Updates: Credit Union Mergers & Acquisitions
Updates: Credit Union Mergers & Acquisitions
Posted by Matthew Speed on May 8, 2018
Review: M&A  in 2017 Last year I wrote a post discussing credit union (CU) merger and acquisition (M&A) activity over the last several years and the drivers of this activity. I discovered that a great deal of CU M&A activity is attributed to the ...
Certificates of Deposit in a Rising Rate Environment
Posted by Tommy Adams on Apr 24, 2018
Certificate of Deposits (CDs) are a great way for customers to grow investments over a set term with very low risk. Traditionally, CD rates were higher than they have been in the past 10 years. Longer term CD rates were higher than offered short ...
Real-Time Payments are Coming to America
Posted by John Mateker on Apr 17, 2018
In November of last year, The Clearinghouse (TCH) demonstrated the first Real-Time Payment, or RTP as their product is known within the U.S. While the payment was only for $3.50 and the accounts at the two counter party banks belonged to the same ...
What Blockchain Means for Banking
Posted by Cheryl Ceto on Apr 10, 2018
Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has been speculated to revolutionize the financial sector (depending on who you ask), is as controversial as it is volatile. Yet, it’s the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that could be ...
2017 Regulatory Updates – Year in Review
Posted by The Mad Banker on Apr 3, 2018
 Last year started with a great deal of optimism in the banking industry regarding regulatory reform. This was in large part due to the Republican Party gaining control of the White House and retaining control of both houses of Congress.  The party ...
Relationship Pricing, What is it Really?
Posted by Joe Wilson on Mar 27, 2018
Everybody talks about Relationship Pricing, but what does it really mean? Relationship Pricing is defined as a pricing and billing framework, where pricing is determined based on a customer/member’s overall financial picture, rather than being ...
Loan Origination Processes and Challenges Part 2 – Mortgage Loans
Posted by John Mateker on Mar 20, 2018
  In Part 1 of Loan Origination Processes and Challenges, I tackled consumer loans. In this blog I will address mortgage loans.  The regulatory environment has been a huge influence on how mortgages are processed today. TRID (TILA RESPA Integrated ...
CFPB Focus and Bulletins during 2017
Posted by The Mad Banker on Jan 22, 2018
Since its inception, in the summer of 2011, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has focused on implementing safeguards for John and Jane Q. Public to protect them from predatory, deceptive, and unfair practices developed and implemented ...
2018 Outlook – The Fed, Monetary Policy, and Interest Rates
Posted by Scott Edenfield on Jan 16, 2018
As the Holiday decorations are put back in storage and New Year’s resolutions tenuously stay on track before their inevitable demise; we here at The Mad Banker turn our eyes towards what the year ahead holds in regards to actions from our friends at ...
The Importance of Defining and Understanding Your Competitors
Posted by Steve Sharp on Jan 8, 2018
In any business, being able to name your competitors is an incredibly important practice. While this would seem to be a pretty straight forward exercise, it can become complicated quickly. For example, when looking at a large manufacturer such as ...
Mystery Shopping & Market Research: DIY or Hire a Professional
Posted by The Mad Banker on Dec 6, 2017
‘Actionable data’ is the goal when a bank or credit union mystery shops itself and its competition.  The importance of mystery shopping is to understand its business and market thoroughly, so prudent business decisions can be made.  The data ...
The Importance of Non- Interest Income, let’s not be so adverse to fee
Posted by Steve DiLoreto on Nov 15, 2017
Every business that offers products and services to consumers must face a very important aspect of their business plan or model; “How do we price our products and services to be profitable, but also maintain customer loyalty?” As you know, customer ...