June 12, 2025 • 25 mins
Jim Ryan has led Old National Bank through a massive wave of growth — through major mergers and organic growth, the Evansville, Indiana-based bank has reached $70 billion in assets and a footprint that extends from Minnesota to Tennessee. The bank has grown by 250% since Ryan moved into the CEO role in 2019. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi’s Banking with Interest podcast — Ryan discusses:
- The bank’s growing profile, including its new marketing partnership with the on-fire Indiana Fever.
- Why the bank remains committed to its hometown of Evansville, even as it grows into a more expansive regional bank.
- His views on deposit insurance reform and areas other areas of focus as chair of the American Bankers Council, ABA’s peer group for midsize bank CEOs.
Ryan also discusses the experience of leading Old National through the devastating mass shooting at a Louisville, Kentucky, bank branch in 2023 — a tragedy that claimed the lives of 5 victims, all of them bank employees. “We always felt like we were a family, but that definition of family was completely reinforced,” he says. “After you go through a tragedy like that, it takes a lot of love, it takes a lot of support, and it takes a lot of care.”
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jim Ryan (00:02):
Evansville is not so much a physical place as a state of mind.
It's, it's how do we bring the bestof who we are, the culture that
attracts people to wanna work for us.
When I say I'm from a small town andI recognize the importance of what
small town means and our impact inthose small towns, I think that really
resonates well with those team membersand, and the clients that I speak with.
Evan Sparks (00:27):
from the American Bankers Association, this is the
A BA Banking Journal podcast.
Welcome back.
Today's episode is presentedby Intrafi, I'm Evan Sparks,
and we're here with Jim Ryan.
Jim is chairman and CEO of Old NationalBank based in Evansville Indiana,
but spreading across the Midwest andthe, and the Mid-South, a very fast
growing regional bank in the, inthe Midwestern part of the country.
(00:50):
So Jim, welcome to the show.
Really glad to have you here.
Jim Ryan (00:53):
Well, thanks so much.
I'm so glad to be on andhonored for the opportunity.
Evan Sparks (00:57):
Alright, so Jim, I'd love to talk, talk about several things
with you today related to you, yourbackground, old National Bank and the,
the banking industry in general, givenyour role with a BA as chair of the
American Bankers Council this year.
I know you've been at Old NationalBank for 25 years, but how did you
first get into banking and what wasthe, what's been your career path to
the, to the top job at Old National?
Jim Ryan (01:18):
Well, I literally started as an intern in my junior year
of college working for Old KentBank in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I was taking a midterm exam and myfinance professor as he was passing out
this midterm exam, I. Asked me if I'dlike a well paid internship at a bank.
And I said, of course I would.
And so he, after class I, I met himin his office and he gave me about
(01:43):
30 seconds of what he knew about it.
And he dialed the phone and he said,Al, I've got your intern for you.
And he handed me the phone andI quickly scheduled interview
while I was in his office.
And the rest is really history.
I started working for Old Kent Bank myjunior year in college and really have
not stopped working for a bank since then.
Evan Sparks (02:03):
So you like working for the older banks?
I see.
Jim Ryan (02:06):
Yes.
I really kept the theme.
You know, I make a joke.
There is a bank in Chicago called OldSecond Bank, and occasionally I see them
when I'm in the Chicago markets and I jokethat if this old national thing doesn't
work out, I'm gonna come work for you all.
So I'll just keep the oldin my, my entire career.
Evan Sparks (02:21):
Yeah, so I'd like, and so you, and you've been at
Old National Bank for 25 years.
How did what, what has your careerpath been at the bank since you,
since you joined Old National?
Jim Ryan (02:31):
Sure.
I started in our treasury, sothe balance sheet management
area after leaving old Kent.
And really saw this amazing institution,you know, headquartered in southern
Indiana that had a long history andlegacy of serving its communities.
And I had opportunities to go otherplaces at the time, but it was really
drawn to the culture of the organizationand how it was a little bit different.
(02:54):
Than the place I was leaving and itwas a little bit different than the
other opportunities I was looking at.
And, and had the opportunity to comejoin their treasury management section.
And I really used that as a, as apoint to volunteer to do just about
everything in the organization.
Take on new assignments, move for thecompany to, to bring the best of old
nationals, a part of, of some future,you know, partnerships that we've done.
(03:16):
And and really just had an amazingopportunity to, to grow in my career, to
hopefully add some value along the way.
And six years ago, as a part ofour planned succession the board
asked me to assume chairman and CEO.
Evan Sparks (03:31):
Well, that's that's fantastic.
I know you, you, y'all have beena fast growing bank as well there.
You know what, first Midwest,recently, Bremer Bank.
Can you walk through your vision for OldNational, how you're, how, how you are,
what, what, what, what's your strategy forbuilding the bank and continuing to grow
it and meet the needs of the clients andcommunities in your expanding footprint?
Jim Ryan (03:51):
Yeah, great question.
We, we really start with wherecan our model be successful?
And, and with a growth mindset,how can we go to a place and ensure
that a community bank is stillrelevant to that marketplace.
I'm not sure our style of banking, whichis that highly engaged community bank.
I call old fashioned basic banking,and I'm not sure that works everywhere.
(04:13):
But you know, as you said, we recently.
Through a partnership a few yearsback with first Midwest and what we
saw in Chicago is really a collectionof smaller communities that make
up the greater Chicagoland area.
And, and similarly, you know we went toMinnesota a number of years back with a,
with a couple of partnerships and, andmost recently we, we closed, announced
and closed in our Bremer partnership.
(04:34):
And, and again, I would suggest thatis a collection of smaller communities
that make up the Twin Cities area.
And, and for us it's really.
Partnerships have been a bigpart of our growth story.
But really we're focused inon the organic growth first.
And I've often told people, like when,when people ask me like, what's next?
(04:55):
You're $70 billion.
I would say nothing would make me happierif we were just able to grow in the
next five years organically and continueto do the great things that we do.
I, 'cause I think we've reachedthe scale necessary to compete.
I believe we have.
Great growth opportunitiesin the marketplaces we serve.
