Community banks that take a “top-down” approach toward stress testing are taking the equivalent of a placebo when it comes to assessing how ready they are if the pandemic triggers a severe and protracted economic downturn....
Dealing with a Critical Bank Exam: A Case Study in Using the Right Tool for the Job
As the coronavirus financial fallout continues, many community bank executives may soon be dealing with tough safety and soundness exams. That was the situation in 2018 for Middlefield Bank, a $1.3 billion Ohio institution. “We...
If Your Capital Plan is Missing this Metric, It’s Broken and Needs to be Fixed Now
Regulators have made it clear in recent guidance: As the economic fallout from the coronavirus continues, capital plans will be under the microscope at your next exam. And while most community banks have a capital plan, way too...
CECL vs COVID: Q1 Data Reveals What Drove Loan Loss Reserves for Publicly Traded Banks
Let’s face it: Publicly traded banks that implemented the new current expected credit losses (CECL) accounting standard during the COVID-19 pandemic faced a huge set of challenges. But what really drove their decisions about how...
What Community Banks Should Glean from the Fed's Stress Tests
The Federal Reserve announced last week that it was suspending stock repurchases and limiting the amount of dividends the largest banks can pay in the second quarter. The Fed made this decision after the large banks “passed” the...
News Alert: Examiners to Focus on Banks' Ability to Manage COVID-19 Risks
CEOs take note: Bank examiners will be looking at how well your management team has assessed risks from the COVID-19 environment, whether and how you have changed your business practices, and if you have addressed these changes...
Sleepless CEO Nights: Say Goodbye to Traditional Pricing Benchmarks
The last several months of the COVID-19 crisis have heaped an enormous and unexpected level of stress and complexity onto bank CEOs. Managing potentially serious credit problems with clients in various industries, learning to...
Updated: Additional Data Shows Most Banks Saying No to CBLR
As we told you last month, two out of every three community banks chose not to opt into the Community Bank Leverage Ratio. We've updated our numbers as more banks file their Call Reports, but the trend continues. The latest...
Podcast: Why Banks Should Know Their Margin of Safety During the COVID-19 Crisis
No one has a crystal ball that can predict when and how the economic fallout from the coronavirus will end. But community banks need a way to understand how their capital will fare as conditions change – and which loans they need...