I had an experience recently where an eagle-eyed operations employee at Prime Security Bank in Eagan, Minn., prevented a series of fraudulent checks from going through when she noticed that the signature on the checks did not match the signatures on the signature card. [Continue]
Comments from two bankers speaking at the annual Acquire or Be Acquired conference piqued my interest. Jim Ryan, CEO of the $20 billion Old National Bancorp, and Dave Provost, executive vice chairman of the $47 billion of TCF Financial Corporation, cast light on a couple of big industry deals. [Continue]
Colin Walsh is on the cusp of accomplishing the audacious goal he set for himself four years ago: To open the first FDIC-insured fintech bank. Walsh, founder of Varo Money, Inc., just received FDIC approval for Varo Bank, N.A. The OCC will soon finalize the preliminary approval it gave the venture 18 months ago; by the end of this month, Varo plans to file for a holding company charter from the Federal Reserve. [Continue]
One of the important roles that community banks play in the American economy is providing credit to small businesses. What I consider to be the typical small company — $1 million to $10 million in annual revenue, 10 to 75 employees — often needs a line of credit or periodic term loans that are too small to attract the interest of the largest banks. [Continue]
Calling these “paradoxical times” investment banker Curtis Carpenter of Sheshunoff & Co., noted the strength of the banking industry at a time when technology is rapidly changing the payments system and younger generations know little about traditional banking. [Continue]
Did you hear about the rural resident who came up with a creative way to deposit cash into his bank account? There’s no bank in his town but there is a post office, so he goes there and purchases money orders. Then, he electronically deposits those money orders in his bank, likely using an app on his phone. [Continue]
Now is the time for the banking industry to unite behind an effort to level the playing field with credit unions. Consider what’s going on around the industry, and it is possible to perceive a “perfect storm” of factors that make now the right time. [Continue]
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]
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]
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]