And we just don't needa future partnership.
(05:15):
We're not trying to solve anything througha partnership like succession planning.
So, having said that, I, I'm realisticto know that I think people will
come call at some point in time andsay, Hey, what do you think about
putting our two organizations togetherand can we be better together?
And, and if that comes, great.
If that doesn't come, absolutely we'llbe absolutely fine and just continue
to execute organically our strategy.
(05:38):
And, and be really happy about that.
So for us, you know, again, we start withcan our, can our model be successful?
And if it can be successfulhow fast can we grow?
Are, are the demographicsyou know, better?
Are we making ourselves better as anorganization either through organic
growth or, or through future partnerships?
Evan Sparks (05:57):
Great.
The you know, you, we were talking beforethe show about, you know, your, your
hat, the Indiana Fever Partnership there.
What are some of the, can you talkthrough some of the, kind of the
marketing partnerships you've engagedin to help build the bank's brand
awareness over the, over the years,both in, at home in Indiana and
in other markets you've entered?
I.
Jim Ryan (06:14):
Old National's had the great opportunity to partner with
a bunch of different organizations.
You know we are often recognizedas, as one of those great community
partners who rolls up their sleevesand, and sends their team members
out to help our communities.
You know, last year old National did about80,000 volunteer hours in its communities.
We actually, not only do we encourageteam members to volunteer but
(06:37):
we actually pay the hourly teammembers to go off and volunteer.
We do these things called BetterTogether days where we, where we all
go out in, in mass over a couple ofday period of time to really go out and
be super engaged in our communities.
And as a result of that we also end uppartnering with a lot of organizations
from Habitat to Humanity to, to you know,local charities that need our support.
(06:57):
And sometimes that comes along withsome, some branding opportunities
and some sports sponsorships.
And as you referenced by the timethis podcast airs we're gonna announce
a partnership with Indiana Fever.
We're so proud and honored tobe associated with a, with a
brand like the Indiana Fever, theWNBA has absolutely caught fire.
And so this is an amazing opportunityto think about how do we support Indiana
(07:19):
teams, but the WNBA in particular.
And so we've had a number ofthose partnerships over the years.
We were a partner with the Big 10 andthe, as the official banking partner.
And, and I think these are just.
Great opportunities to introduce andexpose our brand to audiences in, in
different kinds of ways and lights.
And so we look for those opportunitiesoften and and sometimes they change over
time, but we're always looking for, forthe next greatest opportunity to, to
(07:42):
expose a new set of clients to, to the oldnational brand, particularly new markets.
We are entering into a branding and,and a partnership opportunity with the
Minnesota Wild up in, up in Minnesota.
And hockey in Minnesota islike basketball in Indiana.
Everybody's involved with, with hockey.
So we look forward tothat partnership as well.
Evan Sparks (08:00):
Yeah, the I, you know, I will say, I, I, a few years ago, y'all had a
commercial called through the years that,that won one of our a BA bank marketing
awards, and I still watch that commercial.
I'm like, you know, I've never bankedwith Old National or been in a,
been lived in one of your markets.
But I.
You know, I am like, that just speaksto me so much of like what banking
is all about when I see that ad.And I'll make sure and embed that
(08:22):
with the with this podcast when itgoes live so folks can see that.
Jim Ryan (08:25):
That's great.
One thing I'm really proud of is lastNovember I. We recognized our 190
years of being in business and infact, the bank started in the exact
same spot that I'm sitting in today.
Different building, of course but, butphysically located in the exact same
spot of our, our current headquartershere at Evansville, Indiana.
(08:46):
And we recently.
Did some video material where weask our clients to talk about us
and and, and so many of our clientshave these deep, long histories
that are tied together particularlysome multi-generational businesses.
And so we're just so proud to have a,a part and a hand and, and in those
businesses and, and whether you know,those businesses have, have been a part
(09:09):
of the old national story for 190 years,or they're new businesses and, and.
They, maybe they were longtime Bremerclients or longtime first Midwest clients.
You know, we think about 'em the same way.
And so we're really blessed to dothat old fashioned community banking
that everybody knows and loves.
And, and that's reallya people first strategy.
You know, we lead with our people first.
(09:29):
People are the mostimportant asset that we have.
And, and we think that you know,where there's opportunities to have
a relationship, a part of the buyingdecision, we're gonna do really well.
If the buying decision is mostlyexclusively focused in on the
technology or the mobile experience.
You know, there are a lot of people outthere that compete with the technology and
(09:52):
mobile experience, and those are importantand we need to be competitive with that.
But will we really win?
Is when we have the opportunityto build deep relationships with
clients that oftentimes last,you know, multiple generations.
Evan Sparks (10:04):
Yeah.
Well, you, you talked a littleabout Evansville being, it being,
being headquartered in Evansville.
I am curious as a as a growingregional, mid-size regional bank
you know, what's it like, you know.
You know, as, as your footprint kindof continues to expand, how are you
investing in Evansville and what isit like if you, when it comes to, you
know, recruiting your top talent tocome to Evansville to, if, if they need
(10:25):
to work out of the home office there?
Jim Ryan (10:27):
That's a great question.
You know, we often get asked about,you know, it's Evansville the right
place to maintain your headquarters.
And, and first of all, I, Ithink it's our secret sauce.
And, and I was challenged by myexecutive coach not too long ago and
he was asking me questions aroundthis talent question and, and how
do we think about locating talent?
And I said, it's Evansville is not somuch a physical place as a state of mind.
(10:50):
It's, it's how do we bring the bestof who we are, the culture that
attracts people to wanna work for us.
And it's that kind of hometownMidwestern hospitality kind of culture.
How do we bring that to theplaces like the Twin Cities?
How do we bring that to Chicago?
How do we bring that to Detroit?
How do we bring it to KansasCity and St. Louis, which are
some of our newer markets?
(11:11):
And, and I think.
Being very grounded in a smaller communitylike Evansville, I think allows us to,
to be a little bit more successful.
