Years ago, as a small business owner, I spent a lot of time waiting for the mailman. Cash was always tight, and I held out hope that what the mailman delivered would be enough to cover all the checks that had already been mailed. Many of my clients had said the “check was in the mail,” so it was just a matter of time before they arrived. Back then deposits had to … [Read more...]
Bank Directors and Officers: How to Prepare for a FDIC Lawsuit
Over the past few weeks many articles have been published about the damage that has been caused by lawsuits the FDIC has filed against bank directors and officers. I know there were some things going on in a few banks that weren’t always done appropriately or legally, but the problem is that much of this activity had been occurring for years. As Warren Buffet once said, “Only … [Read more...]
Banks are branching out to get customers into their branches
By Neal Reynolds A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog entitled, “Prevent bank branch closings with free WiFi” that received a huge response. Then, just last week, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article “Bank To-Do List: Make a Deposit, Grab a Brew, Maybe Strike a Pose,” where they talked about the many ways banks are drawing potential customers into their branches. Umpqua … [Read more...]
And The Mobile Banking Winner Is…Google Wallet?
There is a great article in the latest edition of FastCompany.com titled Mobile Melee. It describes the companies and industries that are fighting it out to turn smart phones into “wallets” and who could ultimately control the multi-trillion dollar U.S. payments industry. The interesting thing about the article is that it predicts that banks will be the first ones out of … [Read more...]
Develop Marketing Plans, Not Severance Plans
New banking regulations, reduced loan volume and intense competition are causing banks all over the country to search for ways to cut overhead. FDIC data shows that small banks as a group are less efficient than the larger ones. In the most recent quarter, 76 cents of every $1 in revenue at banks with less than $100 million in assets was used to cover expenses. At the larger … [Read more...]