What is REMA and why should you care?
Reasonably Expected Market Area is a tool used in fair lending examinations, but you won’t find a standard definition in any federal law or regulation. [Continue]
Data analytics, baseball and competing like the bigs
We’re a little more than halfway through the 2018 Major League Baseball season. And for many banks we’re about halfway through the fiscal year. What do the two have in common? Data analytics. [Continue]
CTRs and SARs: Does anyone really look at these reports?
The important thing to remember is that it is not the financial institution’s responsibility to convict someone, but rather to report activity that appears suspicious in nature. [Continue]
Mid-year assessment: Good management practice for bankers
Mid-year seems like a good time to pause and consider four issues bankers need to get right if they hope to succeed through the remainder of this year and well into the future. [Continue]
Beware the dreaded ‘deconversion fee’
Making sure you have the best technology solutions in place for your community bank is tough enough. Making a change in order to save your bank money or to obtain better service should be an option open to every bank. For this reason, you want to make sure you never accept a vendor contract which imposes a large “deconversion fee” on your bank. [Continue]
Banking is more than numbers
I am hoping there is still a place for human initiative in banking. I understand banking is defined by the numbers: ROE, ROA, NIM, net income and much more, but generally I have found over the years it is the people behind those numbers who make the industry something special. [Continue]