Correspondent Blog

While the eulogy for checks has already been written and cash is starting its demise, the pallbearers are now in place. By our estimation, 14% of banks offer this service and they are starting to reap material rewards. Bank of America, which has offered the product since 2014 is one of the largest beneficiaries and…

The FOMC rate decision comes later today (2pm ET), and while you can never call a Fed meeting inconsequential, this one is about as close as you can get. No rate change is expected and there will be no update to their rate and economic forecasts so the only information provided will be the post-meeting…

Because of tradition, we tier our deposit accounts according to size. For a typical bank, their money market accounts often have six tiers ranging from $2,000 up to $100,000. The question that always comes up is – do you have the right tiers and the right number of tiers? Are you using your tiers to…

This Wednesday’s FOMC rate decision is not expected to carry much drama. No rate change is expected and the meeting won’t provide an updated rate or economic forecast. What we will get is the post-meeting statement and press conference from Chair Jay Powell. The market consensus is that the Fed will continue to characterize the…

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…