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Featured Article
Commercial Real Estate Analysis: Strategies for Commercial Real Estate Lending Today
Commercial real estate (CRE) lending is essential to the ongoing success of most community banks. But, in too many recent cases, high concentrations in commercial real estate have also been the catalyst for bank failure. The culprits? Exposure coupled with a downturn in CRE markets. New strategies for assessing the risk of these loans are essential to good lending practices going forward.
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Too often, the practice of risk management has been to apply the same tools used in the past without careful examination to determine if they are still useful in the current environment. Periodic reviews of risk management practices is critical to ensure they adapt to the changing landscape. But how is this accomplished?
Now that a large number of consumers have embraced self-service channels such as Internet and mobile banking, it’s time for financial institutions to move beyond marketing these channels as strictly alternate transaction gateways to leveraging these channels for sales and communications efforts. When done right, marketing through these channels can be an effective and cost-efficient marketing effort.
It is an ongoing challenge for FIs of all sizes: how do you fill the revenue gaps created by Reg E and the constant wave of new regulations without antagonizing your account holders? One community bank came up with a way for consumers to “earn” a free checking account by adopting certain behaviors, adding value to the institution and increasing non-interest income.
At a time when transactions are moving increasingly online, great service can no longer just be about the smiling, friendly employee. Consumers and businesses are looking for providers who save them time, respond to their requests quickly and provide the products that make their lives easier. Automation, integration and consistent workflows are helping financial institutions create materially faster turnaround times and stand out in the market.
Today, a mobile version of a static website is now just table stakes. Newer downloadable apps are taking center stage, enabling users to do everything from paying bills via smartphone to engaging the phone’s GPS to guide them to the nearest ATM. App development companies are springing up everywhere, promising to produce exactly what community banks and credit unions need to compete. Before you make a move on your mobile strategy, it’s important to know the facts.
The Internet, and more recently, the development and proliferation of smartphones has completely changed the payments landscape. There are two simple payment offerings you can launch today, with minimal effort, at a very low cost, that deliver the convenience and efficiency your customers want, without forcing them to go elsewhere to get it.
Commercial real estate (CRE) lending is essential to the ongoing success of most community banks. But, in too many recent cases, high concentrations in commercial real estate have also been the catalyst for bank failure. The culprits? Exposure coupled with a downturn in CRE markets. New strategies for assessing the risk of these loans are essential to good lending practices going forward.
The Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a transformative piece of legislation passed in 2010; it’s a game changer for the financial services industry. That leaves you with the big question, what to do now? This article addresses the current state of the regulation, what you can expect to see in July with the release of a new disclosure, and how you can prepare your institution for the inevitable changes this legislation will bring.
What could your institution learn from the “bad” banks, those that have taken tumultuous tumbles into failure over the past several years? The answer may be: plenty. Many institutions that failed had directors who did not fulfill their real obligations. This article offers seven distinct rules for anyone who is sitting, or aspires to sit, on an institution’s board of directors.
Social media is now a fact of life. For financial institutions, ignoring it is like bypassing Internet banking because of the risk. The best defense is to approach social networking slowly and strategically, and make sure that you have written policies in place to support your entry into this expanding cyber world.