Rob Markey of Blue Ridge Bank discusses their mission to enhance internet banking services while remaining accessible on a personal basis to serve their clients.

With US Bank's recent merger with Firstar, Sullivan finds it particularly critical that there be an emphasis on consistent quality efforts and relationship building throughout the franchise "so customers know who we are and what we represent." Sullivan has also seen an increase in clients, in market share and wealth management because of mounting distrust of national institutions.

"Eighteen months ago at Ingram's Banking & Finance Industry assembly," said Kemper ruefully upon hearing these not so futuristic projections, "we were a lot more focused on technology." But at this meeting, technology still had its champions. Bank of Blue Valley's Gregg Motley spoke most compellingly of the Internet. He admitted that he and his colleagues got involved as a "defensive strategy--you have to have it." But then two years ago they launched an Internet mortgage venture that has proved highly successful in creating a new point of sale, one that requires less in sales commission and overhead. The question now for Motley is "How do we use that point of sale to sell product?"

Markey likewise acknowledged the Internet has been a largely "defensive tool" for his bank, though he expects that to change down the road. If done right, he believes, Web access enhances relationships, but he argued still that "in the community banking arena there is no substitute for being out in the street."

Other technologies bandied about were the smart card, one in which information is embedded in the card itself, and the next gener- ation of ATMs with imaging and speech capabilities.

Local economy

Gregg Motley reports of significant growth in an internet mortgage venture that Bank of Blue Valley pursued two years ago and projects ambitious growth going forward.

When asked about the state of the local economy, Ricketts, speaking for everyone, replied, "We see what our customers tell us." He contended that in the last 18 months, "things were getting tight in certain segments," but that in the last three to four months, "there has been a sense of some loosening or growth potential."

"Local demand is still soft," observed Motley. "People are being more calculating." He contended that he has not seen any real growth in commercial construction nor any slowdown in residential. Those sectors most closely tied to the national economy, he noted, are suffering more.

Brown spoke to the unevenness of the local construction industry, with some companies having their "biggest backlog ever" and others having none. Like Motley, he is watching residential building closely but is "not seeing anything out of line there yet." He argued there might not be a housing problem because in the "flight from markets," people retreated "to something they can feel, touch and live in."

With guarded optimism, Bank of America's Nat Hyde noted that "the small business segment seems to be coming back faster than we anticipated."

Kemper did not see any particular problem in his company's loan portfolio except perhaps in sectors where there have been cuts in government spending. That's especially notable in state and local spending as it relates to capital projects, most visibly those of the Missouri Department of Transportation. Kemper also noticed "some stresses on the consumer side" as well.

Kemper said part of the area's strength is it is not a "headquarters town." St. Louis, he added, is no longer the headquarters town it once was, and this serves it well in times of economic uncertainty.

"Our asset quality has not suffered like one might assume," noted Motley. In fact, he believes it has actually improved. Said Rob Givens, summarizing perhaps the essence of KC banking and sometimes its great virtue, "The conservative bias in the Midwest does not let us get in so deep."