Correspondent Blog

Examining Bond Portfolio Trends: First Quarter 2021 Beginning in May 2012 we started tracking  portfolio trends of our bond accounting customers here at the Correspondent Division of SouthState Bank.  At present, we account for over 130 client portfolios with a combined book value of $14.3 billion, or $110 million on average per portfolio.  Twelve months…

So far this week we have been impressed with the ability of the Treasury market to essentially shrug off a string of strong first-tier reports. While the latest ISM Manufacturing Index set a 37-year high, the March jobs report soared over expectations, and the ISM Services Index hit a new all-time high for March, Treasuries…

The combination of the greater pandemic-induced adoption of banking technology, higher branch operating costs, a greater number of workers working from their homes, and the changing needs of those workers, has altered branch mathematics and profitability. In this article, we look at the game theory behind branching and why there is a new equation for…

Most community banks will find it challenging to meet their loan growth targets in 2021.  Part of the challenge is lack of loan demand, elevated and rising loan payoffs, and stiff competition.  Therefore, most community banks conclude that they do not want to sell participation in a good commercial loan to another lender. However, selling…

Will the Fed Blink after the Jobs Report? While the main headlines this week will be about the upcoming battle over the Biden Administration’s infrastructure bill, that will be a more lengthy affair than the short attention spans of traders can stand. They will be more focused on digesting the March job report and looking…

Economic News The March Employment Report easily beat expectations of 660,000 new jobs with 916,000 jobs created. Private payrolls posted 780,000 new jobs versus 643,000 expected. In addition, the prior two months were adjusted higher with 156,000 more jobs than initially reported. So, after some softness in December and January, the labor market appears to…

While all eyes will be on the Friday jobs report, other recent economic releases point to an expected surge in consumer spending in March and the months ahead which bodes well for economic growth and maybe more fuel for yields to rise. The jobs numbers may be the cherry atop the cake at this point….

March Jobs Report Expected to be Strong Without any consequential Fed Speak this week, and little on the legislative calendar that impacts the economy, and with the Treasury taking a hiatus from issuing debt the next two weeks the market can focus on some early tallies on March economic activity. The reports will be headlined…

Treasuries have managed to navigate a second straight week absorbing copious coupon supply without too much indigestion. This time it was 2yr, 5yr, and 7yr notes. The 7yr yesterday was particularly of interest because the February auction was the worst ever for that maturity. This time it struggled again but not to the extent last…