Ep 72 - The Latest Essentials In Bank Marketing Compliance with Memrie Fortenberry
Release Date: 11/11/2024
Ep 104 - Candie Simmons - Passion, Purpose & Communication in Community Banking
Bank Marketing Show
Chris and Dan sit down with Candie Simmons, founder of CL Simmons Consulting, to talk about the people problems that slow banks down: communication breakdowns, the gap between being a great producer and being a great manager, and why marketing and compliance don't have to be at each other's throats. Candie spent 16 years in banking (including leading marketing for a top 50 institution), now runs her own consultancy, and sits on the board of a community bank in Mississippi. She's seen these issues from every angle. What we cover: - The number one problem banks call her about (hint:...
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Ep 103 - Building the Next Generation of Community Banks with Rebeca Romero Rainey - CEO of ICBA
Bank Marketing Show
When it comes to advocating for the future of community banking, few voices carry more weight than Rebeca Romero Rainey. This week we had the privilege of sitting down with Rebeca, the President & CEO of the ICBA, for a candid and thoughtful conversation on where the industry is heading. Top of mind for us all is how community banks can stay strong amid competition from fintechs and non-bank players. Rebeca's vision is that the path forward isn’t about becoming someone else, but about owning what makes community banking unique. Yep, Dan & I loved hearing her sing our song about...
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Ep 102 - IT for Today's Community Banks - Scott Stevens
Bank Marketing Show
Cybersecurity, AI, and IT modernization aren’t just “IT problems” anymore — they directly impact how banks market, grow, and protect their brands. In this episode of The Bank Marketing Show, Chris and Dan sit down with Scott Stevens, Chief Information Security Officer at Integrity Technology Solutions, to break down what community should actually be thinking about when it comes to cloud infrastructure, AI usage, and cybersecurity. What We Cover Why “modernizing IT” doesn’t always mean spending more — and often means simplifying How moving files to SharePoint and...
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Ep 101 - Emily Schwartz - From Content to Education: Building Trust Through Financial Wellness
Bank Marketing Show
Community Banks produce a lot of “educational” content, but a lot of it is thinly disguised sales material, or sounds the same as 1,000 other “how to buy your first home” blogs. In this episode, we sit down with Emily Schwartz, Director of Financial Education at MidFirst Bank, about how her team helps build real trust in her bank, by focusing on education first. If you are tired of just checking the boxes with your content, and trying to avoid “AI slop” (as you should be!), this episode is a great way to reframe how you approach financial education – no matter the size of your...
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Ep 100 - 100th - Chris & Dan in the Hot Seat
Bank Marketing Show
100 episodes. Four seasons. Many dozens of conversations with bank leaders and innovators – and we’re just getting started! In this milestone episode, Chris and Dan look back at what they’ve learned from these conversations, and where they think community bank marketing is headed next. They also turn the cameras on themselves – and put each other in the hot seat with surprise questions that dig into strategy, personal best practices, and how to navigate what’s coming in 2025 and beyond. In this episode: The biggest shifts in bank marketing since the show...
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Ep 99 - The Future of AI Agents - How Community Banks Win SMB Relationships - with Jared Shulman and Jerry Shu
Bank Marketing Show
AI Agents are quickly becoming the biggest competitive edge for community banks to win and serve small business customers. Chris and Dan sat down with the co-founders of Daylit, Jared Shulman (CEO) and Jerry Shu (CTO), to break down what AI agents actually are, how they work, and why banks should be thinking about building an AI Agent portfolio to stand out in the highly competitive SMB market. Daylit (formerly Lendica) is the leading AI Agent for accounts receivable for SMBs, and they share deep insight into how businesses think, how they adopt new tools, and what they will expect from...
