
Financial institutions must be ready for a bevy of new regulations in 2024.
All major federal bank regulators (the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) have sought comments for proposed rules during the second half of this year. They cover many topics, including corporate governance, capital, liquidity, and artificial intelligence.
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Topics:
Vendor management,
AI,
Artificial Intelligence,
Deposits,
Regulation,
liquidity,
Corporate Governance,
Capital

Credit quality will become a bigger part of the conversation as banks and credit unions head into the homestretch of 2023.
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Topics:
Net Income,
Credit Quality,
Changeoffs,
Loan-Loss Provision,
Earnings,
Risk Management

The year ahead will bring a host of unknowns – including legislative and regulatory intervention, the resiliency of credit quality, and an unclear economic trajectory. A murky outlook will make it challenging for banks to determine a strategic course of action without hesitation.
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Topics:
Revenue,
Deposits,
Expense Management,
Regulation,
Client Management,
Credit Quality

The official launch of the Federal Reserve’s FedNow platform on July 20 culminated a four-year undertaking by the central bank.
While the payments world didn’t change overnight, the launch has raised the potential for new use cases. I previously shared my thoughts on what financial institutions should consider in terms of real-time payments.
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Topics:
Payments,
Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
FedNow,
Real-time payments,
RTP Network

This year is proving to be pivotal for tech-focused banks and credit unions.
Real-time payments will get a shot in the arm from FedNow’s debut, while Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) is plugging more fintechs into mainstream financial services. Still, the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank created challenges for some early-stage companies.
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Topics:
Fintech,
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Banking-as-a-Service,
Real-time payments,
Venture Capital

I recently attended the Fintech + Insurtech Generations conference in Charlotte, N.C., which brings together visionaries across the broad spectrum of finance and technology.
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Topics:
Payments,
Open Banking,
Digital Assets,
Blockchain,
Regulation

Real-time payments (aka RTP) have become an increasingly hot topic for bankers as the launch of FedNow, a new instant payment infrastructure established by the Federal Reserve, nears. It will enable financial institutions of every size across the U.S. to provide safe and efficient instant payment services. The service moves from the pilot stage to a full launch in July 2023 and will be rolled out in several phases of functionality.
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Topics:
Vendor Negotiation,
Mortgages,
FedNow,
Real-time payments,
RTP,
The Clearing House

The first quarter will not be easily forgotten, given two of the biggest-ever bank failures and the ensuing panic that engulfed several other regional banks.
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Topics:
Deposits,
Apple Savings,
Securities,
Commercial Real Estate,
Net Income
![SRM-ICBA-Blog-Image[99]](https://blog.srmcorp.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SRM-ICBA-Blog-Image%5B99%5D.jpg?width=829&height=476&name=SRM-ICBA-Blog-Image%5B99%5D.jpg)
Bankers began arriving at the Independent Community Bankers of America’s annual convention eager to discuss a broad range of strategies for navigating 2023.
The fact that the conference was held in Hawaii – a destination that was scrapped a couple of years ago because of the pandemic – was a cause for optimism despite several headwinds.
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Topics:
FDIC,
Deposits,
Community Banks,
liquidity,
Assessments

It’s not every day that a phrase as vague and slanted as “junk fees” becomes an actual legislative term, but here we are. In various statements, the White House and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have defined junk fees as “hidden or unexpected fees” and “increasingly sophisticated tools to disguise the true price consumers face.”
Although President Biden highlighted hotel resort fees, concert ticket services, and airline surcharges in his State of the Union address, the CFPB has also pushed to lower the cap for most credit card late fees from roughly $30 to $8. Limiting or eliminating NSF/overdraft fees is also high on the agency’s agenda.
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Topics:
Vendor Contract Negotiation,
Bank Vendor Management,
Credit Union Vendor Management,
Overdraft,
CFPB,
Credit Cards,
Retail Banking