Correspondent Blog

In the online world, customer reviews and ratings are ubiquitous. Consumers have come to expect them, yet few banks use them. Ironically, sites that rate banks, such as NerdWallet, BankRate, and others, maintain detailed reviews on banks with great success as well as places like Yelp. If your bank is not offering rates, chances are…

FOMC Meeting and Fate of Stimulus Bill This week’s FOMC Meeting won’t lead to any changes in monetary policy but the most important piece of information is likely to come from the post-meeting press conference where Fed Chair Powell is likely to be asked about what other measures might be employed from here. Most likely…

While several commercial real estate (CRE) sectors are showing signs of stress, the industrial sector is one of the few bank credit lines that are improving. Companies gained confidence at the end of the second quarter and started to lease more space. As such, weekly leasing activity jumped back to pre-Covid-19 levels after hitting a…

While Republicans appeared to have reached a ‘fundamental agreement” for a $1 trillion stimulus package, time is running short for all the legislative procedures to be accomplished before month-end. So it looks like some provisions of earlier stimulus bills, like the supplementary unemployment benefits, will expire at least briefly before something similar  is reinstated. While…

In a week with light data the market’s focus has started to turn to the evolving events in Washington DC as legislators start to craft some sort of stimulus measure with time exceedingly short. As is usual, however, Democrats and Republicans remain far apart over what the next stimulus bill will look like. Treasury Secretary…

Chances are you were already reducing the number of your branches. Between the interest rate environment over the past several years, the increase in digital spend, and the quest for greater operating leverage, banks can no longer afford large branch structures and still return their cost of capital. Recent studies now suggest a lower probability…

Positive economic news continues despite the drumbeat of increasing virus cases and that has emboldened stock traders to continue building on the multi-month rally. Meanwhile, the Treasury market remains stoically unimpressed, residing in the well-worn range that has held since the beginning of April, three and a half months ago. The 10-year yield has ranged…

HMBradley is a fintech that has partnered with Hatch Bank, a subsidiary of Firstrust Bank ($3.7B, PA), to offer two innovations that we have talked about in the past, but few banks have executed. This fintech has tiered their rates based on the percentage saved and offers only a single operating account instead of checking,…

In the next twelve months, the transition from LIBOR to alternative Risk-free Rates (SOFR in the US) will take an important course. Banks with products tied to LIBOR need to understand the implications of ISDA Fallback Protocol and how to manage possible risks with this critical industry transition. Shortly, ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association)…

While stock investors once again looked at the world through rose-colored glasses yesterday, second quarter bank earnings certainly don’t point to V-shaped recovery. The big three of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo set aside almost $28 billion in loan loss reserves which is second only to the set asides in the last quarter of…

In the last quarter, the money market world has changed, which has important implications for banks. Not only is it less competition, but the influence that money market funds have on banks is substantial, and so it means less pressure on rates. Less pricing influence means less deposit price sensitivity, which not only means rates…

Positive news on a virus treatment last Friday blunted the steady drumbeat of increasing virus cases, at least for a day, and that serves as notice that the market is still completely focused on the outlook for the virus vis a vis the reopening of economies.  As piece of that involves plans for school openings…