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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...