People have long talked about the demise of banking. And in the last decade, talk has ramped up on the decline of print media. Of course these industries are changing, and it is likely these industries will move to a fewer number of larger players. But these industries are not going away. In the right niches, banks and newspapers remain important providers of essential services. [Continue]
FDIC Chair Jelena McWilliams stressed the importance of reg relief for community banks, saying she doesn’t think Basel should apply to them. [Continue]
Banks and technology companies can form great partnerships, but policymakers should watch how these two industries interact, and intervene if equal access to credit or financial stability is threatened. The country has long benefited from laws that separate commerce from banking; this separation may be more important than ever as the world grows more technologically capable. [Continue]
Liquidity, particularly in banks dependent upon ag loans, and security issues top the list of concerns among regulators who spoke at a recent event hosted by the Bank Holding Company Association in Kansas City, Mo. [Continue]
The banking industry’s financial performance is generally strengthening at a time when regulatory demands seem to be lightening [Continue]
Bankers often think of strategic planning in the fall, sometimes in conjunction with the annual budgeting process, but I want to encourage you to think about strategic planning now. If you want to conduct strategic planning successfully this fall, you really need to begin preparing now. [Continue]
Increasing competition from tech-based innovators demonstrates the importance of the payments system to the banking industry. Connect payments with information and you’ve got a powerful basis for business success. Paul Waltz, president of Shazam, likes to say the historical value of the banking franchise was in loans; today it is in deposits and in the future it will be in information. [Continue]
I received a solicitation in my personal mail recently. It was a letter from Unison, which offered me money based on my homeownership. I get a HELOC solicitation almost every week, but this was different, most notably because it wasn’t offering a credit product. [Continue]
Everyone is talking about fintechs, but I contend banks still have the upper hand when it comes to controlling the most attractive segment of the lending market. Fintechs that are leveraging new avenues of data to identify loan prospects and quickly approve loans are generally reaching loan prospects who wouldn’t qualify for traditional bank financing. [Continue]
Leadership at the regulatory agencies provides hope for additional regulatory relief. Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting is focused on updating and clarifying CRA for both consumers and bankers. The new FDIC Chairman, Jelena McWilliams, recently outlined several reg relief priorities. And now most recently, new Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman is talking about the importance of reg relief for community banks. [Continue]