Low prices, labor and weather top the list of challenges facing the ag industry in southern Minnesota, according to a poll of attendees at South Central College’s annual ag forum. Regarding the overall economy, about 20 percent said the biggest challenge was government while another 20 percent said politics. [Continue]
The sputtering economy has everyone “searching for yield,” commented Creighton University Economist Ernest Goss, who addressed bankers in Des Moines, Iowa on Nov. 14. Goss and other speakers at the half-day seminar hosted by the Eide Bailly accounting firm, shared concerns about the economy and banking sector conditions, but generally offered upbeat industry assessments. [Continue]
Banks need to hone a distinctive, high-quality product or characteristic that sets them apart in order to stay independent, according to Craig Dahl, president and CEO of TCF Financial Corporation. Addressing attendees at the Bank Holding Company Association’s fall seminar, Dahl identified four areas to focus on: products, diversification, technology and cyber. [Continue]
Former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, a JFK Profiles in Courage Award winner and twice recognized by Forbes magazine as the “second most powerful woman in the world,” called on the U.S. Department of Education to do more to help college students understand the cost of borrowing. [Continue]
Keynote speaker Jack Mackey opened the 2019 DCI annual bankers conference on Sept. 16 with stories from a British bank and a fast food restaurant that provided insights into great customer relationships. [Continue]
As the incumbent provider of financial services, banks are well positioned to keep customers despite behavioral preferences which trend digital. This is true even for community banks that have struggled to afford digital solutions. The community banking model is, after all, built on relationships first. [Continue]
Liquidity, particularly in banks dependent upon ag loans, and security issues top the list of concerns among regulators who spoke at a recent event hosted by the Bank Holding Company Association in Kansas City, Mo. [Continue]
The economy has a lot of influence on the de novo market, which might be picking up, albeit tepidly. James LaPierre, FDIC Kansas City Regional Director, shared at a seminar hosted by the Eide Bailly accounting firm that as of Nov. 1, that the FDIC has approved nine applications for FDIC insurance so far this year and the agency currently is considering 12 pending applications. [Continue]
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]