While the economic environment continues to shift from the effects of COVID-19, financial institutions aren’t out of the woods. As 2022 heats up into the summer months, inflation, rate increases, and an overall sense of uncertainty loom over markets. So, how do you begin to measure the financial impact today’s economy will have on your business? By utilizing a true planning model.

A professional forecasting platform for Budgeting and ALM/IRR adapts to changing conditions. As it is relationship-driven, it can be set to react to environmental changes, including rates. As the rate environment shifts, so should your balance sheet growth and product mix. Planning models help you test the impact of such changes and measure results in minutes, not hours.

Though market conditions may be changing, the response we recommend for fluctuating environments does not. Below is a simple 6-step checklist for continuous planning in all economic environments.

1. Evaluate your organization under current conditions

• Make sure your historical data is current.
• Revise the rate forecast if necessary to reflect today’s rate conditions.
• Produce reports comparing the full projected year to this year’s budget. Rather than a traditional variance report, a for-the-year comparison will give you a better understanding of where you are headed versus where you had hoped to be.

• Enter expected rate changes for the remainder of the current year.
• At a minimum, create two alternative scenarios: one for rising rates and one for falling rates. If using a Plansmith model, these steps are included within our professional rate download.

• Adjust the product mix within loans to anticipate changes created by customer demand and the desired balance between fixed and variable rate products.
• For deposits, revise pricing, as needed, to retain, redirect, or even reduce customer growth.

• Calculate and compare Rising and Falling Rate scenarios against your Most Likely Plan scenario. If using Plansmith’s model, these are pre-built and can be calculated simultaneously in seconds.
• Test dramatic rate change conditions by running a full Rate Shock Simulation of NIM and EVE. These, too, are automated within Plansmith’s model and produce a comprehensive Risk Report for your ALCO, Board, and Examiners.