Pub. 15 2024 Issue 4

February Retail Banking Leadership Series I & II (FKS: Branch Management School) Feb. 11-12Four Points by Sheraton, CharlestonPresented by Josh Collins, Drexler Consulting 2025 WVBankers Legislative Day Feb. 18Embassy Suites, Charleston Individual Retirement Account (IRA): Basics & Advanced Feb. 26-27Stonewall Resort, RoanokePresented by Loni Porta, Convergent April 2025 Advanced Compliance School April 21-23Stonewall Resort, RoanokePresented […]

From 1946 to 1964, a new generation emerged: the baby boomers. As soldiers returned home from World War II, a sense of stability and optimism led to the “baby boom.” Birth rates surged, peaking in 1957 with roughly 4.3 million births that year. Compare that to the 3.5 million births in the U.S. last year — a stark reminder of demographic shifts. Or said differently, the U.S. birthrate in 1957 was 23.8, compared to just 12.0 last year.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated headlines and conversations over the last year, with various industries exploring what this technology means for automation, collaboration, communication and more. However, new challenges come with those opportunities to streamline processes, particularly in cybersecurity. Banks should know the following perils and tips to minimize risk when incorporating this technology into their strategies.

The FDIC 2024 Risk Review noted that “risk ratings may see a deterioration as a result of the refinancing of commercial real estate (CRE) loans.”1 The rising trend in delinquencies and lower occupancy in certain sectors, coupled with softening collateral values, could weaken CRE loan portfolios, particularly from loans coming due during this period of higher interest rates.

Watch an Olympic gymnast compete in floor exercise, and it seems as if the routines are almost effortless. But years of practice and endless hours of perfecting moves creates this demonstration of strength and grace. Now compare a toddler’s tumbling maneuvers on the living room floor. While we may congratulate them with Olympic‑sized enthusiasm, we know that there may soon be a crash with the end table.

Many financial institution executives spend considerable time thinking about strategies to improve efficiency in order to improve overall profitability. The efficiency ratio is the ratio of noninterest expenses (less amortization of intangible assets) to net interest income and noninterest income, so it is effectively a measure of what you spend compared to what you make. The very name — “efficiency ratio” — makes us think about how efficient we are with those precious income dollars. If a financial institution has a high-efficiency ratio, they are simply spending too much of what they make … right? That is exactly what the name implies (emphasis on the spending side of the equation). But this is just a ratio of two numbers, and as we all know, there are two ways to bring the ratio down — reduce costs or increase revenues.

With the Fed cutting rates by 75 basis points since September, bankers are rethinking their strategies for funding and liquidity management. Declining interest rates may tighten the spread between earning assets and liabilities, requiring bankers to adjust to the changing environment.

With the new year upon us, now is the time to choose our favorite resolutions for a positive start to 2025. For banks, this process might include a comprehensive special asset plan. An increase in interest rates over the last few years has caused variable rate loans to adjust upward. Higher rates have also made

For the typical office worker, marijuana is not typically the most “HR-approved” subject of discussion. But in banking, marijuana and marijuana-related businesses (MRBs) are hot topics. There are conversations, debates and questions related to the definition of marijuana, what exactly an MRB is and, most importantly, whether banks can serve these types of businesses and what types of policies will need to be drafted to serve them.