Two years ago in this space I commented on admonitions from Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan about commercial real estate concentrations in community banks. In that March 2008 Perspectives column I ... >>more

There are various types of person-to-person payments, the most common being cash or checks. But as the world becomes more electronically inclined, payments are also becoming more electronically oriented. In a ... >>more

The regulatory advisory dated Jan. 6, 2010, is loud and clear — it is time to get serious about asset liability management. More specifically, this advisory on interest rate risk management instructs institutions concerning supervisory expectations regarding sound practices for managing IRR. The advisory’s scope is broadly stated and all inclusive: “The regulators expect all institutions to mana... >>more

A data breach can have a serious impact on your business, costing you account holders and damaging your brand reputation. How a financial institution prepares for and responds to a data breach will determine how and if it recovers. Sound grave? Consider the financial impact of a breach. Business data breaches are most likely (74 percent) to come from an external source (2009 Data Breach Investig... >>more

One of a board’s major responsibilities is not only to hire and evaluate the performance of the CEO, but also to focus on CEO succession and the succession of other members of top management. Some boards do this well; others leave a lot to be desired. The issue here, however, is board member succession, not management succession. Only the board can do this, and there are several ways of going abou... >>more

To say that the banking industry has been at the center of negative publicity for the past two years is like saying Bernie Madoff had some legal troubles. The percentage of Americans saying they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in U.S. banks fell to 18 percent as of April 2009, according to a Gallup Poll. This is down 14 percentage points from a June 2008 Gallup Poll and 23 point... >>more

The Kansas Bankers Association held its 15th annual Bank Technology Conference & Showcase at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita, on Feb. 2–3. The conference gathered nearly 200 bankers from Kansas and surrounding states for seminars and discussions about mobile banking, virtualization, network security, IT compliance and other hot technology topics for the banking industry. The showcase included ... >>more

Much has been said and written about regulators’ increasing focus on risk management issues. What are some ways for community banks to prepare for and minimize the negative impact of tougher exams and increasingly stringent risk management directives? Be proactive, anticipate problems and be prepared. First, make sure your asset, lending, underwriting and capital policies (including liquidity) ar... >>more

The Private Market Bank Prices are for the trailing 12 months. The period covered in this report is Dec. 31, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2009. Click here to see the prices. Copyright © March 2010 BankNews Media ... >>more

The Federal Reserve Board last November announced final rules that prohibit financial institutions from charging consumers fees for paying overdrafts on automated teller machine and one-time debit card transactions, unless a consumer consents, or opts in, to the overdraft service for those types of transactions. This development could cost a bank between 30 percent and 60 percent of its checking... >>more