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First-place Ï㽶ֱ²¥team in nationwide banking case study competition presents during virtual conference this week

First-place Ï㽶ֱ²¥team in nationwide banking case study competition presents during virtual conference this week

Contact: Allison Matthews

Ï㽶ֱ²¥team members pictured with their faculty advisor and Citizens National Bank partners in the spring
Ï㽶ֱ²¥team members pictured with their faculty advisor and Citizens National Bank partners in the spring, include, from left, Ï㽶ֱ²¥Assistant Clinical Professor of Finance Matthew Whitledge, advisor; Jake Mlsna of Starkville; Liam Benson of Auburn, Maine; Archie McDonnell, Citizens National Bank Chief Executive Officer; Kirk Wright of Crystal Springs; Juan Benavides of Greenville; Jeremy Stringer, Citizens National Bank Chief Financial Officer; and Byron McClendon of Brandon. (Photo submitted)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State business students who placed first in the national Conference of State Bank Supervisors 2020 Community Bank Case Study Competition this summer are presenting their successful project virtually this week as part of their honors.

The winning team members will speak at 2:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, Thursday [Oct. 1], during the . A complete agenda for the WebEx conference is available at .

The Ï㽶ֱ²¥team includes spring finance graduates Juan Benavides of Greenville; Liam Benson of Auburn, Maine; Byron McClendon of Brandon; Jake Mlsna of Starkville; and senior finance major Kirk Wright of Crystal Springs. Their faculty advisor is Ï㽶ֱ²¥Assistant Clinical Professor of Finance Matthew Whitledge.

For the case study competition, Mississippi State, along with 37 teams from 33 colleges and universities in 18 states, studied the impact of the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering (BSA-AML) requirements of community banks. Student teams partnered with a local community bank to examine challenges, associated time and costs and identify potential regulatory reforms. Citizens National Bank, based in Meridian, was the Ï㽶ֱ²¥team’s community bank partner. 

Each student member and faculty advisor of the Ï㽶ֱ²¥Team is receiving a $1,000 scholarship. Their work also will be published in the annual CSBS Journal of Community Bank Case Studies. 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 .

Ï㽶ֱ²¥is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at .