2021 Predictions. Really?
This week I received the first three of what will likely be dozens of publications predicting the state of banking in 2021. Beginning to read these essays, my first reaction was how could anyone having lived through 2020…
This week I received the first three of what will likely be dozens of publications predicting the state of banking in 2021. Beginning to read these essays, my first reaction was how could anyone having lived through 2020…
Four hundred years ago this past Saturday the Mayflower dropped anchor near Cape Cod, Massachusetts instead of in the northern Virginia area the sailors were hoping for.
I remember her today as if it was the day we met 30 years ago. Blond hair, blue eyes, great sense of humor, all-in-all adorable. We were both students in different schools at the same university. When I met her…
By the end of last week, you could almost hear the collective sigh of relief from bankers realizing that a Progressive tsunami was not about to engulf their industry. Yes, we will have a Democrat President…
In a recent conversation a colleague asked, “What do you think will be the impact of the election on regional banks?” Of course the most accurate answer is, “It depends.” It depends on which party wins…
In 1950 Ray Bradbury, the great science fiction writer, published a short story titled, “The Veldt.” A link to the 20-minute read is here. Bankers should read it as a cautionary tale. The story tells of a…
Well over a decade ago, FIC consulted with Laurentian Bank of Canada, a business bank based in Quebec. At that point they had a tagline, “Hire the banker, not the bank.” Today, most banks would avoid…
Maybe not the best, but close. And joyful. It was the fall of 1995, 40 years after the one and only time the Brooklyn Dodgers won a World Series. In fact while I don’t remember that event, but…
Follow on LinkedIn | Printer-friendly version (PDF) Writing a weekly newsletter means I am always scouring the news and searching to find a topic that, I hope, allows me to…
Earlier this month Jack Milligan of Bank Director magazine wrote an article titled, “When It Comes to Loan Quality, Who Knows?” He summarizes his view in the article’s first paragraph, “It’s still difficult to make an accurate assessment of the banking industry’s loan quality.” Jack lists a number of elements that limit the industry’s and individual bank’s ability to…