Jim Edwards’ first car wasn’t an American teenager’s usual first car. As his longtime friend Scott Blackstock recalls, when Edwards turned 16, his first car was a very old—and very used—sports car. One of Edwards’ classmates ran into the back of it, significantly damaging the car. A local mechanic and salvage yard owner in Edwards hometown of Barnesville, Georgia, knew how much Jim loved that … Continue reading A Leader for Our Time
On March 25, 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating nationwide and stalking Washington, U.S. senators unanimously passed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill. Two days later, the House passed the measure and President Trump enacted it. Embedded in the law was a Paycheck Protection Program—a $349 billion rescue program for small business owners facing the prospect of having to immediately shut down their firms and … Continue reading ‘We Were Economic First Responders’
What if you gave a party and nobody came? Or to put a finer point on it, what if one of your bank’s biggest selling points—often one that’s right there in the name—flies right over the head of the people you’re hoping to sell to? Mutual community banks face a conundrum. What they consider one of their biggest selling points—the concept of mutuality—most of the … Continue reading Making the Feeling Mutual
If you look closely at the chilly, choppy waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, you might catch a glimpse of sleek black fins—the telltale sign of J pod, the extended family of orcas who haunt the inland waters between Washington state and British Columbia. Like all orca pods, J pod is matriarchal, made up of descendants of four matrilines. The pod sticks together; … Continue reading Leader of the Pod
Imagine a consultant based in Puerto Rico. She deposits mostly checks from her different clients, and she wants to open an account at a Great Lakes area bank. Would the bank consider her risky as a customer, and if so—how risky? It all depends on how the consultant and her business fits into the bank’s broader customer risk framework. To start with, the system would … Continue reading Avoiding a Risky Customer Conundrum
Here we are, three adults, sitting in toddler-sized chairs in a former church basement. High-pitched laughter and kid chatter wafts in from the next room, where snacks are about to be served. I’m in the pre-K classroom of Energy Capital Cooperative Child Care, a new daycare center in Mercer County, N.D., and I’m chatting with Dana Santini, who manages the center, and local bank leader … Continue reading The Bank in the Background
In March, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed a landmark lawsuit against Facebook, alleging that the Silicon Valley giant was violating the Fair Housing Act by filtering housing-related advertising to potential viewers based on protected characteristics, such as race, sex and disability. In the case, which is still pending, HUD alleged that Facebook enabled housing advertisers to exclude—for example—parents, foreign-born individuals and customers interested in … Continue reading Compliant Digital Marketing: Making the Most of Today’s Tools
Earlier this week, George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen asked a provocative question on his popular economics blog: “Should we ban bicycles in major urban areas?” You might think calling for a new regulatory prohibition to be an odd question for someone who also leads a libertarian research organization known as the Mercatus Center. Mr. Cowen was calling attention to recent figures showing that 14 … Continue reading Confessions of a Conservative Cyclist
Voice in banking isn’t exactly a new concept. After all, we’ve engaged with bankers using our voices since the first borrowers approached Renaissance Italy’s 15th-century “mounts of piety” to ask for loans. When, 500 years later, telephone banking became an option, bank customers embraced that channel too. But while using our voice to connect with banks isn’t new, digital voice technology has been accelerated by … Continue reading Can You Hear Me Now?
A casual observer might be forgiven for thinking that when Congress passed—and President Trump signed—the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, or S. 2155, in 2018, that financial institutions were being “deregulated.” That’s what hundreds of news headlines and ledes said. “What’s in the Bank Deregulation Bill” —Wall Street Journal “Senate Bill Part of Deregulation Wave” —Bloomberg “The House easily cleared the Senate … Continue reading What We Talk About When We Talk About ‘Deregulation’
Evan Sparks 