LAS VEGAS -- Texas bankers and credit union executives have been rubbing shoulders and coursing the aisles of the annual TechMecca Conference for six years now but next week the groups will do it again with two new wrinkles.

First, the Nov 28-30 conference sponsored by the Texas Credit Union League and the Independent Bankers Association of Texas will meet here for the first time and second, SWACHA, the Dallas-based automated payments network, is helping co-sponsor the event at the Red Rock Casino and Resort.

Officials of both the league and the IBAT stress there has never been a problem with the two competing industries getting along because they share much in common dealing with identical vendors.

"This is a good example of cross pollinization," declared Rick Grady, vice president of marketing at the Texas League. Echoing a similar view, Jane Holstien, senior vice president of the 570-member IBAT, said "we recognize there are economies of scale and costs saved by working together and sharing."

Past TechMecca conclaves, devoted to showcasing the latest in both software and hardware, have been held in Dallas, Austin, New Orleans and other Texas cities but this year "we decided to try something new," said Jane Holstien, senior vice president of IBAT.

This year's conference is expected to draw about 300, down slightly from last year due in large part to a bevy of Vegas financial tech conferences in November. That included the BAI Retail Delivery Conference and another sponsored by America's Community Bankers, all preceding TechMecca.

The conference also comes after Thanksgiving with travelers weary from "going to Grandma's," said Grady.

Small banks and CUs often share similar platform problems and so it was decided to avoid the repetition and hold one conference, said officials of the trade group.

Shunning any part of TechMecca has been the much larger Texas Bankers Association representing the biggest banks in the state which, said Holstien, "expressed concern and were more adamant" against joint sponsorship of a trade show with CUs.

Twenty percent of the attendees are expected to be CU executives in line with past conferences, said Grady.

--jrubenscut@aol.com

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Bankers, CU Executives Mingle for Vegas Tech Conference

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