Correspondent Blog

Bankers love rules and formulas. Here are 20 banking rules that have served us well over the years. Use these and save yourself much time and stress. These “hacks” are a combination of rules and shortcuts that we use daily in our decision-making. We have tried to pick some non-obvious shortcuts that have historically produced…

For the last few years, SouthState Bank Correspondent Division has been hosting lender lunches across the country. At these events, we invite local executives and lenders to discuss what drives community bank performance, we highlight challenges and opportunities for community banks, bankers have a chance to network over a short period (and eat lunch), and…

In the 4th quarter of 2024, commercial loan pricing has materially changed. The new administration with its lighter regulatory stance, the potential for tax relief and threat of higher inflationary has generated new optimism for credit, and new risk of higher rates. In this article, we quantify commercial loan pricing trends from our Loan Command…

The banking industry’s cost of funding earning assets (COF) is highly correlated to short-term interest rates. The Federal Reserve lowered short-term rates by 100bps in late 2024, with expectations of additional rate cuts in 2025. On average, community banks have not been able to lower their COF, now recognize the reality of a pause by…

Many banks are doing an excellent job at embracing generative AI (Gen AI). However, not all have a specific Gen AI strategy, and they should make their journey more efficient. A quality Gen AI strategy aligns an organization’s objectives, its use cases, and the delivery mechanism and metrics that measure business value. In this article,…

Take a second to think about how much of your operating, sales and marketing effort is spent acquiring new customers versus growing your existing customers. If you are like most banks, 80% of your effort is not directed at increasing product usage. This could be a problem because when you look at conversion rates for…

In Part 1 (HERE), we explained the why and how to use generative AI (Gen AI) for bank strategic planning. We highlighted how Gen AI changes the planning process and provided sample prompts.  In this article, we cover the remaining five steps and detail how to build a Monte Carlo model to test your initiatives….

Most bankers would refuse to accept risk without reward (or revenue).  It would make no sense to risk the bank’s capital without adequate compensation. However, some banks are inadvertently taking risk without any additional revenue. The yield curve is currently flat, and the average community bank’s cost of funding is highly correlated to Fed Funds…

As you approach strategic planning season, one topic that will surely come up is your strategy for generative AI (Gen AI). Luckily, you can turn to Gen AI to help you in your planning, as the strategic process is just one of the many bank processes that bankers can improve with this technology. This article…

Banks often lose 5% of a loan’s value before a loan is even booked due to interest rate risk in loan pricing. Persistently high inflation and the unknowns in the new administration’s implementation of stated policies have translated to rapid increases in long-term interest rates.  In a period of rapid change (or high volatility), we…

Based on the 2007 to 2010 bank failure experience, we modeled the financial health of every bank using the last 16 quarters of historical performance.  We have also created projections for the next 18 months. There are 150 banks that currently have a Grade of “8” out of 10, with 10 being the safest. In…

Last year’s worries of deterioration in labor-market conditions have evaporated and the Fed is still harboring concerns about elevated inflation risks. Many banks budgeted some six rate cuts in their 2024 asset-liability plans last year that never materialized. Going forward, the major unknown is the new administration’s policies that all skew to higher inflation (from…