Talent Portfolio | September 2026
By Amber Box
Client Executive | Midwest Markets
Who’s Next? Why Succession Planning Matters on Both Sides of the Desk
Industry Insight
September always feels like a bit of a reset. Summer is winding down, vacations are wrapping up, and conversations start shifting toward budgets, goals, and what next year might look like.
There is one question I don’t think we ask early enough in the banking industry, but one we ask a lot in recruiting: Who’s next?
Inside the Bank
For banks, succession planning is often associated with the CEO or executive team, but it certainly does not stop there. Who is your next market president? Commercial banking leader? Senior credit officer? And just as importantly, are you giving those people the experience and visibility they need to actually be ready when the opportunity comes?
If you’re waiting until someone retires or leaves, that isn’t succession planning. And while I am here to help on both sides of the desk, recruiting with an eye on the future will almost always be the better play.
Across the Desk
But there is another side to this conversation that I think is equally important. Banks are asking these questions internally, and, at the same time, many of their business-owner clients are facing the exact same challenge.
Who takes over when the owner retires? Is there a next generation ready to lead? Will the business be sold? What happens to employees, customers, and the community if there isn’t a plan?
For a commercial banker, understanding a client’s succession plan means knowing when they plan to retire, sure. But it also means knowing that a leadership transition can change everything from ownership and guarantees to credit needs, deposits, treasury relationships, and the long-term direction of the business. In other words, it’s a both-sides-of-the-desk issue.
Succession planning is never just about preparing for someone to leave. It’s about making sure what’s been built can continue after they do.
Industry News
Indiana Takes on Business Succession
This summer, Indiana launched the State of Owner Readiness Survey as part of its new Keep IN Initiative. The goal is to better understand how prepared privately held businesses are for ownership transitions and help prevent otherwise healthy businesses from closing because there isn’t a succession plan.
The initiative is particularly relevant for community banks. Business transitions don’t just affect owners. They can affect jobs, local economies, lending relationships, deposits, and the communities those businesses serve.
Read more:
Community Banks Are Thinking About Their Own Bench
The succession challenge isn’t limited to bank customers. In the 2025 CSBS Annual Survey of Community Banks, 58.4% of respondents rated leadership succession as either very or extremely important as an internal risk.
And while succession may start with identifying future leaders, preparing them is just as important. Giving potential successors exposure to different areas of the bank, greater responsibility, and opportunities to build relationships can make the eventual transition much smoother.
Read more:
Banking By the Numbers
20.6%
of community banks surveyed by ICBA/Crowe said they felt prepared for CEO and C-suite succession. Another
58.4%
of community bankers surveyed by CSBS rated leadership succession as a very or extremely important internal risk.
Two Sides of the Same Conversation
Who are we developing to lead next?
What happens to our client’s business when ownership changes?
Looking Ahead
Succession is easy to put off because it rarely feels urgent until suddenly it is.
Whether you’re thinking about the future leadership of your bank or sitting across from a business owner who hasn’t quite figured out what’s next, starting the conversation early creates options rather than panic.
For banks, this means identifying and developing future leaders before there is a vacancy to fill. For commercial bankers, it means understanding where clients want their businesses to be five or ten years from now, not just where they are today.
Because ultimately, succession planning isn’t really about an ending. It’s about making sure there is a strong next chapter.
Cheers to a successful start to fall and building strong teams, businesses, and communities for what’s next!