Events

Economic Outlook Conference 2023

Thursday, October 12, 2023 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Central Time (CST)

Corporate Central's Economic Outlook Conference will be held on Thursday, October 12 at The Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, WI. Attendees will learn valuable information about the current and upcoming economic environment from a diverse speaker lineup that will assist with your 2024 planning efforts. Corporate Central is pleased to offer eligible attendees the opportunity to earn CPE credits for this event.

Registration Fee
Early-bird registration fee of $249/attendee if registered by August 31
Regular registration fee of $299/attendee if registered by October 5
Registration closes October 5

Cancellation Policy
A registrant may cancel seven business days or more prior to an event for 100% refund. If a registrant cancels less than seven business days prior to the event, they will receive no refund. A substitute registrant is welcome to attend.

Conference Description
Corporate Central's Economic Outlook Conference will be held on Thursday, October 12 at The Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, WI. Attendees will learn valuable information about the current and upcoming economic environment from a diverse speaker lineup that will assist with your 2024 planning efforts. Corporate Central is pleased to offer eligible attendees the opportunity to earn CPE credits for this event.

After attending this conference, attendees will be able to:

Contemplate whether 2023 will end with a “soft landing” or in recession
Determine if 2024 will likely see an economic rebound and have more normal yield spreads
Understand how the economic environment is impacting credit unions
Think about new membership campaigns, savings ideas, culture builders, lending promotions, an other programs that help make credit unions successful

CPE Credits
In accordance with the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, CPE credits will be granted based on a 50-minute hour to registered attendees that attend the live conference. Recommended CPE credit to be awarded for program: 4.0 credits.

Agenda

Thursday, October 12

8:30 a.m. — Registration and continental breakfast

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. — Economic and Financial Market Outlook: 2023 – 2028
Presented by:
Clare Zempel, CFA, CBE
Economist, Investment Strategist, Consultant
Zempel Strategic

The issue in mid-2023 is whether the Federal Reserve’s sharp interest rate hikes will subdue inflation with or without a recession. Both the inflation rate and the economic expansion’s pace have clearly slowed. Some sectors -- housing and motor vehicles -- have suffered sharp declines, but total employment and Real GDP have continued to rise. Will 2023 end in a “soft landing” or recession? Will 2024 see an economic rebound and more normal yield spreads? Zempel will answer questions like these as he describes future economic and market risks and opportunities.

10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. — On the Brink?
Presented by:
Mike Schenk
Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer for Policy Analysis, Chief Economist
CUNA

Federal Reserve policies have put the economy on the brink of recession. Politics and the divisive political climate have assumed increasing importance. Demographic shifts – with potentially large impacts – have accelerated. De-globalization and military conflict dominate the international scene. Uncertainty, complexity, and volatility seem here to stay. Against this backdrop, the credit union operating environment is more challenging. Many institutions are reporting big declines in loan growth, eroding asset quality, and weaker earnings. Schenk will explore these and related themes and will discuss implications for credit unions hoping to reverse these trends.

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. — Lunch sponsored by SimpliCD

12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. — Outlook for Interest Rates, Inflation, and the Economy
Presented by:
Jim Bianco
President and Macro Strategist
Bianco Research, LLC

The last few years have seen unprecedented volatility in interest rates, with the Fed hiking over 500 basis points, inflation hitting a 40-year high, and the real economy dipping into negative growth (Q1 and Q2 2022). Add to this de-globalization, remote work, and a struggling Chinese economy, and the outlook for what comes next is murky, to say the least. Looking ahead requires a challenge to the traditional relationships and models that worked pre-pandemic in this post-pandemic world.

1:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. — 25 Ideas That Are Working in Credit Unions
Presented by:
Frank J. Diekmann
Cooperator-in-Chief, Co-founder
CUToday.info

Regardless of asset size, successful credit unions share the common traits of imagination and innovation. Budget is not the most important factor. In this session, Diekmann will highlight 25 successful credit union programs that have proven to be effective. He will feature a new idea every several minutes touching on topics such as: lending promotions, new membership campaigns, savings ideas, culture builders, onboarding initiatives., and more. All kinds of different challenges that have been met with one thing in common: a willingness to take chances, have fun, and do things differently.

3:00 p.m. — Dismissal

Event Venue and Overnight Accommodations

Corporate Central has reserved a block of rooms for attendees. Please use the button below when booking your accommodations. Reservation cutoff Monday, September 11, 2023.

