With democrats now in control of Congress and the White House, the transition in political power means shake-ups in top federal economic positions, too. Democratic regulators are more likely to push for tighter banking regulations as well as prioritize increased federal relief as the economy falters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [Continue]
Chuck Mueller, CEO of Fidelity Bank in Edina, Minn., and BankBeat’s 2021 Banker of the Year, discusses how Fidelity has benefitted from early adoption of a niche lending identity and how becoming president of the bank in 2008 taught him skills to use during COVID-19, and where he turns his focus after passing on presidential duties to Todd Williams. [Continue]
One week after George Floyd’s death, St. Paul, Minn.-based Bremer Bank’s president and CEO Jeanne Crain released a public statement condemning racism in America’s history and culture, including in the banking industry. Several other bank CEOs did the same. [Continue]
They say the only constant is change, and 2020 represented a sea change. The way we live, work, and yes, pay, has all been upended in many ways. And small businesses have borne the brunt of the upheaval. The numbers tell the depth of the struggle with reports indicating that 60 percent of small businesses forced to shut their doors due to the pandemic will never reopen. [Continue]
Managing and curating your bank’s brand has always required discipline, vision and creativity. Today, industry disruption and COVID-19 have added a new mandatory: Relevance. [Continue]
The proposed rule would, among other things, require banks to notify their primary regulators of a triggering incident as soon as possible, and no later than 36 hours after learning that the incident occurred, and would require banking service providers to notify affected bank customers immediately after experiencing a security incident that disrupts or impairs services for four hours or more. The proposed rule would fundamentally change a bank’s current notification obligations. [Continue]
As 2020 neared its conclusion, Fidelity Bank, was on track to rack up more business than during any other year in its 50-year history. When year-end numbers are posted, it is likely the bank will have doubled in asset size from 2019, and quadrupled its warehouse mortgage lending volume. [Continue]
The arrival of COVID-19 brought with it not only a public health crisis, but an economic crisis. The virus has altered the way we work, shop and interact with friends and family. As a result, economic activity slowed and the outlook dimmed. Businesses, expecting sharp declines in profitability, increased their credit usage, and consumers reduced their spending and increased their savings. [Continue]
During confirmation hearings, Treasury Secretary Nominee Janet Yellen said defeating the pandemic was the clearest path to restoring health to the U.S. economy. [Continue]
Through the United States Department of Agriculture, farmers were able to use CFAP to provide income assistance due to pandemic-related losses in the marketplace. As of November 15, there were more than 1.2 million approved applications for over $21 billion. There are a lot of unknowns as we look ahead to 2021 and it is difficult to predict what the world may have in store for agricultural banking. It might help if we look at many of the issues that are always at the forefront for agricultural bankers. [Continue]