The rise in ransomware attacks among financial institutions has shown no signs of slowing down. Cybersecurity threats have been rampant during the pandemic, with bad actors taking advantage of the disruption caused by COVID-19. The abrupt shift to working from home or changing office procedures meant that shortcuts or security measures may have been piecemealed together. [Continue]
As small businesses look back on 2020 and forward into the rest of 2021, economic hope remains on the horizon — but fear and challenges still persist. Interestingly, these fears aren’t the same for everyone. According to the Federal Reserve’s 2021 Small Business Credit Survey, the most important anticipated challenges of small business owners differ by race and ethnicity. While credit availability is the top expected challenge for Black-owned businesses, Asian-owned businesses disproportionately cite a different one: weak demand. Why is this the case — and how can community banks help keep the doors of Asian-owned small businesses open? [Continue]
What can you do to prevent a ransomware attack? And what should you do if the attackers get in? At United Bankers’ Bank, Bloomington, Minn., employees use a biometric authenticator — a fingerprint reader, in this case — to log in. “It’s required whether I’m sitting here at my desk at home or whether I’m logging into the same network from my desk in the office,” said Barb Fugate. “We can’t be in too much of a hurry to accommodate remote work that we cut those corners. And I think for the most part banks have not.” [Continue]
Join me now for another trip into the beyond, to the world of international mystery, art, crime, computers and (probably) robots. Did I mention crime? The latest head scratcher has come in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Out of nowhere come reports of individuals (Elon Musk’s girlfriend Grimes for instance), who are using NFTs to sell digital art. Though new, the value of these “tokens” is jaw-dropping. [Continue]
A fourth-generation community banker recently shared a piece of advice she got from her father. There are times and situations, he told her, when giving 80 percent is good enough. In our cover story this month, which bestows our first ever “Spirit of Community Banking” award on the second- and third-generation leadership team at Ohnward Bancshares, you’ll find an example of how a less than 100 percent effort was the ticket to success. [Continue]
Banks may get pulled into an effort to collect more of the taxes the federal government says it is owed. Mel Schwarz, director of legislative affairs for Eide Bailly, told bankers that Form 1099 reporting may be expanded so that banks have to report deposits and withdrawals of wealthy customers. This would include individual taxpayers and pass-through business entities. [Continue]
If you are my age and cut your grass as a child with a power lawn mower, it likely had a Clinton engine, manufactured in eastern Iowa. In the middle 1960s, Clinton Engines dominated the small engines market, producing tens of thousands of motors sold throughout the United States and exported to 90 countries. The company employed more than 5,000 people, many of whom worked in Maquoketa. One would think it would be a great place to open a bank. [Continue]
Now as we step fully into an age of remote work, digital transformation within the industry has accelerated and customers’ demands and expectations for digital banking services have increased. While implementing digitalization through internal technology sounds straightforward enough, bringing it to the consumer-facing level involves more of a balancing act. [Continue]
I’ve spent the last four months as an editorial intern with NFR Communications researching and reporting on the community banking industry. I’m a senior Political Science major at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., pursuing journalism as a career. I’ve worked on my school newspaper, the Mac Weekly, since my freshman year, and interned at a regional magazine, a metro daily newspaper and a student journalism start-up. But I have never dove into a niche the way I have at BankBeat, immersing myself in all things community banking and learning how to write for an audience of community bankers. [Continue]
Your customers are comparing your mobile banking app experience to shopping on Amazon. Your CEO wants a digital transformation plan up and rolling. Now. And your lenders want Wave 3 PPP communication support, a spring mortgage campaign, and a treasury management video by noon tomorrow. While just about every facet of banking has been disrupted in the last five years, the resources needed to support these changes are in serious need of inspection. [Continue]