The Community Bank Case Study Competition, facilitated by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), is a nationwide academic competition for undergraduate students. The 2020 Case Study Competition focused on the impact of the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering requirements on community banks. Ted Heldring, professor in the Department of Finance, brought together four motivated DePaul finance students interested in this topic to work together on an analysis of the partnering community bank, Wintrust Financial Corporation. Anastasiya Kadukov, Jack Oldfield, Anastasia Vassiliev and Nikita Roshka were responsible for submitting a paper that thoroughly details the case study findings, and a complementing video highlighting the case study paper. The students examined compliance challenges, associated time and costs, and identified potential regulatory reforms. They also got the chance to interview members of the partner community bank, Wintrust Corporation, at the Rosemont location.
Wintrust Financial Corporation is a financial holding company based in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. The bank prides itself as a community bank that offers services in wealth management, specialty finance, and community banking. The team found that the bank’s strong financial position is supported by a sophisticated BSA/AML department. BSA/AML compliance functions are structured to meet the Bank Secrecy Act and the Anti- Money Laundering Act by having structured internal controls, independent testing, designated BSA officers, effective training, and insightful customer due diligence. The team of DePaul finance students got the opportunity to speak to three key individuals within the BSA/AML department at the Rosemont, Illinois location. Jack Oskvarek is the Senior Vice President BSA Executive Director for Wintrust Financial Corporation. His experience includes implementing innovative management dashboard reporting, establishing detailed EDD programs (particularly for IPB), and improving investigatory processes along with refining transaction monitoring systems. The other Wintrust executives that participated in the project were Mary Koehler, Vice President of BSA/AML, and Amber Schoenauer, Assistant Vice President and BSA Officer at Wintrust Financial Corporation.
“While the virus threw a curve ball at our plans, we were able to assemble a team of strong and motivated students to interact with Wintrust executives to learn more about money laundering and regulatory compliance. The Wintrust team enjoyed the interaction, and everyone gained insights into how banks operate. We submitted a strong paper to the committee and hope to win the competition,” says Professor Ted Heldring. The COVID situation made this experience a little more challenging for the students since the group was made up of international students who had to return to their respective countries. They proceeded to work on the case study by using Zoom to stay connected and finish an optional video that represented their work.
The diverse students in this group brought a unique perspective and voice into the case study. Jack Oldfield is a senior majoring in Finance with a minor in Accounting, originally from England, enjoyed this project because it gave him the opportunity to learn and network with the associates at Wintrust who were in charge of the AML operations for the firm. “Not only was it extremely insightful to learn how the bank conducts it AML procedures, but conducting a financial analysis of Wintrust allowed me to enhance my ability to determine the financial strength of a bank, which is something that will be very helpful going forward in my career.” Anastasia Vassiliev is a junior honor finance student and noted, “it was a great experience being able to interview BSA/AML management at the Wintrust Corporate Headquarters. Most notably, it was interesting to see how the banking industry uses evolving technology to comply with regulations and address every day challenges.” Finance student and senior at DePaul, Nikita Roshka, originally from Russia, believed that this experience allowed him to apply classroom theory in a real-world situation. He also shared that having a mentor was equally important, and benefited from Professor Heldring providing the opportunity to ask questions and draw comparisons to abstract ideas.
By the end of the experience, the partnerships formed were strengthened and students felt unanimously that they were fortunate to have the support that they did throughout the case study. Anastasiya Kadukov, a junior majoring in Finance with a minor in Accounting and Music business shared that she felt this was a unique experience that allowed students to work with a talented team and have a great mentor. “Being able to dive deep into the significance of BSA/AML in financial services and having the opportunity to connect with Wintrust management, work closely with my team members and Professor Heldring, and create a video that showcased everything we’ve learned was all a very rewarding experience.”
The student team highly recommends other finance students take advantage of outside curriculum opportunities because it allows for professional and individual growth, as well as a platform to apply skills outside of the classroom. Wintrust has been a great partner and the team is excited about moving forward, as they just recently found out they are advancing to round two as one of the top 20 participants. They are eager for the results of this competition which will be revealed early this summer.
By Anastasiya Kadukov