Five Student Teams Move to CSBS Community Bank Case Study Competition Finals

Washington, D.C. - Five student teams have secured their spots in the finals of the 2026 CSBS Community Bank Case Study Competition, advancing from a second round of 15 teams.

The five teams are:

• Illinois State University
• Iowa State University
• Tennessee Technological University
• University of Northern Iowa
• University of Texas at El Paso

Thirty-five student teams representing 27 colleges and universities entered this year's competition, which invites undergraduate students from across the country in all fields of study as an opportunity to gain firsthand experience in the community banking industry. The teams partnered with local community banks to examine their approach to interest rate risk, lending decisions, and response to inflation since 2020. Teams also analyzed how banks manage and maintain adequate capital through various strategies.

The winning teams and CSBS Emerging Scholars will be announced on May 13 at the State-Federal Supervisory Forum in Seattle at 5 p.m. EDT. The announcement will be livestreamed on YouTube, and a recording will be available on the same YouTube page following the event.

In addition to being invited to present at the annual Community Banking Research Conference, each student member and faculty advisor of the first-place winning team will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Their work will be published in the annual CSBS Journal of Community Bank Studies. Teams that place second and third will also receive scholarships and have their work published in the journal.

Learn more at https://www.csbs.org/bankcasestudy.

Contact: Susanna Barnett, 202-407-7156, [email protected]

X: @CSBSNews

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the national organization of financial regulators from all 50 states, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. State regulators supervise roughly three-quarters of all U.S. banks and a variety of non-depository financial services. CSBS, on behalf of state regulators, also operates the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System to license and register non-depository financial service providers in the mortgage, money services businesses, consumer finance, and debt industries.