Merger Fever
In 2000, 8,300 FDIC insured banks operated. By year end 2020, the number was down below 4,500, and since 2010 fewer than 15 new bank charters have been approved by the FDIC. The pressures on…
In 2000, 8,300 FDIC insured banks operated. By year end 2020, the number was down below 4,500, and since 2010 fewer than 15 new bank charters have been approved by the FDIC. The pressures on…
The beginning of a New Year always serves as the opportunity to rethink the past and set goals for the future. But very quickly both on the personal level and from a business perspective we usually…
In response to the number of 2021 predictions we are receiving by email and Internet, most of which are thinly disguised marketing materials, last week we started to provide our own. All of us are operating in a world…
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…
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…
Last week I was talking with a friend discussing a financial institution (FI) that was trying to address how to move forward, given the current uncertainty and the economic pressures it faces. Banks operate with a finite number of choices for improving their future performance, and making some decisions…
A recent report by “a16Z Fintech Team” from Andreessen Horowitz (AH) discusses the need for what they term “better models for SMB lending” and lays out some choices for Fintech lenders. The article presents a valuable assessment of the current state of Fintech lending, although more types of opportunities may exist for lenders than they suggest.
Follow on LinkedIn | Printer-friendly version (PDF) Joan Rivers, the comedian, died about six years ago. She was known for her hilarious but brutal honesty and acerbic wit when she…
Last weeks’ newsletter discussed factors that may lead some banks to decide that now is a good time to sell. Those factors include: reduced interest rate margin, increased credit losses, the potential need for new capital, costs related to the virus, the changing role of the branch, and several others. One friend commented that I had presented a checklist of despair.
Printer-friendly version (PDF) First, the good news. The economy has started to move forward. This Monday’s Wall Street Journal points to positive changes: “Truck loads are growing again. Air travel…