Correspondent Blog

The latest episode of risk-off trading stemming from the growing concern of a virus spreading out of China is another example of an issue that is hard, if not impossible, to game-plan but nevertheless has considerable impact on Treasury yields. After the trade deal was completed, and many recent economic reports printed in fair-to-good territory,…

This holiday-shortened week has a dearth of economic data so investors can spend more time focusing on the impeachment trial. Markets have largely ignored the impeachment proceedings as the hearings and votes took place in the U.S. House of Representatives, but now that the Articles have moved to the Senate, and the trial about to…

We work on thousands of lending transactions every year with hundreds of community banks across the country.  We participate and help structure financing on commercial real estate, C&I and Ag properties ranging in size from a few hundred thousand to over $100mm, and we collaborate with community bank lenders and underwriters that span the whole…

When you are a banker, sometimes your workload doesn’t come in neat memos or emails. A lot of stuff just gets dropped off on your desk with notes to “Fix This” (like below) or solve that. Fortunately, a lot of these problems are easy to solve.  In fact, one of the most popular strategic initiatives among…

After a so-so jobs report and a docile CPI read on inflation Treasuries faced a tougher trading environment yesterday with a solid Retail Sales Report for December and positive comments around the U.S./China trade deal. We go into more detail on the trade deal below but the retail sales numbers for December were encouraging in…

The Treasury market is still being led around by the ebb and flow of geopolitical concerns, and  ever-present trade-related news. With some easing in Middle East tensions Treasury yields were initially ticking higher off some unwinding of safe haven trades put on last week when tensions were noticeably higher. That uptick, however, failed to seriously…

With a flat and low yield curve, borrowers’ demand for long-term fixed-rate loans is high.  Furthermore, based on the forward market and most analysts’ predictions, the yield curve is expected to stay low and flat in 2020. The difference between five and ten-year loan rates is currently only nine basis points, and the difference between…

Geopolitical Tensions Ebb But Remain a Factor While the extreme tensions following the U.S. killing of a key Iranian general have subsided, tensions still remain.  While official Iranian military actions may be sidelined for now, they have a roster full of proxy militias no doubt willing and able to conduct smaller-scale havoc. This fact is…

Unfortunately, in 2020, most bank websites are nothing more than brochure-ware. That is a problem as not only can a bank’s website be its most efficient source leads, but it should also be the best source of conversions (leads that turn into new accounts and loans). While there are several hundred banks that do handle…

The December jobs report was a tad disappointing versus expectations, but solid enough to keep the Fed firmly in pause mode, but a couple details in the report will nag at them.  Job gains totaled 145,000 in December versus 160,000 expected and while that gain pales in comparison to the 256,000 print in November, that…

The early reports of a retaliatory missile strike by Iran on Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops last night initially sent yields lower as thoughts of a widening crisis erupted. Initially, the 10-year Treasury rallied 12bps hitting a low of 1.70%, the lowest since early November. However, when reports started filtering out that no U.S….

Last month, the Federal Reserve released its 7th, tri-annual U.S. payments study, and, as usual, it had some eye-opening trends that all banks need to consider for their long-term strategic planning. For example, while consumers have always said they preferred debit cards over cash, last year was the first year in US history where consumers…