Chesapeake Financial Shares Inc., holding company of Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Wealth Management, recently held their 2018 annual shareholders meeting at Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury in Irvington. The company reported record earnings for 2018, a 21% increase over 2017.
Along with the numbers, Jeff Szyperski, chairman, president and chief executive officer, presented banking industry trends, insights and regulatory matters.
“We like to share with our shareholders what is happening in the industry so they have a good perspective on our performance and path going forward,” said Szyperski. “A lot is happening in banking; merger and acquisition activity, new technology and changing consumer behavior. It’s important for our shareholders to know this, how we are approaching them and how we are preparing ourselves for the future.
Since Szyperski holds the position of chairman of the American Bankers Association for the 2018-2019 term, he relayed some of the trends facing banking. He informed those in attendance regarding asset amounts held by the large banks versus the smaller banks and why it is important to ensure the survival of community banking. He spoke about how much Chesapeake gives to its local communities in both monetary contributions and employee volunteerism. And, he ended with a sneak peek into Chesapeake’s digital strategy and why it’s important for the organization to have a digital strategy to stay relevant and thrive for the next 119 years.
All of this concluded with a request that shareholders tell their friends about CPKF, Chesapeake’s stock ticker. Local ownership helps Chesapeake serve and give back to their communities, he said.
The meeting concluded with a reception for shareholders and company employees.