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Ready to Run: After a lag, prepayments are primed to take off.
Ready to Run: After a lag, prepayments are primed to take off. If you are inclined to read bond analysts’ research reports, eventually you’ll chance upon some commentary that addresses the...
Why Succession Planning is Key to Bank Independence
Why Succession Planning is Key to Bank Independence Independence is at the heart of many community banks’ ethos, but how do community bankers embed this core value into their strategic planning?...
2008 vs. 2020: A Financial Crisis Comparison
2008 vs. 2020: A Financial Crisis Comparison How does the financial crisis of 2008 compare with the pandemic-driven economic crisis of today? Though both significantly impacted our economy, there...
Kickoff! A Football Fan’s Guide to Portfolio Management
Kickoff! A Football Fan’s Guide to Portfolio Management As the calendar turns to September, millions of Americans gear up for their favorite sport of football. Of course, with this being a year...
CDFI Program Offers Help to Small Businesses in Underserved Communities
CDFI Program Offers Help to Small Businesses in Underserved Communities On Sept. 3, a complimentary presentation hosted by CDFI certified bankers, federal agency staff, and ICBA experts will share...
Shop Talk 2020
Shop Talk 2020 Our conversation with a community banker resumes. By Jim Reber, President & CEO, ICBA Securities Our conversation with a community banker resumes. “This is Jim Reber speaking.” “Hi...
Things You Never Thought You’d Say
Things You Never Thought You’d Say Over time, a business relationship develops, much of which is a matter of convenience for the busy portfolio manager. And out of this relationship comes dialogue....
New COVID-19 Safety and Soundness Standards for Financial Institutions
New COVID-19 Safety and Soundness Standards for Financial Institutions On June 23, 2020, the financial institution regulatory agencies jointly issued “Interagency Examiner Guidance for Assessing...
Succession in a Covid-19 World
Succession in a Covid-19 World One of the less discussed impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic , which is shaking boardrooms and executive suites, is the issue of leadership succession. By Alan J....
We Decided to Make COVID a Magic Word
We Decided to Make COVID a Magic Word For all that 2020 hasn’t been, let’s look at what it has. In fact, let’s make COVID a magic word and see what happens to our perspective. By Tom Hershberger,...
An Economic Update for Bank Directors
An Economic Update for Bank Directors As 2020 comes to an end, here are a couple of items to consider within the economy that might be important. By Brad Stevens, Principal and Founder, SRM As 2020...
Congress Could Act to Overturn Treasury Guidance on PPP Loan Expense Deductibility
Congress Could Act to Overturn Treasury Guidance on PPP Loan Expense Deductibility On Nov. 18, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Ruling 2020-27 and Revenue Procedure 2020-51. This...
Banks Leaving the Pain of 2020 Behind
Banks Leaving the Pain of 2020 Behind Banks are looking ahead to this year with the hope that the human and economic toll of 2020 can be left in the past. By Brandon Koeser, RSM U.S. Banks are...
An Economic Update for Bank Directors
An Economic Update for Bank Directors SRM founder and principal Brad Stevens has been leading the credit industry as an analyst, trainer and consultant for over 30 years. Read Brad's Economic...
Questions to Answers: Net interest margin in jeopardy? Here are some solutions.
Questions to Answers: Net interest margin in jeopardy? Here are some solutions. To start out the year, I’d like to both properly memorialize the late, great Alex Trebek and provide some helpful...
Employment Advice When You Need It
Community Banker University has teamed with national employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. to bring members of the Bank Director Program a complimentary employment law hotline!
Maximizing Your Credit Card Portfolio in a COVID-19 Environment
COVID-19 has created financial strain for millions of Americans. In the wake of this need, credit cards have the potential to become an important form of cash management.
Slippery Slope
In a new column, ICBA Securities' Jim Reber discusses the ever-popular slope of the yield curve and the implications for community banks.
Don’t Be Afraid to Sell
We have the privilege of assisting community bankers with training, coaching, and leadership development. As we work through stages of our training, the energy in the room shifts when the...
What Can FedEx Teach Us About Succession Planning?
The Founder, Chairman, and CEO of FedEx Corp, Fred Smith, recently announced that he is planning to step down from the CEO role. We believe the way he chose to do so and have bearing on some of the...
