CSBS Announces 2025 Case Study Winners

On July 14, 2025, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced a student team from the University of Tennessee at Martin as the winner of the 2025 CSBS Community Bank Case Study Competition. Teams from the University of Arkansas and Illinois State University placed second and third, respectively. 

The annual competition is open to undergraduate students in all fields of study as an opportunity to gain valuable first-hand knowledge of the banking industry. This year, 35 teams representing 27 colleges and universities partnered with local community banks to explore the impact of interest rates and inflation on the business of banking with a focus on planning for the future through branch strategy, technology, and managing regulatory burden. 

The University of Tennessee at Martin team members are Aaron Bartholomew, Anna Batte, Makenzi Bouras, Blair James, and Hayden Weber. Mr. John Clark, Dr. Brittany Cole, and Dr. Nell Gullett served as their faculty advisors. Their bank partner was Carroll Bank and Trust of Huntingdon, Tenn.  The team will present their work at the 2025 Community Banking Research Conference and their paper will be published in the CSBS Journal of Community Bank Case Studies.

Learn more at www.csbs.org/bankcasestudy.