And it's certainly you know, whenI go out and visit places in North
Dakota, you know, recently Bremerthe Bremer partnership has brought
us some new locations and Minot andGrand Forks and places like that.
When that, I say I'm from a smalltown and I recognize the importance
(11:34):
of what small town means andour impact in those small towns.
I think that really resonates wellwith those team members and, and
the clients that I speak with.
It's not to say you couldn't do thosethings if you were headquartered in
Chicago or headquartered in the TwinCities directly, but I do think it helps
you have a, maybe a better understandingof the unique opportunities and, and just
because we've grown outside of Evansvilleand now Chicago's our biggest market, the
(11:56):
Twin Cities are our second biggest market.
It doesn't mean we'veforgotten our hometown.
You know, like I just said, we'reup in Indianapolis today you
know, working on our, our feverpartnership and sponsorship.
And so we're so excited aboutwhat that, what that might bring.
So we continue to be a,a very big supporter.
And in fact, I spend alot of personal time.
I'm a part of the economicdevelopment activities that
(12:18):
happen here in southern Indiana.
I'm on a hospital board that'sheadquartered here in southern Indiana.
So I personally put a lot of timeinto the local community as well.
Evan Sparks (12:28):
That's fantastic.
Now I am gonna take a quick moment hereto thank our sponsor for this episode.
Today's episode is sponsored byBanking with Interest, a podcast from
Intrafi featuring in-depth analysisand insight into the policy changes
reshaping the banking industry withinsightful interviews and previews
of pending policy challenges.
It's hosted by Rob Blackwell, anaward-winning former journalist with
more than two decades of experience asan expert on financial services policy,
(12:50):
who is now Chief Content Officer andhead of External Affairs at Intrafi.
So you to listen to the podcast,go to Intrafi.com to learn more.
And thank you again to IntrafiBanking with Interest Podcast
for sponsoring this episode.
To turn a little bit to a, a topic that'sa little harder to discuss and that's the
you know, the 2023 shooting attack at anONB branch in, in Louisville, Kentucky.
(13:15):
You know, we certainly, that was ahorrifying thing to read about at at
the ABA and, you know, just feeling,felt, feel so much sympathy for
everyone who was affected by that.
Heaven forbid any, any bank CEOever has to go through something
like that at their bank ever again.
But what was it like to leadyour bank through that time?
And what is your, what's your advicefor bank, for corporate leaders who,
(13:37):
who may have to address that kindof situation with their people and
with their at one of their locations?
Jim Ryan (13:43):
I haven't talked publicly much about this, but I'll Okay.
My best.
You know, it was, it was somethingyou could never imagine something
you could never prepare for.
And it was a tragedy beyond all tragedies.
And we lost five team members.
And, and we impacted so many more.
We impacted their families.
We impacted team members thatwere there as a part of it.
There were a number of team memberswho were wounded and it was a
(14:07):
gut-renching call to get to know thatsomething terrible was happening.
And my immediate reaction, I wasstill at home when I got the phone
call from our Chief Risk officer, myimmediate reaction was to get in the
car and drive there as fast as I could.
And that's exactly what I did.
I was still there.
You know, I was on the ground, wasthe first one there from, from,
you know, our, our corporate team.
(14:28):
And I found our leader, DennisHeishman, who had taken refuge in a,
in a dentist office that was just downthe street after he fled the building.
I. He was in a total state of shock.
And I was able to, to find him and,and to start to bring some, some sense
about where, where everybody was at,what was going on, who was impacted.
(14:50):
And it was a really you know,awful, terrible day that I wish on.
Nobody and nobody else's family.
Yeah.
So we were obviously you know, it was,it was a time for us to rally behind
the families of those five team membersand our other team members who were
at the, at the place at our office.
(15:11):
And we did our absolutebest to rally behind.
All of those people that were affected.
But to go to, you know, five funeralsand five visitations and five services
were something that you just can'teven imagine how, how terribly
difficult that is for those families.
And you just want to be there tosupport them, to take care of them,
and to hug 'em and to love on 'em.
(15:32):
We use words like "love," "i care,"support every single week in the company.
We were always a very caring company.
We always felt like we were a family.
But that definition of familywas completely reinforced.
After you go through atragedy like that and to.
(15:55):
To do that.
It takes a lot of love, it takes a lotof support, and it takes a lot of care.
And so I send out a weeklycommunication and I talk about that.
I talk about how we need to, youknow, love one another, more care
for one another you know, moredeeply and take care of one another
and be there for each other.
So it's, it's still veryhard today, two years later.
(16:20):
And it's yeah.
Evan Sparks (16:22):
Yeah.
Well, thank you for talking about it.
I, I, you know, I think it's somethingthat, you know, obviously we hope nobody
has to go through, but it's the kind ofthing that, you know, to, to be able to
hear the experience of a bank leader whohas led a, an organization and a team
through that kind of tragedy, I thinkis something that can, can help all of
us learn, become better at leading indifficult, in really difficult situations.
(16:44):
So thank you.
I really appreciate that.
Jim Ryan (16:46):
Yeah, I, I, you asked for words, you know, maybe for other leaders who,
who might have to deal with some tragedy.
Hopefully nothing on this scale, butagain, I, I don't think it's wrong in
the corporate sense, in the corporateworld to make sure that you know, you
employees know you care about 'em.
It doesn't go unnoticed that,that you care for them, you
care for their families.
(17:07):
And in this crazy, crazy world we live in,it's a good thing to love each other and
it's a good thing to support one another.
So I would just encourage us tofind ways to do more of that as
leaders in our organizations.
Evan Sparks (17:21):
So I'd, I'd love to talk a little bit more about your involvement
with a BA. You've been you know, as a, asthe chair of our American Bankers Council
with our peer group for mid-size bank CEOsover the last, the, over the last year.
What what are y'all working on?
What, what, what do you see as kindof some of the biggest policy issues
that are affecting mid-size banksand, and, and banks similar to yours
(17:41):
in terms of you know, how, how youare, how, what's affecting your, the
policy landscape for banks like yours?
