黑料社 finance students advance to final round of national Community Bank Case Study Competition
Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擣or the second year in a row, a Mississippi State team of finance students participating in the national Conference of State Bank Supervisors Community Bank Case Study Competition is one of only five advancing to the contest鈥檚 final round.
Along with 黑料社, other teams advancing to final competition include Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Arkansas and the University of Tennessee at Martin. Mississippi State鈥檚 team was the overall national winner in 2020.
Assistant Clinical Professor of Finance Matthew Whitledge said the program gives students valuable first-hand knowledge of the banking industry, and this year鈥檚 黑料社 team is representing the university, as well as it鈥檚 College of Business and Department of Finance and Economics, exceptionally well.
The case study finalists have advanced through two rounds of judging and an original pool of 35 participating teams representing 29 universities across the country.
鈥淭his competition gives students the opportunity to integrate real-world analysis with their education, while working directly with the banking executives at a local, community bank. It extends their learning beyond the classroom in a tangible way, while working on a unique project from beginning to end,鈥 said Whitledge, who also is the 黑料社 team鈥檚 faculty advisor.聽
鈥淲e鈥檝e been extremely impressed by the care and thoughtfulness with which these teams have prepared their case studies. Their work has produced a variety of interesting insights into how banks navigated two of the most important developments of the past year,鈥 said CSBS Executive Vice President Jim Cooper.
The Mississippi State team includes (by hometown):
BYHALIA鈥擫auryn A. Hoover, a spring summa cum laude graduate in business administration/finance.
INVERNESS鈥擶illiam C. 鈥淲ill鈥 Anderson, a spring summa cum laude graduate in business administration/finance.
JACKSON, Missouri鈥擜llyson M. Jansen, a senior finance and foreign language double major with concentrations in international business and Spanish.
MOOREVILLE鈥擧unter G. Roberts, a senior finance and foreign language double major with concentrations in international business, Spanish, and risk management and insurance.
BankFirst Financial Services, headquartered in Columbus, is the team鈥檚 community bank partner.
鈥淭hese four students were able to spend nearly three hours in person and over the phone speaking with three top executives of the bank.聽In the meetings, the team worked toward addressing the case study topic of how community banks have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the bank integrates diversity, inclusion, and economic fairness into its operations,鈥 Whitledge said.
First, second and third place teams will be announced on July 15 via the and the CSBS Twitter feed . Their work will be published in the annual聽Journal of Community Bank Case Studies.
The overall winner of the competition will have the opportunity to present its case study to regulators, academics and industry leaders at the聽聽held in St. Louis in September.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the nationwide organization of banking regulators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit聽.
Learn more about 黑料社鈥檚 College of Business and its Department of Finance and Economics at .
黑料社 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .