FedNow, though not quite ‘now’
As it weighed whether to build an electronic payments infrastructure, the Fed received strong encouragement from the community banking industry. [Continue]
Editor’s Picks
Ag banker cultivates savvy borrowers
“I’m always amazed — a lot of kids come out of college, and they don’t understand balance sheets, income statements, cash flows, sensitivity analyses like they should, and it’s like, you’re going to run a business that depends on that stuff.” That’s Nate Franzén, president, agri-business division, at First Dakota National Bank in Yankton, S.D. [Continue]
New bankers’ bank leader jump-starts transition
There’s a transition underway at the Bloomington, Minn.-based United Bankers’ Bank, and the person at the center of it is leveraging his humble upbringing, industry knowledge, people skills and competitive nature to make it successful. [Continue]
Technology is altering the way Americans pay
Go to watch the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons or MLS’s Atlanta United FC play a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and be prepared to use a credit or debit card or your phone to pay for everything. Whether you want a burger or a jersey, your cash is useless. [Continue]
Payments guru mentors and inspires
Tina Giorgio uses past events as fuel for future challenges, and she scrapes her employees’ cars on especially snowy winter days. She’s also been the ICBA Bancard president and CEO since 2016, and was a community banker (at three institutions in Maryland) for 30 years before that. [Continue]
UMACHA’s Fred Laing II passes away
Fred Laing, II, former president and CEO of UMACHA, passed away suddenly Nov. 27 at his home in Elk River, Minn. [Continue]
2019 as crystal ball
Looking ahead with accuracy depends on getting a clear picture of the past. As 2019 closes, it is worth recalling some of the year’s developments in order to see where things may be going, from the economy and pot banking to technology and political leadership. [Continue]
Banks pull in $57.4 billion in the third quarter
The 5,256 commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the FDIC made $57.4 billion in aggregate net income in third quarter 2019, down $4.5 billion or 7.3 percent from a year ago. [Continue]
Battle for Bremer heads to the courts
Bremer Financial Corporation, the holding company for St. Paul, Minn.-based Bremer Bank, announced November 19 it had filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court to “protect its employees, shareholders and customers, and other local stakeholders from the Otto Bremer Trust’s hostile takeover attempt,” according to a statement. [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]