Jim Ryan (17:47):
Well, let me just start with, I'm super honored to, to be a part of
you know, the American Banker Counciland, and leading that effort Today.
I, I look at it as an opportunityto, to have my time to give
back to help the industry, tohelp midsize banks move forward.
In a, in a collective way.
(18:07):
But the a BA is, is an amazingorganization who has shown just immense
leadership since I've been a part of it.
And really as an industry, I, I can'timagine operating without having
the a BA help leading us forward.
There are a lot of tradeassociations in the financial
services industry, as you know.
But I think the a BA on the wholecollectively is thinking about all
(18:30):
of the interests of, of our I thinkall of our stakeholders, right?
That would be our clients, thecommunities, the regulators.
Local governments, federalgovernments, and, and obviously,
you know, banks in general.
So I do really think they take abalanced approach to, to all of it.
And, and sometimes there are thingsthat are unique to mid-size banks.
You know, clearly some ofthe policy initiatives I.
(18:52):
You know around FDIC resolutionplanning around the $100 billion
threshold and what that means and, andone that I'm particularly passionate
about that the A BA has spent a lotof time on is it time to modernize?
FDIC insurance coverage.
Yeah, you know, it has notbeen indexed for inflation.
(19:13):
Money moves so much fasterthan it moved before.
You have the social media phenomenon.
You know, banks have.
Gotten bigger you know, and so is itreally time to step back and, and think
about how should FDIC coverage work?
You know, we saw with Silicon Valley Bankand, and, and the failure that happened
there and the subsequent challenges theindustry industry faced in March of 2023.
(19:38):
You know, that that idea and phenomenon,that liquidity, we always knew
liquidity is a risk to our industry,but that's largely built on confidence.
And we saw that confidenceerode very, very quickly.
Particularly you know, in the advent of,of how, you know, media works and social
media works and how quickly those negativestories can, can influence and impact
(20:00):
people and that money moves so quickly.
So, so this is one that I think is, isimportant for the a BA to take a lead on.
There are other trade associationslike the mid-size bank coalition that
I spend time on their board working on.
But I think there's, I think there'sbroad support and recognition that
the FDIC coverage should change.
But there are a lot of questionsabout how do we apply it.
(20:22):
Who pays for it?
You know, what, whatsegments are are impacted.
And obviously it's something complexwhen you have to have, you know,
members of Congress get involved.
You have to have the regulators weigh in.
You have to have, you know, 4,000banks have a perspective on this topic.
So it is an interesting challenge, butI take it as an opportunity to really
make it you know, this, this better.
(20:44):
And, and fundamentally Ijust believe it's also.
Very challenging for, we saw withSilicon Valley, the most sophisticated
institutional investors had a hardtime, you know, judging the risk
inherent in having deposits above theFDIC insurance limits at, at, at, at
(21:04):
a bank, at a financial institution.
And so you think about that froma corporation perspective, a small
business perspective, an individualperspective, I think it can be really
challenging for them to really understandwhat are the inherent risks there.
And so as a result of that, it getsfar beyond the time that we, we need to
look at this for our country, you know,for the, the, all of the stakeholders
(21:27):
involved and obviously, you know,for the health and, and safety and
soundness of, of financial services.
Evan Sparks (21:34):
Yeah.
So when you're, when you're thinkingabout deposit insurance, I mean,
what does a, what does a, what doesthe future of deposit insurance
look like for a bank like yours?
You know, I mean, beyond like a larger,a higher limit, you know, are there
a different, are there particulardynamics of the, of the system or
the design of the system that, thatyou're particularly focused on?
Jim Ryan (21:52):
Well, I, I think, you know, if we start with small
businesses, for example, right?
Many small businesses carry more thanthe FDIC insurance limits mm-hmm.
In their operating accounts, right?
And it doesn't take long beforeyour payroll funds, right.
Are above those limits.
It doesn't take long.
You know, to, to exceed those limits in a,in a, in a small to medium sized business.
(22:14):
And so I, I think about how do wemake sure that those small and medium
sized businesses continue to grow?
You know, we all know that a bigpart of having a relationship with
a financial institution is we wantthe entire relationship, right?
We want to be able to notonly, you know, offer capital.
To those institutions for them to grow.
But we also want to receive thatliquidity from those institutions.
(22:36):
Look for wealth management opportunitiesfor those principal leaders, try to
do the banking for the team membersthat work for those businesses.
And so I think when you look at,at deepening those relationships.
You know, that, that that's whereoftentimes you can exceed those
FDIC insurance loads, and there areopportunities to, to ensure outside
of that, but that becomes difficultparticularly as you think about
(22:58):
operating accounts and, and we takeadvantage of those and there's some
really great offerings out there, butit also makes it more complex, you
know, for the individual small business.
To really understand about you know, howthey ensure they have that full coverage.
And I do think it would be a shamewe saw this coming, we've seen this,
you know, post you know, GFC year.
(23:21):
I think we've seen a little bitcoming out of, of, you know,
the March 23 liquidity crisis.
Deposits are continuing to consolidateat those institutions deemed so big
that the government will have to stepin in the event that there is an, there
is a failure with those institutions.
And so I think what makes the America,what makes America so special is
(23:42):
that we have this really diverseset of financial institutions
that serve places like Evansville,Indiana or Minot, North Dakota, or.
You know, Ann Arbor, Michigan, youpick, pick your favorite spots.
Mm-hmm.
And, and the largest financialinstitution in our country are amazing.
They do some amazing things.
They do things that quite frankly, bankslike Old National probably could never do.
(24:02):
But we also do some pretty amazing thingstoo when we show up and we represent
and we take care of our communities.
And so I think we just really benefitwhen we have this really healthy,
diverse set of banks across our country.
And so to the extent that that liquiditykeeps getting pushed because of this
notion that in the event of, of stressfultimes, the government will step in and
(24:23):
help the large institutions and oldnational Bank benefit from that, we're
getting to be a larger institution.
Right.
So I don't want, I don't want to,you know, deny that we might also
benefit from that in the future.
Yeah.
But I do just think it's in thebest interest of our country.
