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Successfully Managing Your Latest IT Initiative

IT projects are now so big, and they touch so many aspects of an organization, that they pose a new singular risk.

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Consistent customer contact: Reclaiming success Part IV

One personal visit or contact with a customer or potential client will normally do nothing toward maintaining or moving the business. It will take an unrelenting effort which requires creativity, which may not come easy to career bankers. One of the best methods for building an inventive strategy to maintain constant contact with customers is to plan one specific event or activity per week for 13 consecutive weeks.

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P5 is exponentially valuable: Reclaiming success Part III

There are a multitude of methods used to state this standard. I happen to be very fond of P5 because it provides not only the rule, but the reason behind the tenet. I also happen to believe most challenges can be overcome with an outline and a list of bullet points. P5 has been part of my modus operandi for over 20 years.

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Classify thy customers: Reclaiming success Part II

All of your customers need to be classified into groups that will quickly, consistently and regularly identify them as a great customer, a poor customer, and possibly a couple of designations in between. If you fail to do this, it is highly likely time will be wasted with relationships you cannot salvage, customers that are no longer a good fit for the bank, or clients that need assistance beyond that which your institution offers.

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Reclaiming success as a community banker

When studying the recommended remedies you certainly may discover that nothing listed mirrors any part of your job description. However, as a integral element of a larger entity, rebuilding the much maligned identity of a community bank and banker applies to everyone on the payroll. This is not the time to recite a line made famous by the late Freddie Prinze - "It's not my job man." In this environment, only the truly delusional are brazen enough to utter what could be the last words prior to a pink slip.

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CRE Halfway Through 2011

“Losses associated with CRE (commercial real estate), particularly residential construction and land development lending, were the dominant reason for the high number of bank failures since the beginning of 2008, and further CRE-related bank failures are expected over the next few years.” This was not a shocking revelation made by Patrick M. Parkison, the Director of Banking Supervision and Regulation for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. His observation came in February while appearing before a Congressional Oversight Panel. What consumers, bankers, political party leaders and just about everyone else wants to know is what lies ahead. “…the rate of deterioration in market and credit conditions has leveled off, and there are some early signs of price stabilization in a number of key markets,” Parkinson added.  “Nonetheless, CRE delinquencies and losses are expected to remain elevated for some time.”   Property ...

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...the greatest of these is housing

If the Apostle Paul were an economist in the present day, he might be instead writing, “And these four remain: consumer spending, employment, housing and inventory. But the greatest of these is housing.”

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Earthquake in Banking Regulations

July 21, 2011 is the day when "tectonic changes" will take place in regulation. Bankers need to prepare for rapid regulatory changes that create unforeseen demands on compliance professionals as well as the executive level and directors.

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Directors to Compliance: "Pull up a chair"

The key for directors - find and keep the very best compliance experts, ask lots of questions, and always reserve a seat for them at the table. Ignore this advice at your own peril.

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May is Zombie Awareness Month – Is that what consumed my Capital

A quick glance at the web today revealed several articles about how to prepare and deal with the flesh eating pest, including an article by the CDC “Prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse,  “Best Car to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse” and “How to Zombie Proof Your Home”.  While zombies are “undead-people” who only want to consume human’s living flesh, what consumed the capital of the banking industry?  Who or what are the zombies affecting the banking industry and consuming the life sustaining capital accounts of banks?  The quick and obvious answers are “problem loans” and loan losses are causing reduced or negative earnings.  While an accurate statement, there are many components that contribute to, and influence, loan losses and the calculations necessary to arrive at that amount. The Provision Expense gets the second bite out of a bank’s earnings stream.  Loan demand is flat or declining, reducing a banks biggest ea ...

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