Kish Bank CEO Brings Central PA Perspective to Federal Reserve Conference 

October 10, 2025

PRESS RELEASE

STATE COLLEGE, PA – From State College to Washington, D.C., Greg Hayes carried Central Pennsylvania’s community banking voice into the heart of national policy discussions. 

The Federal Reserve’s Community Bank Conference, held Thursday, October 9 featured a lineup more commonly seen on financial news networks than at community bank events. Speakers included Michelle Bowman, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision; Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary; Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood; Stephen Schwarzman, CEO & Founder, Blackstone; and Charles Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos. CNBC’s Jim Cramer served as Moderator. 

Hayes, President and CEO of Kish Bank and a Central PA business leader, was one of a small number of community bankers invited to participate. On stage, he pressed for a more equitable regulatory environment.  “If you’re only regulating banks, and not the activities of all market participants, you’re going to push more business out of the community bank sector,” Hayes said. 

Vice Chair Bowman echoed that concern in her remarks, noting, “Community banks are the backbone of local economies,” and emphasizing the Fed’s intent to better tailor regulation to the size and complexity of institutions. 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent challenged community banks to seize the moment, saying, “Go on the offense. Retake market share. Don’t cede ground to fintechs and megabanks.” 

Hayes’ role is distinctive as the only community bank CEO with offices in Centre County. He is active in the Center for Business and Industry in Centre County (CBICC), on the Centre County Economic Development Council, and has been nominated for CBICC’s “Business Leader of the Year” this year. 

His participation underscored the ability of local leaders to shape national conversations—and bring national insights back to their communities. 

“Central Pennsylvania businesses deserve to have their voice represented in Washington,” Hayes said. “This is about ensuring community banks can keep doing what we do best—serving real people, in real communities.” 

Hayes’ comments as part of the panel discussion “Tailoring Capital and Liquidity Standards for Community Banks” and the entire Community Bank Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve on Thursday, October 9, 2025 can be viewed HERE on the Federal Reserve’s YouTube channel.  

About Kish Bank

Kish Bank is a $1.8 billion regional community bank that operates 19 locations, serving Centre, Mifflin, Huntingdon, Blair, and Juniata counties in Pennsylvania, as well as northeastern Ohio. Other business units of Kish Bank include Kish Insurance, Kish Financial Solutions, Kish Benefits Consulting, and Kish Travel. Kish Bank is a subsidiary of Kish Bancorp, Inc., trading under the OTCQX stock ticker symbol of KISB. Kish Bank is an Equal Opportunity Lender and Member FDIC. For more information, please visit MyKish.com. 

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