Consultant: Banks should grow through customer acquisition
Lincoln-based consultant Sean Payant urged banks to grow their organizations by adding customers and not cutting expenses. [Continue]
Economist: Limited recession likely
Economist Elliot Eisenberg said the United States will likely enter a recession. He expects the downturn to last less than a year, however, and not be as severe as the Great Recession. [Continue]
Numerous tax changes proposed in Congressional bills
Congressional spending proposals are expected to have fewer adverse impacts for community banks than originally anticipated but still require further evaluation, said Eide Bailly partners Paul Sirek and John Fischer during the Bank Holding Company Association’s annual fall conference. [Continue]
High inflation likely a long-term trend
U.S. GDP growth will likely slow next year as the economy returns to pre-pandemic levels, said United Bankers’ Bank Vice President of Risk Management James Nowak. [Continue]
Community banks’ location, reputation key attractions in M&As
Community bank leaders looking to sell their institutions can create more value through growing organically and by highlighting their location and status as legacy financial institutions, says Kirk Hovde, managing principal and head of investment banking at Hovde Group. Hovde and Curtis Carpenter, Hovde senior managing director, discussed the challenges and opportunities they see in future bank consolidations on Monday during the Bank Holding Company Association Conference in Bloomington, Minn. [Continue]
Economy strengthening but rates likely to remain low next three years, Evans says
Although the economy is likely to improve in 2021, inflationary pressures are expected to be minimal which means interest rates are not expected to rise anytime soon. That is how Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago since 2007, summarized the economic outlook in an event jointly held by the Indiana Bankers Association and the Wisconsin Bankers Association. [Continue]
Regulators expect trouble to make landfall for banks, eventually
The conditions at banks are strong right now, reports James LaPierre, regional director of the FDIC’s Kansas City office. But 2021 will likely bring the industry some troubles, he predicted. Preparing a bank for the fallout of this pandemic is “like preparing for a hurricane,” LaPierre said. Bankers are doing a lot of “watchful waiting.” … Read more
Coronavirus, land values and trade cause concern at ag symposium
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]
Economy firm, but ag issues merit concern, speakers agree
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]
TCF’s Dahl: Banks need ‘something great’ to stay independent
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]