SLU finance team places among the top in national competition

Thursday, July 27, 2017 Finance Team
by: Rene Abadie

YOU CAN BANK ON IT – Members of Southeastern Louisiana University’s student finance team competed in the prestigious national competition sponsored by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and earned a top 10 finish. Pictured are, front row, from left, students Akil Brown, Sawyer Bensen, James Anstiss and Paul Obermann; back row, Southeastern Professor of Finance and team adviser Danielle Lewis and Florida Parishes Bank Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Fugarino.


     HAMMOND – Continuing a trend of national recognition for its finance program, a team of four Southeastern Louisiana University students placed in the top 10 in the Conference of State Bank Supervisors competition of real-world banking studies.
     Last year’s Southeastern team earned first-place honors at the competition, which is conducted by the nationwide organization of banking regulators from all states and U.S. territories.
     “We knew it would be difficult to repeat as national champions in the competition, especially since many more schools participated,” said Danielle Lewis, Southeastern professor of finance and faculty adviser for the team. “I am extremely proud of their top 10 finish.”
     This year, 33 teams from various universities participated in the competition with the top 10 teams presented at the 2017 CSBS State-Federal Supervisory Forum held recently in New Orleans.
     Members of the team included James Anstiss of Queenstown, New Zealand; Sawyer Benson and Akil Brown of Mandeville; and Paul Obermann of Westhausen, Germany.
     Lewis said the team members worked closely with representatives of Florida Parishes Bank to complete an exhaustive report analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the bank’s management and board succession plans. The team had to prepare and present a written report based on data and information provided by the bank, as well as a 10-minute video summarizing the study.
     Lewis described the exercise as an excellent learning experience for the students with real-world applications. The work was well beyond something most students would experience in a typical classroom setting, she added.
     She expressed her thanks to Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Fugarino and his staff at Florida Parishes Bank, who were willing to provide the necessary information to develop the report.
     “I am truly proud of our team’s efforts; the competition was very stiff this year but our team put in the study, time and effort to develop a first class report that caught the attention of the participants,” said Lewis. “We will be back again next year with a new team and continued dedication to reaching the top level.”




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