Banks are increasingly going to have to consider the implications of doing business with companies that come into contact with marijuana. Cannabis is now legal for medical use in 23 states; it is legal for recreational use in another 10 states, and it is legal in Canada. [Continue]
Merger and acquisition activity in the banking industry continues to touch about 5 percent of the nation’s banks. Roughly, the industry loses a bank every business day. As some new investor groups come forward, an acquisition doesn’t always mean the loss of a charter, but usually it does.
S. 2155, the reg relief bill passed in May, is likely to mean an increase in the number of potential buyers. Karen Grandstrand of the Fredrikson & Byron law firm in Minneapolis noted at the Bank Holding Company Association Fall Seminar in early October that the new law changes the meaning of “Systemically Important Financial Institution,” a designation created by the Dodd-Frank Act. [Continue]
How do banks remain relevant in an environment of disruption and disintermediation? You can start by creating an awareness of innovation throughout the organization, said Ross Manson, chief innovation officer at Eide Bailly. [Continue]
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis will no longer permit small bank holding companies looking to make an acquisition to use the “hypothetical dividend” approach, some attorneys say. [Continue]
While acquisitions are often driven by a desire for growth and the need to obtain local deposits, navigating data processing company escape clauses can add overwhelming cost to a dynamic process. [Continue]
Will community bankers in subchapter S corporations be allowed to take a deduction designed to reduce their income tax obligation to a rate closer to what C corporations pay? Jerry Kissell, tax partner with RSM US, LLP, told bankers gathered for an event in St. Louis Park, Minn., the answer is uncertain. [Continue]
The old adage that credit quality is king is as true as ever. And while fewer banks these days are failing (three failed in the United States in 2017) and fewer turn up on regulators’ lists of troubled banks, there has been a slight uptick in the issuance of MOUs and board resolutions. That’s according to David Kemp, president of Atlanta-based Bankers Management Inc. [Continue]
The late December tax law changes have sparked a debate about whether bankers in subchapter S institutions should convert to C corporation status. Several speakers at the Bank Owners’ Seminar in Kansas City on April 17 shared thoughts on the question. The one-day forum was hosted by the Bank Holding Company Association. [Continue]
Bankers are good at their jobs and most have a strategic plan that’s meant to guide their institutions. Sometimes that plan just sits on a shelf. Few bankers, though, have a formalized management system that keeps them accountable to their mission or allows them to effectively communicate their vision to staff. [Continue]
The rules that govern the use and cost of a bank’s debit card program are written by a small group companies and these rules set the terms for cardholder access as well as the costs borne by a financial institution. In its effort to support its customers and re-balance the power wielded by the largest players in the arena, Johnston, Iowa-based Shazam made a strategic decision to engage in advocacy on this and other issues. [Continue]