Chuck Yagla of Iowa bank architectural firm Kirk Gross Company was a two-time NCAA wrestling champion while attending the University of Iowa in 1975 and 1976. He was set to compete in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow — until the United States boycotted them. Yagla shares his story of missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience and offers insight for all who face disappointment over canceled events today. [Continue]
By March 31, three out of four Americans worked from home. Bank lobbies were locked, phone lines redirected, video chats had replaced corridor confabs. All for the greater good, the public health professionals had said, and hadn’t most of us quickly assented? [Continue]
Daniel Marcotte, veteran ombudsman for the FDIC’s Chicago region, and Brent Klanderud, recently appointed ombudsman for the FDIC’s Kansas City region, spent several days this spring visiting with industry professionals to explain how they advocate for bankers who might be dissatisfied with their examiner processes or the end result. [Continue]
Worldwide, the novel coronavirus pandemic has upset global markets, economies and daily patterns of life like nothing we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes. And bankers and economists alike have no desire to proffer any forecasts at what the future of agriculture — even a few months from now — holds. [Continue]
With consumer spending amounting to 70 percent of domestic economic activity, lagging confidence ripples to negative effect. Perhaps this explains why, on March 26, as millions filed for unemployment, and as a handful of Senators debated how much relief jobless Americans needed (or deserved), Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell did the unexpected. He went mainstream. [Continue]
The staff at Cross Financial has migrated to working remotely and the change is providing a significant learning opportunity. While I have enjoyed working from my home office with the sounds of our neighborhood and spring breezes streaming through my open window, I have discovered why so many years ago, businesses used paperweights. [Continue]