It's in the best interest of ourability to grow and invest in places
just like Evansville, Indiana.
To have financial institutionswho want to do business here, and
(24:44):
you don't only have to go to thelargest cities to find capital.
Evan Sparks (24:49):
Thank you, Jim, for joining us on the podcast today.
This was a fantasticconversation for their listeners.
You can find a full profile of Jim out ofthe July August issue of the ABA Banking
Journal at a banking journal.aba.com.
Thanks so much for listening.
Thank you to Intrafi Banking with Interestpodcast for sponsoring this episode.
We will be back with you again very soon.
Evansville is not so much a physical place as a state of mind.
It's, it's how do we bring the bestof who we are, the culture that
attracts people to wanna work for us.
When I say I'm from a small town andI recognize the importance of what
small town means and our impact inthose small towns, I think that really
resonates well with those team membersand, and the clients that I speak with.
Evan Sparks (00:27):
from the American Bankers Association, this is the
A BA Banking Journal podcast.
Welcome back.
Today's episode is presentedby Intrafi, I'm Evan Sparks,
and we're here with Jim Ryan.
Jim is chairman and CEO of Old NationalBank based in Evansville Indiana,
but spreading across the Midwest andthe, and the Mid-South, a very fast
growing regional bank in the, inthe Midwestern part of the country.
(00:50):
So Jim, welcome to the show.
Really glad to have you here.
Jim Ryan (00:53):
Well, thanks so much.
I'm so glad to be on andhonored for the opportunity.
Evan Sparks (00:57):
Alright, so Jim, I'd love to talk, talk about several things
with you today related to you, yourbackground, old National Bank and the,
the banking industry in general, givenyour role with a BA as chair of the
American Bankers Council this year.
I know you've been at Old NationalBank for 25 years, but how did you
first get into banking and what wasthe, what's been your career path to
the, to the top job at Old National?
Jim Ryan (01:18):
Well, I literally started as an intern in my junior year
of college working for Old KentBank in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I was taking a midterm exam and myfinance professor as he was passing out
this midterm exam, I. Asked me if I'dlike a well paid internship at a bank.
And I said, of course I would.
And so he, after class I, I met himin his office and he gave me about
(01:43):
30 seconds of what he knew about it.
And he dialed the phone and he said,Al, I've got your intern for you.
And he handed me the phone andI quickly scheduled interview
while I was in his office.
And the rest is really history.
I started working for Old Kent Bank myjunior year in college and really have
not stopped working for a bank since then.
Evan Sparks (02:03):
So you like working for the older banks?
I see.
Jim Ryan (02:06):
Yes.
I really kept the theme.
You know, I make a joke.
There is a bank in Chicago called OldSecond Bank, and occasionally I see them
when I'm in the Chicago markets and I jokethat if this old national thing doesn't
work out, I'm gonna come work for you all.
So I'll just keep the oldin my, my entire career.
Evan Sparks (02:21):
Yeah, so I'd like, and so you, and you've been at
Old National Bank for 25 years.
How did what, what has your careerpath been at the bank since you,
since you joined Old National?
Jim Ryan (02:31):
Sure.
I started in our treasury, sothe balance sheet management
area after leaving old Kent.
And really saw this amazing institution,you know, headquartered in southern
Indiana that had a long history andlegacy of serving its communities.
And I had opportunities to go otherplaces at the time, but it was really
drawn to the culture of the organizationand how it was a little bit different.
(02:54):
Than the place I was leaving and itwas a little bit different than the
other opportunities I was looking at.
And, and had the opportunity to comejoin their treasury management section.
And I really used that as a, as apoint to volunteer to do just about
everything in the organization.
Take on new assignments, move for thecompany to, to bring the best of old
nationals, a part of, of some future,you know, partnerships that we've done.
(03:16):
And and really just had an amazingopportunity to, to grow in my career, to
hopefully add some value along the way.
And six years ago, as a part ofour planned succession the board
asked me to assume chairman and CEO.
Evan Sparks (03:31):
Well, that's that's fantastic.
I know you, you, y'all have beena fast growing bank as well there.
You know what, first Midwest,recently, Bremer Bank.
Can you walk through your vision for OldNational, how you're, how, how you are,
what, what, what, what's your strategy forbuilding the bank and continuing to grow
it and meet the needs of the clients andcommunities in your expanding footprint?
Jim Ryan (03:51):
Yeah, great question.
We, we really start with wherecan our model be successful?
And, and with a growth mindset,how can we go to a place and ensure
that a community bank is stillrelevant to that marketplace.
I'm not sure our style of banking, whichis that highly engaged community bank.
I call old fashioned basic banking,and I'm not sure that works everywhere.
(04:13):
But you know, as you said, we recently.
Through a partnership a few yearsback with first Midwest and what we
saw in Chicago is really a collectionof smaller communities that make
up the greater Chicagoland area.
And, and similarly, you know we went toMinnesota a number of years back with a,
with a couple of partnerships and, andmost recently we, we closed, announced
and closed in our Bremer partnership.
(04:34):
And, and again, I would suggest thatis a collection of smaller communities
that make up the Twin Cities area.
And, and for us it's really.
Partnerships have been a bigpart of our growth story.
But really we're focused inon the organic growth first.
And I've often told people, like when,when people ask me like, what's next?
(04:55):
You're $70 billion.
I would say nothing would make me happierif we were just able to grow in the
next five years organically and continueto do the great things that we do.
I, 'cause I think we've reachedthe scale necessary to compete.
I believe we have.
Great growth opportunitiesin the marketplaces we serve.
And we just don't needa future partnership.
(05:15):
We're not trying to solve anything througha partnership like succession planning.
So, having said that, I, I'm realisticto know that I think people will
come call at some point in time andsay, Hey, what do you think about
putting our two organizations togetherand can we be better together?
And, and if that comes, great.
If that doesn't come, absolutely we'llbe absolutely fine and just continue
to execute organically our strategy.
(05:38):
And, and be really happy about that.
So for us, you know, again, we start withcan our, can our model be successful?
And if it can be successfulhow fast can we grow?
