Correspondent Blog

For any bank using Salesforce and/or nCino as their CRM and loan origination platform, respectively, or if you are considering those platforms, we would love to exchange best practice ideas with you. We will be holding an in-person roundtable session at the upcoming S&P Global Community Bank Conference 2022 at the Four Seasons Resort and…

A yield curve shows interest rates associated with different contract lengths for a particular interest rate instrument.  With recent interest rate volatility, the yield curve is changing shape daily, and there is much discussion about how the shape of the yield curve predicts the future strength of the economy.  While economists may use the shape…

March Jobs Report Solid Enough to Cement a 50bps Rate Hike in May Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 431k vs. 490k expected, but February was revised higher from 678k to 750k with a total of 95k additional jobs added to the prior two months. Job gains were, once again, widespread led by gains in leisure…

Community banks pride themselves on superior customer service. Approximately 90% of all community banks believe that they provide an above-average level of customer service (of course, the math cannot work that way, as half of all banks should be providing a below-average level of customer service). Research by various consultants shows that 80% of companies…

March Jobs Report Not Likely to Move Markets To the surprise of nobody who’s been paying attention, the feel good news around peace talks yesterday has dissipated today as Russian military activity suggests no real pull back, but rather a feint to buy some time. The markets want to believe the good news stories, but…

Will the Consumer Continue to Hold the Line? Tough and effective Ukrainian resistance to the mortal threat of the Russian invasion has surprised the world. In a similar fashion, but certainly less consequential, the US consumer has withstood the impact of the pandemic and higher prices to continue to drive the economy forward. The question…

In the future, banks will make money on payment products by DELAYING settlements. That vision is ironic considering financial institutions are spending billions of dollars moving payments from one to three-day settlement to real-time. However, in the next three years, many banks will have the bulk of their payments settling in real-time, and delaying payments…

Inverted Curves and Recession Signals With the yield curve flat as a pancake across its belly, investors are wondering if the near inversion of the curve spells a coming recession. While the 2yr-10yr Treasury spread is still 21bps away from inverting, the trend is definitely going in that direction. While the 2yr – 10yr Treasury…

If your bank struggles to create a clear value proposition and brand differentiation, then we have a case study for you. In December 2021, a Brazilian bank, Nubank, went public in the U.S. and became the most valuable bank in Latin America. Their secret – fanatical customer service. This article looks at how this bank…

Last week’s FOMC Meeting resulted in an increase in short-term interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) and projected seven rate hikes in 2022 and another four hikes in 2023.  The FOMC projects the Fed Funds rate to reach 1.875% by the end of the year and 2.75% next year (see DOT plot below).  However,…

Light Data Week but Heavy on Fed Speak The week is light on economic data but heavy on more Fed speak. The microphones have already been turned on this morning and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic was first out of the gate with several statements that sent Treasury yields immediately higher. First, he noted the…

If banking had an Olympics, creating loan value would be an event. The recent Fed meeting, with its hawkish tone, makes the sport of loan value creation even more important. While many lenders are good at gathering new business, they may lack the experience to create optimal mutual value. To make it into the podium,…