Plansmith Blog

Putting the “Live” in ICBA Live 2019

Posted by David Schwieder on 3/27/19 11:05 AM

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?

Read More

Forgotten Components of Interest Rate Risk at Community Banks

Posted by Craig Hartman on 9/26/17 6:30 PM
It is standard operating procedure for community banks to measure interest rate risk by shocking the balance sheet. The percentage change in the Net Interest Margin over several shock levels as an indicator of the severity of risk. While it can provide a clue to the potential loss in the margin, it by no means measures the true risk. The true risk is Equity loss. Equity doesn’t come from NIM but from retained earnings. So to truly measure risk to equity, we must use the entire P&L, not just net interest income.
Read More

Why Your Community Bank Needs Social Media

Posted by Megan Plis on 5/25/17 10:00 AM

I can talk about social media all day long. And all night, for that matter.

Read More

The Community Bank Strategic Planning Experiment: Using Your Model To Prepare for Rising Interest Rates

Posted by Sue West on 5/10/17 10:00 AM
Q: What makes an experiment successful?

A: Its failures.

Read More

Answered: Bankers' 5 Most Painful Questions about Backtesting

Posted by Dave Wicklund on 1/23/17 8:18 AM

Backtesting can be a painful topic for bankers. In this post, I'll answer the top 5 most common questions I hear about backtesting. I'll reference my first post, Independent Review, Model Validation, and Backtesting: Same Thing, Only Different, so you might want to revisit it before reading on. In that blog, we looked at the interrelationship of these three items and brought up a few questions on backtesting.

Specifically, we questioned 5 things: who should do it, how often should it be done, what period should be covered, do you need to backtest model results and assumptions, and why even bother if market rates really aren’t changing.

Read More

Bankers: The Case for Mentorship & Continuing Education

Posted by Jennifer Mello on 10/5/16 10:34 AM

Education. It’s different when you’re young – you have to go through it. You keep moving up another step until graduation, and then one day, it’s all over. Then you have a choice: stop education all together, or continue education and further enhance your career.

Read More

FinTech & The Generational Melting Pot Effect

Posted by Megan Plis on 8/31/16 10:05 AM

There is a lot of buzz surrounding millennials and their unique psychographics and behaviors, especially with regard to buying habits. But it's not just millennials that are exhibiting fascinating (and at times, frustrating) preferences. As Jim Perry of Market Insights and #BANKSOCIAL discusses in his article, Modern Demographic Cohorts, Defined By Expectations, Want The Same Things From FIs, other generations, including baby boomers, are stepping outside of their perceived demographic[s] and assimilating with attitudes, beliefs and even behaviors of diverse age groups.

Read More

Survey Results: Strategic Planning for Community Banks

Posted by Jim Fugitte on 7/21/16 2:21 PM

Most say strategic plans end up on the shelf!

Plansmith Corp. recently conducted a survey of CEOs and CFOs on the role of community bank strategic planning within their organization. It was not surprising to learn that 90% said they have a strategic plan, but a closer look revealed some interesting statistics on the implementation of their plans. 

Read More

CEOs: 3 Thoughts on Strategic Thinking

Posted by Jim Fugitte on 6/8/16 10:00 AM

Compliance

The cost of regulatory compliance, declining product prices, and technological threats from new entrants all narrow the path to future profits. Even if the yield curve improves, these threats will force community banks to search harder to improve earnings. It can’t be done on the fly; only strategic thinking and careful planning in the context of your market and the opportunities available will be successful. Would you coach a Super Bowl team without a playbook? Probably not.

Read More

Community Bank & Credit Union Forum: Compass Roundtable March 2016

Posted by Jennifer Mello on 5/11/16 10:00 AM

Thank you to everyone who attended the March 2016 Financial Compass Roundtable!

Read More

Subscribe Now!

Posts by Tag

See all

Recent Posts