Are, are the demographicsyou know, better?
Are we making ourselves better as anorganization either through organic
growth or, or through future partnerships?
Evan Sparks (05:57):
Great.
The you know, you, we were talking beforethe show about, you know, your, your
hat, the Indiana Fever Partnership there.
What are some of the, can you talkthrough some of the, kind of the
marketing partnerships you've engagedin to help build the bank's brand
awareness over the, over the years,both in, at home in Indiana and
in other markets you've entered?
I.
Jim Ryan (06:14):
Old National's had the great opportunity to partner with
a bunch of different organizations.
You know we are often recognizedas, as one of those great community
partners who rolls up their sleevesand, and sends their team members
out to help our communities.
You know, last year old National did about80,000 volunteer hours in its communities.
We actually, not only do we encourageteam members to volunteer but
(06:37):
we actually pay the hourly teammembers to go off and volunteer.
We do these things called BetterTogether days where we, where we all
go out in, in mass over a couple ofday period of time to really go out and
be super engaged in our communities.
And as a result of that we also end uppartnering with a lot of organizations
from Habitat to Humanity to, to you know,local charities that need our support.
(06:57):
And sometimes that comes along withsome, some branding opportunities
and some sports sponsorships.
And as you referenced by the timethis podcast airs we're gonna announce
a partnership with Indiana Fever.
We're so proud and honored tobe associated with a, with a
brand like the Indiana Fever, theWNBA has absolutely caught fire.
And so this is an amazing opportunityto think about how do we support Indiana
(07:19):
teams, but the WNBA in particular.
And so we've had a number ofthose partnerships over the years.
We were a partner with the Big 10 andthe, as the official banking partner.
And, and I think these are just.
Great opportunities to introduce andexpose our brand to audiences in, in
different kinds of ways and lights.
And so we look for those opportunitiesoften and and sometimes they change over
time, but we're always looking for, forthe next greatest opportunity to, to
(07:42):
expose a new set of clients to, to the oldnational brand, particularly new markets.
We are entering into a branding and,and a partnership opportunity with the
Minnesota Wild up in, up in Minnesota.
And hockey in Minnesota islike basketball in Indiana.
Everybody's involved with, with hockey.
So we look forward tothat partnership as well.
Evan Sparks (08:00):
Yeah, the I, you know, I will say, I, I, a few years ago, y'all had a
commercial called through the years that,that won one of our a BA bank marketing
awards, and I still watch that commercial.
I'm like, you know, I've never bankedwith Old National or been in a,
been lived in one of your markets.
But I.
You know, I am like, that just speaksto me so much of like what banking
is all about when I see that ad.And I'll make sure and embed that
(08:22):
with the with this podcast when itgoes live so folks can see that.
Jim Ryan (08:25):
That's great.
One thing I'm really proud of is lastNovember I. We recognized our 190
years of being in business and infact, the bank started in the exact
same spot that I'm sitting in today.
Different building, of course but, butphysically located in the exact same
spot of our, our current headquartershere at Evansville, Indiana.
(08:46):
And we recently.
Did some video material where weask our clients to talk about us
and and, and so many of our clientshave these deep, long histories
that are tied together particularlysome multi-generational businesses.
And so we're just so proud to have a,a part and a hand and, and in those
businesses and, and whether you know,those businesses have, have been a part
(09:09):
of the old national story for 190 years,or they're new businesses and, and.
They, maybe they were longtime Bremerclients or longtime first Midwest clients.
You know, we think about 'em the same way.
And so we're really blessed to dothat old fashioned community banking
that everybody knows and loves.
And, and that's reallya people first strategy.
You know, we lead with our people first.
(09:29):
People are the mostimportant asset that we have.
And, and we think that you know,where there's opportunities to have
a relationship, a part of the buyingdecision, we're gonna do really well.
If the buying decision is mostlyexclusively focused in on the
technology or the mobile experience.
You know, there are a lot of people outthere that compete with the technology and
(09:52):
mobile experience, and those are importantand we need to be competitive with that.
But will we really win?
Is when we have the opportunityto build deep relationships with
clients that oftentimes last,you know, multiple generations.
Evan Sparks (10:04):
Yeah.
Well, you, you talked a littleabout Evansville being, it being,
being headquartered in Evansville.
I am curious as a as a growingregional, mid-size regional bank
you know, what's it like, you know.
You know, as, as your footprint kindof continues to expand, how are you
investing in Evansville and what isit like if you, when it comes to, you
know, recruiting your top talent tocome to Evansville to, if, if they need
(10:25):
to work out of the home office there?
Jim Ryan (10:27):
That's a great question.
You know, we often get asked about,you know, it's Evansville the right
place to maintain your headquarters.
And, and first of all, I, Ithink it's our secret sauce.
And, and I was challenged by myexecutive coach not too long ago and
he was asking me questions aroundthis talent question and, and how
do we think about locating talent?
And I said, it's Evansville is not somuch a physical place as a state of mind.
(10:50):
It's, it's how do we bring the bestof who we are, the culture that
attracts people to wanna work for us.
And it's that kind of hometownMidwestern hospitality kind of culture.
How do we bring that to theplaces like the Twin Cities?
How do we bring that to Chicago?
How do we bring that to Detroit?
How do we bring it to KansasCity and St. Louis, which are
some of our newer markets?
(11:11):
And, and I think.
Being very grounded in a smaller communitylike Evansville, I think allows us to,
to be a little bit more successful.
And it's certainly you know, whenI go out and visit places in North
Dakota, you know, recently Bremerthe Bremer partnership has brought
us some new locations and Minot andGrand Forks and places like that.
When that, I say I'm from a smalltown and I recognize the importance
(11:34):
of what small town means andour impact in those small towns.
I think that really resonates wellwith those team members and, and
the clients that I speak with.
It's not to say you couldn't do thosethings if you were headquartered in
Chicago or headquartered in the TwinCities directly, but I do think it helps
you have a, maybe a better understandingof the unique opportunities and, and just
because we've grown outside of Evansvilleand now Chicago's our biggest market, the
(11:56):
Twin Cities are our second biggest market.
