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]
Writer: Jim Murez
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]
Shallow talent pool puts bankers to the test
Just about every banker who has had to make a hire in the past year knows how daunting the task has been. From the top of the organizational chart to the bottom, finding a skilled worker to fill an open position is hard — and it might get worse. [Continue]
Easing the talent search: Tips for hiring managers
What steps can bank hiring managers take to help ensure they’ll have a pipeline of top talent ready? Experts offered tips on what’s worked well for them. [Continue]
Getting paid to create (and have) fun
Every bank has a CFO, but it’s likely that only one has a CFnO – a chief fun officer. That’s Sarah Trapp’s title at First National Bank of Syracuse, Kan., and, yes, her job is all about fun — surprising employees with free lunches, holding company-wide massage days, or recruiting them to put on costumes for skits that reinforce best practices. [Continue]
FAQs on industrial hemp
Industrial hemp was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is gathering information to develop regulations for an industrial hemp program. Here, we offer a quick introduction to the plant and issues around it. [Continue]
Hemp offers profit potential but also pitfalls
It’s been a rough go lately for the nation’s farmers, with some combination of tariffs, low prices at the farm gate and flooding all impacting their livelihoods. However, one provision in the 2018 Farm Bill offered a glimmer of light for some farmers: Hemp. [Continue]
Pot banking edges toward acceptability
Congress took a major step toward opening banking services to the fast-growing marijuana industry last week. The House Financial Services Committee voted 45-15 to send the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act Banking Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to bridge the gap between state and federal laws, to the full House. [Continue]
Rising rates, digitization, and limited inventory affect mortgage biz
For much of the past five years, this housing boom has closely resembled that of the last housing boom. There is strong buying activity amid rising prices with pockets of bidding wars breaking out in some markets. The economy is on solid footing; unemployment rates are low. What could go wrong? [Continue]
Work is reward at Pacific Coast Banking School
The Pacific Coast Banking School doesn’t just teach bankers about maintaining proper capital ratios and other metrics to make sure they’re guiding their institutions on a profitable, sustainable course; it prides itself on giving bankers a well-stocked toolbox in soft skills, too — especially when it comes to leadership. [Continue]