The Ingleside Hotel
Oakton Ballroom
2810 Golf Road
Pewaukee, WI 53072
(800) 247-6640

Additional Information

Prerequisites:

No prerequisites are required for this conference

Who should attend:

President/CEOs
CFOs
COOs
C-Level Executives or any other positions involved with budgeting/planning

Advanced Preparation:

No advanced preparation is required

Delivery Method:

Group Live

Program Level:

Basic

Field of Study:

Economics

For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaint and refund, please contact Marketing at marketing@corpcu.com.

Presenters

Clare Zempel, CFA, CBE
Economist, Investment Strategist, Consultant
Zempel Strategic

Clare Zempel honed his unique approach to analyzing complex economic and financial issues as an economist and investment strategist for major national firms. Prior to founding Zempel Strategic, Zempel served as director of investment policy, chief investment strategist and chief economist for Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, and as chief economist for the First Wisconsin Corporation, now U.S. Bank.

Zempel continues to use that same exceptional mix of skill and insight to consult with financial institutions, corporations, and private investors. He combines innovative research and seasoned common sense into advice and recommendations his clients use to shape and implement policies. Zempel looks past headline concerns to the facts and puts consensus views to the test. He asks and answers the questions that matter most for success in turbulent times.

Clare Zempel has addressed numerous conferences and seminars in the United States and Canada. He has appeared on CNBC and NPR. The New York Times Magazine counts Zempel among leading business and academic economists, and Business Week lists him among the top investment strategists in the country. The Executive Education Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison calls him a “dynamic expert on investments” and “the Midwest’s most sought-after communicator of savvy, practical investment advice.”

Zempel holds degrees from the University of Chicago. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Business Economist (CBE). His interests include hiking, trumpet playing, and improvisational comedy.

Mike Schenk
Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer for Policy Analysis, Chief Economist
CUNA

Mike Schenk is Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer for Policy Analysis and Chief Economist for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and conducts economic research and supports CUNA’s public relations and advocacy efforts. His analyses regularly appear in trade publications such as Credit Union Magazine. He also is a frequent contributor to the financial media.

Schenk has over 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. In 1992 he joined CUNA – the largest and most influential national trade association advocating for America's credit unions. There are over 5,000 credit unions nationwide, with a total of more than 135 million memberships and over $2.2 trillion in assets.

Schenk serves on the board of the Filene Research Institute, an independent, non-profit consumer and cooperative finance think tank. He also serves on the board of Summit Credit Union in Madison, Wisconsin – a $6.5 billion financial cooperative with over 245,000 members. In his nearly 20 years on the Summit board, Schenk has served as board chair and has chaired the credit union’s Asset-Liability Management and Risk Management/Internal Audit Committees.

Jim Bianco
President and Macro Strategist
Bianco Reasearch, LLC

Jim Bianco is President and Macro Strategist at Bianco Research, LLC. Since 1990, Bianco’s commentaries have offered a unique perspective on the global economy and financial markets. Unencumbered by the biases of traditional Wall Street research, Bianco has built a decades long reputation for objective, incisive commentary that challenges consensus thinking. In nearly 20 years at Bianco Research, Bianco’s wide-ranging commentaries have addressed monetary policy, the intersection of markets and politics, the role of government in the economy, fund flows, and positioning in financial markets.

Bianco appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business, and is often featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Grants Interest Rate Observer, and MarketWatch. Prior to joining Arbor and Bianco Research, Bianco was a Market Strategist in equity and fixed income research at UBS Securities and Equity Technical Analyst at First Boston and Shearson Lehman Brothers. He is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) and a member of the Market Technicians Association (MTA). Bianco has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Marquette University (1984) and an MBA from Fordham University.

Frank J. Diekmann
Cooperator-in-Chief, Co-founder
CUToday.info

Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator-in-Chief and co-founder of CUToday.info, the nation’s #1 digital news and collaboration platform that provides more organic reporting, opinion, analysis, video and other resources to credit unions than any other provider. Diekmann has an extensive background in credit union industry reporting and editing. Prior to founding CUToday.info, Diekmann founded Credit Union Journal, and prior to that cofounded Credit Union Times. Before covering credit unions, Diekmann covered the nation’s banking industry. He began his editorial career working as a sports reporter, before making the natural segue into credit unions.

Diekmann is a frequent speaker, having addressed credit union meetings from Sydney to Prague and all of the U.S., and also regularly serves as a judge in various organizations’ marketing competitions. He is the only journalist to ever graduate from the National Credit Union Foundation’s Development Education program and is now certified as an International Credit Union Development Educator. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Diekmann is also the author of five books: Cathode Ray’s; The Bawl Game; The Flip Flop; The Last Lyric and 501 Name Tags: How Everything You Need to Know About Business Can be Learned at a Conference & Forgotten in the Trade Show.