It doesn't mean we'veforgotten our hometown.
You know, like I just said, we'reup in Indianapolis today you
know, working on our, our feverpartnership and sponsorship.
And so we're so excited aboutwhat that, what that might bring.
So we continue to be a,a very big supporter.
And in fact, I spend alot of personal time.
I'm a part of the economicdevelopment activities that
(12:18):
happen here in southern Indiana.
I'm on a hospital board that'sheadquartered here in southern Indiana.
So I personally put a lot of timeinto the local community as well.
Evan Sparks (12:28):
That's fantastic.
Now I am gonna take a quick moment hereto thank our sponsor for this episode.
Today's episode is sponsored byBanking with Interest, a podcast from
Intrafi featuring in-depth analysisand insight into the policy changes
reshaping the banking industry withinsightful interviews and previews
of pending policy challenges.
It's hosted by Rob Blackwell, anaward-winning former journalist with
more than two decades of experience asan expert on financial services policy,
(12:50):
who is now Chief Content Officer andhead of External Affairs at Intrafi.
So you to listen to the podcast,go to Intrafi.com to learn more.
And thank you again to IntrafiBanking with Interest Podcast
for sponsoring this episode.
To turn a little bit to a, a topic that'sa little harder to discuss and that's the
you know, the 2023 shooting attack at anONB branch in, in Louisville, Kentucky.
(13:15):
You know, we certainly, that was ahorrifying thing to read about at at
the ABA and, you know, just feeling,felt, feel so much sympathy for
everyone who was affected by that.
Heaven forbid any, any bank CEOever has to go through something
like that at their bank ever again.
But what was it like to leadyour bank through that time?
And what is your, what's your advicefor bank, for corporate leaders who,
(13:37):
who may have to address that kindof situation with their people and
with their at one of their locations?
Jim Ryan (13:43):
I haven't talked publicly much about this, but I'll Okay.
My best.
You know, it was, it was somethingyou could never imagine something
you could never prepare for.
And it was a tragedy beyond all tragedies.
And we lost five team members.
And, and we impacted so many more.
We impacted their families.
We impacted team members thatwere there as a part of it.
There were a number of team memberswho were wounded and it was a
(14:07):
gut-renching call to get to know thatsomething terrible was happening.
And my immediate reaction, I wasstill at home when I got the phone
call from our Chief Risk officer, myimmediate reaction was to get in the
car and drive there as fast as I could.
And that's exactly what I did.
I was still there.
You know, I was on the ground, wasthe first one there from, from,
you know, our, our corporate team.
(14:28):
And I found our leader, DennisHeishman, who had taken refuge in a,
in a dentist office that was just downthe street after he fled the building.
I. He was in a total state of shock.
And I was able to, to find him and,and to start to bring some, some sense
about where, where everybody was at,what was going on, who was impacted.
(14:50):
And it was a really you know,awful, terrible day that I wish on.
Nobody and nobody else's family.
Yeah.
So we were obviously you know, it was,it was a time for us to rally behind
the families of those five team membersand our other team members who were
at the, at the place at our office.
(15:11):
And we did our absolutebest to rally behind.
All of those people that were affected.
But to go to, you know, five funeralsand five visitations and five services
were something that you just can'teven imagine how, how terribly
difficult that is for those families.
And you just want to be there tosupport them, to take care of them,
and to hug 'em and to love on 'em.
(15:32):
We use words like "love," "i care,"support every single week in the company.
We were always a very caring company.
We always felt like we were a family.
But that definition of familywas completely reinforced.
After you go through atragedy like that and to.
(15:55):
To do that.
It takes a lot of love, it takes a lotof support, and it takes a lot of care.
And so I send out a weeklycommunication and I talk about that.
I talk about how we need to, youknow, love one another, more care
for one another you know, moredeeply and take care of one another
and be there for each other.
So it's, it's still veryhard today, two years later.
(16:20):
And it's yeah.
Evan Sparks (16:22):
Yeah.
Well, thank you for talking about it.
I, I, you know, I think it's somethingthat, you know, obviously we hope nobody
has to go through, but it's the kind ofthing that, you know, to, to be able to
hear the experience of a bank leader whohas led a, an organization and a team
through that kind of tragedy, I thinkis something that can, can help all of
us learn, become better at leading indifficult, in really difficult situations.
(16:44):
So thank you.
I really appreciate that.
Jim Ryan (16:46):
Yeah, I, I, you asked for words, you know, maybe for other leaders who,
who might have to deal with some tragedy.
Hopefully nothing on this scale, butagain, I, I don't think it's wrong in
the corporate sense, in the corporateworld to make sure that you know, you
employees know you care about 'em.
It doesn't go unnoticed that,that you care for them, you
care for their families.
(17:07):
And in this crazy, crazy world we live in,it's a good thing to love each other and
it's a good thing to support one another.
So I would just encourage us tofind ways to do more of that as
leaders in our organizations.
Evan Sparks (17:21):
So I'd, I'd love to talk a little bit more about your involvement
with a BA. You've been you know, as a, asthe chair of our American Bankers Council
with our peer group for mid-size bank CEOsover the last, the, over the last year.
What what are y'all working on?
What, what, what do you see as kindof some of the biggest policy issues
that are affecting mid-size banksand, and, and banks similar to yours
(17:41):
in terms of you know, how, how youare, how, what's affecting your, the
policy landscape for banks like yours?
Jim Ryan (17:47):
Well, let me just start with, I'm super honored to, to be a part of
you know, the American Banker Counciland, and leading that effort Today.
I, I look at it as an opportunityto, to have my time to give
back to help the industry, tohelp midsize banks move forward.
In a, in a collective way.
(18:07):
But the a BA is, is an amazingorganization who has shown just immense
leadership since I've been a part of it.
And really as an industry, I, I can'timagine operating without having
the a BA help leading us forward.
There are a lot of tradeassociations in the financial
services industry, as you know.
But I think the a BA on the wholecollectively is thinking about all
(18:30):
of the interests of, of our I thinkall of our stakeholders, right?
