Correspondent Blog

Some Friendly Inflation News Appears Treasury yields are higher this morning but off the highs of the day as today’s inflation numbers came in better-than-expected (more on that below). The market is awaiting the keynote address by Fed Chair Powell at Jackson Hole, due at 10am ET. Once we get past that event, and unless…

Treasury Yields Drift Higher Ahead of Jackson Hole   Treasury yields are drifting higher this morning, but the moves are in range which is not surprising with Fed Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole appearance approaching this Friday.   The 10yr Treasury yield is back above 3.00% and is currently at 3.09% while the 2yr-10yr spread is…

In 1983, Commodore International, with its Commodore 64 commuter, was the largest personal computer manufacturer in the market controlling over 50% of sales. By 1992, the Company was an afterthought, and by 1995 it was liquidated. Commodore’s demise is a case study of how NOT to care about your customers and why business intelligence through…

Last week we wrote about loan-level vs. balance sheet hedging for community banks and provided our loan proposal generator (HERE). We compared and contrasted the two strategies and sized the market for community banks. We also shared a table that summarized the two strategies. In this article, we will discuss what community banks should look…

LEI Close to Signaling Coming Recession The somewhat bullish take on the July FOMC minutes from Wednesday was reversed yesterday when a couple Fed officials reiterated the need for continued aggressive rate hiking. That has put pressure on Treasuries this morning with the 10yr note flirting with 3.0%.   St. Louis Fed President James Bullard…

Global Inflation Worries have Treasuries under Pressure While a China-led global slowdown led to higher Treasury prices on Monday, today it’s higher UK inflation that has Treasury yields heading higher.   In a reminder that inflation is not only a domestic story but a global one, UK inflation accelerated to the highest level in 40…

China Weakness Has Treasury Prices Higher A trio of reports out of China overnight suggest the second largest global economy has hit another soft patch and that has risk assets on the back foot this morning with Treasuries in the green.   Retail sales, industrial production and investment all slowed in July and the jobless…

The reality is that banks don’t think from the customer’s perspective enough. The customer experience is horrible for many bank processes. Bankers often think from the bank’s perspective or from the regulator’s perspective. Not understanding your customer can lead to a brand and products misaligned with the customer’s needs resulting in an erosion of a…

Competition is intense, and every bank is looking for a competitive advantage. Better products, faster service, or insightful advice can translate into additional loans, better credit spreads, or extra fee income. Sometimes just a graphics tool can help a banker win more loan business. At SouthState, our commercial lending teams use an online proposal generator,…

Cooler Inflation Numbers Continue to Roll In First, it was the cooler-than-expected CPI report on Wednesday. That was followed by July PPI yesterday that printed negative for the first time since April 2020. That was joined this morning by a better-than-expected Import-Export Price Index.   Admittedly, this data series doesn’t carry the weight of the…

Finally, a Cooler CPI Report For the first time in what seems like forever, CPI came in cooler than expected and markets, both Treasuries and stocks, are rallying as a result.   The overall inflation rate was unchanged for the month versus the 1.3% increase in June and better than the 0.2% expected. It’s the…

With 100+ public banks reporting, we have more than a representative sample to see 2Q 2022 bank earnings trends and derive some operational insights on bank performance. We touched on the 33 Items That Stakeholders Want to Know, which highlights some of the industry’s concerns and serves as a good checklist of items to touch…