gave no indication of trying to hurry the questions along. But Bob Schmermund, an ACB spokesman, eventually interrupted in an opportune moment of sustained applause and sent the reluctant bankers back to their real work.
Payoff for small banks?: Friday's speakers included Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, who warned that after a strong second quarter, her agency expects to report a third-quarter earnings decline for banks and thrifts, and that "the worst may not be over."
Still, Ms. Bair said she hopes the turmoil in the mortgage market enables community banks and thrifts to regain market share. "We could see a renaissance in Main Street banking."
The lesson from the subprime mortgage meltdown is that banks and their customers are best served by safe products that average people can understand, she said.
"So while you haven't been part of the current problem, you can now be a big part of the solution," she told several hundred bankers and directors attending the trade group's last gathering before its merger with the American Bankers Association.
Regulatory roulette: In a panel discussion with regulators, Kevin M. Bertsch, deputy associate director for the Federal Reserve Board's division of banking supervision and regulation, urged directors to be watchful when banks get into new products and business lines, saying too many look at the revenue potential without adequately reviewing the risks.
Banks must have proper controls in place to deal with new ventures, Mr. Bertsch said.
He also said directors should monitor such trends as a shift from core deposits. "Diverse funding sources are a good thing. However, there are added risks to moving away from core deposits."
Scott M. Polakoff, deputy director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, also emphasized vigilance. He said directors should be inquisitive; insist on getting the board packages well before each meeting to prepare; and have examiners report their findings directly to the board instead of relying on information relayed by the CEO.
In the question-and-answer session, directors asked whether the agencies would take action to reduce the regulatory burden — a recurring theme at the conference. The responses, while coming across as sympathetic, were not a satisfying yes. Mr. Polakoff said the complaints he hears most often are that the rules are not clear and that the rules get changed "in the middle of the game," leaving bankers to feel they are getting dinged by regulators unfairly. "And I can understand that," he said of the bankers' point of view.