That would be our clients, thecommunities, the regulators.
Local governments, federalgovernments, and, and obviously,
you know, banks in general.
So I do really think they take abalanced approach to, to all of it.
And, and sometimes there are thingsthat are unique to mid-size banks.
You know, clearly some ofthe policy initiatives I.
(18:52):
You know around FDIC resolutionplanning around the $100 billion
threshold and what that means and, andone that I'm particularly passionate
about that the A BA has spent a lotof time on is it time to modernize?
FDIC insurance coverage.
Yeah, you know, it has notbeen indexed for inflation.
(19:13):
Money moves so much fasterthan it moved before.
You have the social media phenomenon.
You know, banks have.
Gotten bigger you know, and so is itreally time to step back and, and think
about how should FDIC coverage work?
You know, we saw with Silicon Valley Bankand, and, and the failure that happened
there and the subsequent challenges theindustry industry faced in March of 2023.
(19:38):
You know, that that idea and phenomenon,that liquidity, we always knew
liquidity is a risk to our industry,but that's largely built on confidence.
And we saw that confidenceerode very, very quickly.
Particularly you know, in the advent of,of how, you know, media works and social
media works and how quickly those negativestories can, can influence and impact
(20:00):
people and that money moves so quickly.
So, so this is one that I think is, isimportant for the a BA to take a lead on.
There are other trade associationslike the mid-size bank coalition that
I spend time on their board working on.
But I think there's, I think there'sbroad support and recognition that
the FDIC coverage should change.
But there are a lot of questionsabout how do we apply it.
(20:22):
Who pays for it?
You know, what, whatsegments are are impacted.
And obviously it's something complexwhen you have to have, you know,
members of Congress get involved.
You have to have the regulators weigh in.
You have to have, you know, 4,000banks have a perspective on this topic.
So it is an interesting challenge, butI take it as an opportunity to really
make it you know, this, this better.
(20:44):
And, and fundamentally Ijust believe it's also.
Very challenging for, we saw withSilicon Valley, the most sophisticated
institutional investors had a hardtime, you know, judging the risk
inherent in having deposits above theFDIC insurance limits at, at, at, at
(21:04):
a bank, at a financial institution.
And so you think about that froma corporation perspective, a small
business perspective, an individualperspective, I think it can be really
challenging for them to really understandwhat are the inherent risks there.
And so as a result of that, it getsfar beyond the time that we, we need to
look at this for our country, you know,for the, the, all of the stakeholders
(21:27):
involved and obviously, you know,for the health and, and safety and
soundness of, of financial services.
Evan Sparks (21:34):
Yeah.
So when you're, when you're thinkingabout deposit insurance, I mean,
what does a, what does a, what doesthe future of deposit insurance
look like for a bank like yours?
You know, I mean, beyond like a larger,a higher limit, you know, are there
a different, are there particulardynamics of the, of the system or
the design of the system that, thatyou're particularly focused on?
Jim Ryan (21:52):
Well, I, I think, you know, if we start with small
businesses, for example, right?
Many small businesses carry more thanthe FDIC insurance limits mm-hmm.
In their operating accounts, right?
And it doesn't take long beforeyour payroll funds, right.
Are above those limits.
It doesn't take long.
You know, to, to exceed those limits in a,in a, in a small to medium sized business.
(22:14):
And so I, I think about how do wemake sure that those small and medium
sized businesses continue to grow?
You know, we all know that a bigpart of having a relationship with
a financial institution is we wantthe entire relationship, right?
We want to be able to notonly, you know, offer capital.
To those institutions for them to grow.
But we also want to receive thatliquidity from those institutions.
(22:36):
Look for wealth management opportunitiesfor those principal leaders, try to
do the banking for the team membersthat work for those businesses.
And so I think when you look at,at deepening those relationships.
You know, that, that that's whereoftentimes you can exceed those
FDIC insurance loads, and there areopportunities to, to ensure outside
of that, but that becomes difficultparticularly as you think about
(22:58):
operating accounts and, and we takeadvantage of those and there's some
really great offerings out there, butit also makes it more complex, you
know, for the individual small business.
To really understand about you know, howthey ensure they have that full coverage.
And I do think it would be a shamewe saw this coming, we've seen this,
you know, post you know, GFC year.
(23:21):
I think we've seen a little bitcoming out of, of, you know,
the March 23 liquidity crisis.
Deposits are continuing to consolidateat those institutions deemed so big
that the government will have to stepin in the event that there is an, there
is a failure with those institutions.
And so I think what makes the America,what makes America so special is
(23:42):
that we have this really diverseset of financial institutions
that serve places like Evansville,Indiana or Minot, North Dakota, or.
You know, Ann Arbor, Michigan, youpick, pick your favorite spots.
Mm-hmm.
And, and the largest financialinstitution in our country are amazing.
They do some amazing things.
They do things that quite frankly, bankslike Old National probably could never do.
(24:02):
But we also do some pretty amazing thingstoo when we show up and we represent
and we take care of our communities.
And so I think we just really benefitwhen we have this really healthy,
diverse set of banks across our country.
And so to the extent that that liquiditykeeps getting pushed because of this
notion that in the event of, of stressfultimes, the government will step in and
(24:23):
help the large institutions and oldnational Bank benefit from that, we're
getting to be a larger institution.
Right.
So I don't want, I don't want to,you know, deny that we might also
benefit from that in the future.
Yeah.
But I do just think it's in thebest interest of our country.
It's in the best interest of ourability to grow and invest in places
just like Evansville, Indiana.
To have financial institutionswho want to do business here, and
(24:44):
you don't only have to go to thelargest cities to find capital.
Evan Sparks (24:49):
Thank you, Jim, for joining us on the podcast today.
This was a fantasticconversation for their listeners.
You can find a full profile of Jim out ofthe July August issue of the ABA Banking
Journal at a banking journal.aba.com.
Thanks so much for listening.
Thank you to Intrafi Banking with Interestpodcast for sponsoring this episode.
We will be back with you again very soon.
Popular Podcasts
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.