I’m going to miss it. What has become the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has fueled this column off and on for most of two years. Generally, the coverage was not very charitable. B... >>more

The government decided to seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 and place them into conservatorship. Two years later, Fannie and Freddie are now 80 percent owned by U.S. taxpayers and have drawn ... >>more

Everyone can remember a time in life when he or she knew it was a great time to act, hesitated, and in the end lost an opportunity. Today we are faced with the same problem. Luckily, it is not too late to act. Currently, tax rates on dividends and long-term capital gains are set at 15 percent, as a result of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. However, beginning on Jan. 1, ... >>more

Some banks attempt to provide their own business continuity and disaster recovery by purchasing redundant hardware and installing it in a branch or remote location other than where the bank’s main system is housed. This do-it-yourself disaster recovery methodology has some perceived advantages and realities that bankers should consider before taking disaster recovery into their own hands — or befo... >>more

For the past 40 years bankers from Northwest Missouri and Southwest Iowa have played golf to determine who has bragging rights to a much-revered traveling trophy.  This year, after finishing a round in Missouri and a round in Iowa, Iowa bested Missouri and retained the trophy. Iowa’s low scores at the Tarkio (Mo.) Golf Club last month came from Dennis Grebert, Bank Iowa, Shenandoah, with a t... >>more

Financial institutions and corporations once dismissed the idea of an integrated receivables hub due to lack of control and high costs and the unwillingness to add on new technology to streamline receivables processing, gain new revenue and improve operating efficiencies. Today a true integrated receivables hub has become a reality for many organizations focusing on growing their businesses and in... >>more

A new study from IDC Financial Insights reveals that mobile banking has seen an increase in usage and in institutions offering the service in the last year. In fact, reported mobile banking usage has almost doubled since last year’s survey. However, according to the survey, 2009 Consumer Mobile Banking Preferences Survey Results — Waiting for Takeoff, while mobile banking may have finally... >>more

On May 17, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Senior Vice President Cathy Lemieux testified before Congress that overexposed commercial real estate loan concentrations are still a significant problem for the nation’s community banks. “Since the financial crisis began, 35 Illinois institutions have failed, accounting for nearly 14 percent of the U.S. total,” Lemieux said during her testimony. “Most ... >>more

Why it is important to be well prepared for litigation, to have a high-performing investment portfolio and to file suspicious activity reports were among nuggets of advice shared by speakers with members of the Community Bankers Association of Kansas at their annual convention last month in Wichita. Attorney Bruce Woner of Woner, Glenn, Reeder & Girard P.A. in Topeka, warned the CBA members that ... >>more

The South Dakota Bankers Association and North Dakota Bankers Association recently elected new officers for their 2010–2011 board of directors. The official election took place at the joint annual convention of the SDBA and the NDBA in Fargo, N.D., on June 15. Brent Zavalney was named chairman for the NDBA. Zavalney is president of Choice Financial Group in Langdon. He began his banking career i... >>more

The credit crisis has been a wake-up call for lenders. The residential mortgage industry collapsed. And now, loose lending practices for the more complex credits (i.e. commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, small business, construction and agriculture) are leaving institutions further exposed across all of these loan disciplines. This has caused an undeniable shift in the market that n... >>more