Correspondent Blog

It may seem counter-intuitive, but many banks are loosening CRE underwriting standards instead of continuing to tighten them. With a new presidential administration, it is likely that we will face more stringent pandemic mitigations in the near future. While this is likely good for public health, it increases the short-term risk for commercial real estate…

In the last five years, one of the new disciplines in banking that has emerged is the combination of machine learning and satellite imagery to gather bank intelligence on fraud, credit, and bank marketing. While this sounds daunting, in this article, we will show you some relatively simple applications of both artificial intelligence (A.I.) and…

On October 23, 2020, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) published the Fallback Protocol (Protocol) that allows firms that use LIBOR to transition to SOFR if LIBOR becomes unavailable in the future. CenterState Bank’s ARC program allows community banks to offer up to 20-year fixed-rate loans to customers, but retain an adjustable asset priced at…

On October 23, 2020, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) published the much anticipated IBOR Fallback Protocol (Protocol).  Firms that sign up for the Protocol agree to the spread adjustment and the fallback rates if LIBOR becomes unavailable in the future.  Most community banks have some loans or deposits tied to LIBOR, and many…

Since the election falls right in the middle of bank’s budgeting and planning cycles, it is worth spending some time looking at potential outcomes. With a little more than two weeks before the election, the current polls and betting odds favor a Democratic Administration and both houses of Congress.  According to FiveThirtyEight, Biden has a +10.5%…

Last week a seven-year-old asked us what banks do.  That question got us to pause.  How do we explain a whole industry to a seven-year-old in less than a minute, keep his interest, and do justice to the answer?  The simplest answer is that banks allow customers to change the timing of their cash flows….

The Covid-19 pandemic has decimated the US economy, and the recovery may take longer than initially suspected.  However, currently, community banks have an opportunity to identify and win or retain longer-term, credit-worthy relationships at better credit spreads. There are also substantial challenges facing the entire banking industry. One major challenge is to understand is that…

The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the interest rate environment drives every bank to rethink their branch delivery. In a world with six percent net interest margins, banks can have all the branches they want. However, in an environment with sub-three percent margins, banks can no longer afford an extensive bank network. Banks that…

While lots of banks talk about culture and innovation, few can execute. If you are looking to capture the mindset of what a culturally strong and innovate bank looks like, listen to the 30-minute interview with Jill Castilla, the CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond. Jill talks about experimentation, marketing, the customer experience, the meetings…

Based on our observations, we estimate that somewhere between 20% and 25% of community banks have adopted a policy requiring minimum yield or credit spreads for their newly originated commercial loans. The strategy requiring minimum commercial credit spreads may be well-intentioned, but the results for banks may be less than optimal. We understand and are…

Chances are, even if you limited your Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) origination to just customers, you still have some fraud. If you took on new customers, you likely have between 5% and 10% fraud, even with a medium level of screening. According to an Aite Group survey done in June, financial institutions are only catching…

Uncertainty creates significant challenges for business managers, and while variability in outcomes is a business constant, the degree of uncertainty during a pandemic is extraordinary. Therefore, how do community banks distill today’s interest rate forecasts and position their loan portfolio for optimal performance? Choosing the duration of your loan portfolio isn’t a passive decision. Banks…