Meeting Coverage

Lawmakers, Fed to blame for banking crises, Hoenig says

Whenever there is a banking crisis, bankers get blamed, but a former FDIC Vice Chair and 38-year Federal Reserve veteran told bankers the real culprits are those propagating undisciplined fiscal policy and bad monetary policy. Speaking at the Iowa Bankers Association convention, Thomas Hoenig said the last three major crises were caused by huge increases in federal spending and reactionary increases in interest rates that wreaked havoc on the economy and at the nation’s banks. [Continue]

Iowa banks strong despite NIM pressure

While shrinking net interest margins are squeezing earnings, banks in the state of Iowa are in very good condition, concurred three regulators speaking on a panel presented at the 52nd annual convention of the Community Bankers of Iowa in Okoboji on July 20.  [Continue]

ThinkTECH cohort pitch ideas during Demo Day

Six fintech companies pitched community bankers on how their solutions can help immediately attract and retain deposits and spark real-time payments innovation during the Independent Community Bankers Association’s ThinkTECH Accelerator Demo Day. [Continue]

Gruenberg: Banks face credit risks from loss of office space

The reduction in occupied commercial real estate space caused by a mass shift to remote work poses credit risks for banks, FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg said in a March 7 speech during an Institute of International Bankers conference. The national average vacancy rate increased to 12.5 percent by the end of last year from 9.6 percent in March 2020. [Continue]

Bullard: Interest rate above 5 percent likely this year

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President and CEO James Bullard predicted the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will raise interest rates to over 5 percent this year to ensure that inflation returns to its long-term 2 percent target. Bullard discussed the Fed’s approach to taming inflation and outlined his economic predictions for the coming year. [Continue]