Straight Talk — Restoring Trust

      Robyn Waters makes a very interesting point in our Q&A on page 7. She explains that people have a need to belong to a group, yet we also want to stand out as individuals. Bankers can take comfort in this paradox.       Most people view the world according to what they want for … Read more

Straight Talk — TBTF: It’s not going away

      The too-big-to-fail problem won’t go away. Tax policy, as suggested by Robert Atwell on page 6, or new incentives, as suggested by Minneapolis Fed Bank President Gary Stern on page 15, may minimize the problem, but too-big-to-fail is here to stay.       Too-big-to-fail isn’t so much an economic problem or a regulatory problem … Read more

Straight Talk: Now is the time

      I hope you saved some of the issues we have devoted to bank architecture over the years. If you read this issue and reread the architecture features from past issues, you will gain important insight into the process of constructing a new bank building or remodeling an existing one. Given the current … Read more

Bank club managers strategize for continued success

Don and Jan Ruhde, the husband and wife team who run the Millennium Club at the Iowa Falls State Bank, listened closely to the presentation on generational differences in the workplace, delivered by an entertaining Meagan Johnson at the Peer Group meeting of Heritage Clubs International, conducted in Lafayette, La., March 18-21. [Continue]

Straight Talk: Bankers need time

      Many banks are struggling with distressed real estate, both commercial and residential. The bottom quickly fell out of the real estate market, which is currently – and temporarily – at a standstill. Policymakers, rightly concerned about the condition of the banking industry, have launched and proposed several costly programs for restoring industry … Read more

SDBA quantifies community outreach

The South Dakota Bankers Association has pulled together information from its member banks to provide a snapshot of the impact the banking industry has on the quality of life in South Dakota. [Continue]