Pub. 13 2022 Issue 1

Webinars — Live and Recorded
Visit our website for specific dates and topics.
www.wvbankers.org
Graduate School of Banking Online Senior Management Seminars
Visit www.gsb.org or our website as updates are added.

The three primary banking regulators have issued a new rule effective April 1, 2022, “Computer-Security Incident Notification Requirements for Banking Organizations and Their Bank Service Providers”(“Notice Requirement”).1 Complying with the new rule should be relatively easy, but a deeper consideration of the associated obligations should prompt a bank to review its computer-security incident response plan, policies, procedures, and cyber-risk insurance coverage.

When searching a title or reviewing the results of a title search, the title examiner may discover that the current property owner, or a previous owner, has been involved in a bankruptcy proceeding while owner of the property. Often, the property owner’s bankruptcy was preceded by the entry of a number of judgments in favor of the owner’s creditors, which served as precipitating factors for the bankruptcy proceeding. In determining whether the pre-bankruptcy judgments remain attached as liens against the subject property, the title examiner’s limited knowledge of the effect of bankruptcy proceedings on judgment liens against the debtor’s property may create traps for the title examiner in rendering the title opinion. Those traps may be avoided by a better understanding of the effect of bankruptcy proceedings on judgment liens that attach before the bankruptcy filing and by disclosing the bankruptcy issues and seeking the advice of a knowledgeable bankruptcy attorney or the title insurer.

Readers of West Virginia Banker magazine likely are familiar with the term “fintech,” but for the uninitiated, “fintech” is the combination of the words “financial” and “technology.” It generally refers to a piece of technology that automates or improves the delivery of financial products by traditional financial institutions or their use by customers. An example of this is the implementation of digital lending into a bank’s services. The term also is used to refer to a specific type of entity that integrates technology as a core feature of its delivery of financial products. Examples of this are PayPal, Stripe, and Robinhood.

Although the worst of the pandemic is hopefully behind us, the lifestyle disruption it caused has created a monumental shift in how people work. This disruption has affected nearly every industry and has caused many individuals to take a step back and reevaluate what their career means to them. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record 4.4 million people quit their jobs in September of 2021 alone.

The West Virginia West Virginia Small Estate Act (the Act) provides an alternative to traditional probate and became effective July 1, 2021. Although from the heirs’ perspective, the Act simplifies the process for transferring the deceased’s assets, it will provide complications and liabilities for financial institutions if these institutions do not update their probate policies.

On the first trading day of 2022, the U.S. 10-year Treasury Note yield jumped above 1.60%, then traded up another 10bps in the two subsequent sessions. That was a 35bps increase in two weeks and aligned with a similar move higher for market measures of inflation expectations. The bond market hadn’t seen a worse start to a year since 2009. It seems the market is entering the new year with the same concerns and uncertainty that plagued it for most of 2021, but with greater urgency. We’ve seen this movie before, though, and it’s clear that policymakers and investors alike need to carefully assess the strength and staying power of an inflation environment that’s unusual but not so transitory.

Over the last 20 years, nonsufficient funds (“NSF”) fees and overdraft (“OD”) fees have generated a significant amount of non-interest income at many financial institutions – both large and small. Indeed, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently noted that, in 2019, financial institutions realized more than $15.4 billion in revenue from NSF and OD fees, while account maintenance fees only contributed approximately $1 billion.

Peoples Bank Peoples Bank will be delivering 120 Acts of Kindness across its footprint in 2022, celebrating its 120th anniversary. Peoples Bank started in Marietta February 6, 1902, and has since expanded into seven states and Washington, D.C. The pictures showcase the first Acts of Kindness of Peoples Bank’s delivered, which included pet food and

One thing that has not changed at WVBankers since it was founded 130 years ago is its dedication to lobbying and advocating on behalf of the banking industry. With heightened legislative and regulatory uncertainty, it is more important than ever that we, collectively, take the time to reach out to our legislators and regulators at both the federal and state levels to show them the vital role that banks play within their communities. We take it for granted that every member of the West Virginia Legislature and the U.S. Congress understands the business of banks and the impact banks have on the local economy. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and it is our role to share our story.