New Benefit Added to Bank Director Program
New and existing members of ICBA’s Bank Director Program now have access to our popular Bank Director Training video series.
Three Ways Community Banks Can Respond to Generational Digital Payments Needs
When it comes to payments, the generational divide has been shrinking. While Gen Z and Millennials still lead the way in digital payments adoption, Baby Boomers and Seniors (over 76) are increasing...
Up with Coupons: Larger interest payments can build a floor under your bond prices
Up with People, which readers of a certain age may remember, was an organization that had a run of popularity in the 1970s and ‘80s by promoting wholesome values and positive thinking.
Is Your Board an “Asset” or an “Audience”?
Is Your Board an “Asset” or an “Audience”? Some boards function as little more than an audience for management while others serve the institution as a true asset. Here’s how you can tell the...
Data Matters: Collect, Analyze, Utilize
Data Matters: Collect, Analyze, Utilize Data matters and it can drive better service. If you truly want to connect and care for customers, data needs to be part of your solution. As a consumer we...
Bankers Don’t Foresee Full Economic Recovery Until 2022 or Later
Bankers Don’t Foresee Full Economic Recovery Until 2022 or Later Despite some improvements in outlook, bank leaders continue to be wary about the prospects for an economic recovery in 2021....
Do’s, Don’ts, and Maybes: Rules to Streamline Portfolio Management
Do’s, Don’ts, and Maybes: Rules to Streamline Portfolio Management If my recent aggregate conversations with investment managers are an indication, there is still a lot of seat-of-the-pants...
Munis for the many: Taxable municipal bonds have appeal for nearly all community banks.
Munis for the many: Taxable municipal bonds have appeal for nearly all community banks. Chances are, your bank’s portfolio has been affected by declining portfolio conditions, erratic cash flows,...
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery—Let’s Cut to the Chase
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery—Let’s Cut to the Chase Business continuity and disaster recovery are essential to an operation’s contingency plan. Following these established fundamentals...
FDIC Continues to Encourage Consumers to #GetBanked
FDIC Continues to Encourage Consumers to #GetBanked As part of its ongoing efforts to expand financial inclusion, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) #GetBanked campaign encourages...
Liquidity Strategies for Illiquid Community Bank Stocks
Liquidity Strategies for Illiquid Community Bank Stocks The fundamental duty of community bank directors and executive officers is to enhance shareholder value. One of the key tenets of enhancing...
Reviewing Branch Strategies for 2021 and Beyond
Between 2012 and 2019, banks eliminated approximately 2,700 branches a year. In 2020, as the global health pandemic set in, banks shuttered more than 3,500 branches.
The Great Escape: The bond market braces for the Fed’s wind-down of its balance sheet.
If bond investors (you) were running low on things to worry about for the rest of the year, I’ve got some terrific news: The $9 trillion portfolio owned by our central bank will begin to shrink....
The Rising Importance of Climate Change at Financial Institutions
Banking organizations have no shortage of factors to navigate as geopolitical tensions continue and domestic monetary policy undergoes normalization. But banks also are staring down a new strategic...
FedNow and faster digital payments
We've been working toward a faster payments future for a decade now, and we're finally seeing the fruits of our labor: the launch of FedNow.
Ten Things Directors Need to Know About Bank Marketing
As a board chair who just concluded an annual organizational meeting piggybacked on a regular monthly bank board meeting, you do not have to convince me that banks don’t need to go looking for...
Will D&I requirements change this year?
How does your bank’s diversity and inclusion (D&I) compliance program compare with the regulatory standards for D&I policies and practices?
Podcast features Banking as a Service case study
In the first episode of Communities of Innovation, an ICBA Podcast, ICBA Chief Innovation Officer Charles Potts sits down with Coastal Community Bank CEO Eric Sprink to discuss Banking as a Service.
Price pullback prospects: Availability of discount bonds causes a rethink of strategies.
Community banking is a cyclical industry, and its earnings have some correlation to market interest rates. Discounts are the story of the day, so let’s review how discount-priced bonds can be used...
Welcome to the metaverse: The digital future of banking
We are at the very beginning of exploring the opportunities the metaverse may provide. And while the path forward may be long, financial institutions need to start assessing what those...