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Ep 98 - Randy Dorn - Lessons from a Rebrand
Bank Marketing Show
What happens when a 120-year-old community bank decides to take a bold leap forward? Randy Dorn, President of My Kind of Bank (formerly First National Bank of Henning), joins Chris and Dan to share the story behind their rebrand — from internal debates to a powerful cultural transformation that united staff and energized customers. Randy reveals how a name change became more than a marketing move — it became a statement of purpose. This episode dives deep into how community banks can modernize without losing their soul, and how to turn a rebrand into a growth engine that drives...
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Ep 97 - Charles LeFevre - AI, Compliance, and the Marketer’s Dilemma
Bank Marketing Show
Compliance and marketing don’t have to be enemies, especially in the age of AI. In this episode, Charles LeFevre, Director of Compliance Operations at Kadince (and self-proclaimed “Taylor Swift of Compliance”), joins us to break down how these two sides can work together to move faster, stay compliant, and even have a little fun doing it. You’ll hear how AI is reshaping the marketer–compliance relationship, and where there are opportunities for smarter collaboration, fewer bottlenecks, and better outcomes for everyone. In this episode: Why “best practices” can...
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Ep 96 - Crucial Considerations for your 2026 Marketing Strategy
Bank Marketing Show
If your 2026 plan looks like 2025's...you may not be adapting to all the technology- and user behavior-driven changes that have happened this year. In this episode, Chris and Dan chat about all these changes, and lay out a simple checklist to use as your 2026 strategy comes together - including adjusting budgets, getting found with GEO and SEO, and speaking directly to customer problems. Key topics: - Why you should audit your digital visibility as the first input to your strategic plan - How allocating budget should be different than last year - Building initiatives around specific customer...
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Ep 95 - AI Search - How to Stay Ahead of the Curve
Bank Marketing Show
Is SEO really dead—or is AI search just the new shiny object? In this episode, Chris and Dan break down the buzz around Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and what it actually means for community banks. (spoiler: SEO isn’t going anywhere, but banks that act now have a huge opportunity to get ahead while everyone else is still watching from the sidelines) What we cover in this episode: Why “SEO is dead” headlines are misleading—and what’s really happening How SEO and GEO overlap and where they differ Why customer reviews and...
info_outlineFinding the right balance between marketing and compliance is essential for community banks. The first step is ensuring that marketers and compliance officers build a trusting relationship. Compliance should always be involved in marketing decisions to prevent any issues. Community banks need to make sure their marketing messages are clear and easy for the average customer to understand, especially as regulations like the new FDIC are becoming stricter.
In this episode, Chris Bates, Dan Novalis, and Memrie Fortenberry discuss how community banks must ensure their third-party vendors are properly managed. Even if a third party handles your marketing or creates your ads, the bank is ultimately responsible for ensuring everything complies with regulations. Banks must carefully monitor their advertising to avoid issues like redlining or unfair practices, which have been the focus of recent DOJ actions.
It’s important to review all marketing materials regularly to ensure they reach the right audience and are not misleading. As technology and customer expectations evolve, staying on top of compliance and regulation changes is critical to maintaining trust and success in the community banking space.
Topics Include:
- Why compliance should always be involved in your marketing strategy
- Why your marketing needs to be easy for the average customer to understand
- What regulations community banks are currently focused on
- The new FDIC compliance rules that are clear, conspicuous, and clear
- What the recurring regulation problems are
- What you need to know about third-party vendor management
- What the future of compliance and regulations looks like
Memrie Fortenberry is the special counsel for the Banking & Financial Services Industry Team and a member of the Corporate Practice Group. She advises community banks and other financial institutions on compliance and regulatory matters. Memrie is an experienced lawyer focused on bank regulatory and compliance matters. She regularly advises clients on federal and state financial services regulations and laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act, fair lending, and other consumer protection regulations.
Memrie is a certified community bank compliance officer representing a broad range of banks, lenders, and other financial institutions with significant experience serving as outside counsel for community banks. Memrie is also a presenter with the Bankers Compliance Task Force.
While in law school, Memrie served an externship for Judge Neil P. Olack of the US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Mississippi. Before entering law school, she completed the management development associate program at Trustmark Bank and went on to work as a corporate services officer.
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