Have You Been to the Super Bowl of Banking?

In my career, I’ve gone to hundreds of financial industry events, from association annual conventions, media sponsored events, privately-owned events, user meetings, and more. Depending on who is hosting the event, it tells you a lot about who’s going to be at these events and the content attendees will enjoy. There’s no better banking event of the year than Bank Director’s Acquire or be Acquired (AOBA) conference held earlier this month to meet the greatest number of high-level banking executives.

This event had more than 2,000 attendees, the bulk were financial institution leaders and directors. There were more than 400 bank CEOs from 550 banks at this one event. I don’t think there is any other event of the year that has that many bank CEOs in one place at one time.

The conference, widely considered the banking industry's premier growth and strategy event, took place from February 1 to February 3, 2026, at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. AOBA featured 99 presentations and breakout sessions with at least 64 exhibitors showcasing financial technology and services.

A very popular keynote speaker is Tom Michaud, CEO of KBW, who spoke about “The State of Banking 2026.” Tom was very upbeat about our industry this year and made some great points about bank valuations, possible business combinations, and technology spending by financial institutions. There were so many great sessions it’s difficult to pick a favorite. Greg Adelson, President & CEO of Jack Henry was interviewed by Emily McCormick, Vice President, Editorial & Research, Bank Director regarding the results of the annual technology survey. Ever focused on serving banks, Adelson shared, “We are working to close the gap to enable banks to capture and retain both the personal and business needs of small business owners.”

It was great to see a member of WMA’s board of directors, Stan Viner lead many of the international sessions.

William Mills Agency and our associates will participate in a number of events this year, and I’m pleased to report the agency has updated our 2026 Financial Trade Show Directory. Every event has a unique value to the organizations that participate and industry events create rare opportunities to build new relationships in-person. I’m thankful for the hard work that the Bank Director team does putting on this “Super Bowl of Banking” each year and look forward to 2027 AOBA.