When I left the banking industry 6 years ago to join Plansmith, one of my toughest adjustments was working with clients and prospects remotely. Thanks to technology, I can meet with a bank in Maine in the morning and another in Washington that afternoon. Conference lines and GoToMeeting webinars allow for more, faster, and better methods of doing business… or do they?
As you may have seen, in February we did a webinar on recent changes in the way Regulators are evaluating funding risk and the new measurements they are using to assign the “L”-Liquidity rating. As we noted, their focus has been on brokered deposits, “potentially volatile funding sources,” and “high rate deposits.” We pointed out numerous weaknesses in the way these funding sources are being assessed and limited.
The purchase of an asset liability management (ALM) system presents a problem to many bankers. Often the process begins with the creation of a checklist of features and functions then progresses to comparing vendors. The vendor with the highest "score" wins. While this may be a good start, there are dimensions to the problem that this ignores, specifically the quality and significance of the features identified.
As Plansmith’s Director of Client Education, I’m often asked which continuing education programs should I attend and why?
One of my favorite courses that I always recommend is our Compass Advanced Coaching event. Don’t let the title scare you, it’s a great fit for a wide variety of experience levels.
Another great year has gone by, the stock market notwithstanding. With the number of banks and credit unions continuing to shrink, the cream is rising to the top. The quality of the remaining institutions is getting better.
Having tried my best to avoid ‘labels’ of all types, I seldom bring attention to achievements that are gender associated. However, the good work of others is something that should always be recognized. Male or female, it is always important to acknowledge role models that inspire.
In recognition of their hard work and dedication, Plansmith would like to congratulate this year’s 2018 Influential Women In Business Honorees, including our client, Jean Theis, EVP and COO of Andigo CU.
For those of you who are fans of the sitcom Seinfeld, George Costanza would break down this word into its two components: thanks and giving.
How many times in our daily lives do we say “thanks"? A lot! It’s our common, casual, and pretty standard way to end each email, text, and verbal conversation. I’m not saying that it isn’t heartfelt. I’m just saying that this time of year - and this particular holiday - give us a chance to pause and appreciate each other. And, maybe more importantly, pay more attention when someone offers us a thank you.
"It was a very informative two days. It was also helpful to learn different ways to navigate through the tabs and fields in the Compass program."
We had nine bankers in our office last Thursday and Friday attending our first 2-day event, and what a success it was! We had a great group ranging from new clients, new users, and more established veterans, banks from $240 MM to $1.6 B in assets, men and women from diverse backgrounds, traveling in from near and far. The group was excited to share thoughts and ideas, and interested in ways we can help them enhance their understanding of the planning concepts and models.
Too often when we’re asked why we do what we do, we naturally default to talking about ourselves.
The truth is, it’s the people we work with every day that inspire us to do what we do.
Our clients make their own success. Their ambition, discipline, commitment, and transparency bind every person throughout their organization to a common goal. There are so many of these success stories, we wanted to highlight several noted in recent banking publications.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
- (Not) Charles Darwin
It’s true.
Although this is a pretty great quote, Darwin never actually said it. It was an attempt by Dr. Leon C. Megginson, Louisiana State University Professor of Management and Marketing, to capture the essence of Darwin’s seminal “On the Origin of Species” for a 1963 speech to the Southwestern Social Science Association. The text of the speech was subsequently published in the Association’s quarterly journal, and the rest is quote-misattribution history.