Banking

At approximately 2:30 a.m. EST Wednesday, Donald Trump took a conciliatory call from Hillary Clinton and began his speech to accept the position as the 45^th President of the United States of America.

This morning, across the country, people woke to the news and a gnawing feeling in the pit of their stomach. Regardless of which candidate got our vote and whether we are feeling a sense of victory or defeat, we all share two questions—what does this mean and what is ahead for us? The reality is that we can’t know until we’re able to look back in hindsight.

By now, you may have heard that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declared that Congress had taken unconstitutional action with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and introduced a swath of changes that stand to impact providers and consumers in numerous ways. The court's decision puts the CFPB directly under the control of the White House. Currently, the CFPB operates as an independent agency. There are arguments on both sides of that coin, some saying that the autonomy provides necessary stability for the U.S. economy and others saying that it offers a dangerous lack of checks and balances.

As the 2016 Presidential debates begin in earnest, scrutiny is intensifying around a number of issues that will have a significant impact on banks. One of these is the possible repeal of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (aka Dodd-Frank).

As public banks and companies continue to grow, whether through mergers and acquisitions or organically, it’s not unusual for them to forget about important regulations.

In this blog, we wanted to focus on the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that require companies to provide an annual report on internal controls for their fiscal year end.[1] In particular, these internal control report requirements impact accelerated and large accelerated filers.[2]

Last week, a group of community bankers from the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and representatives from the American Bankers Association (ABA) met with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to discuss concerns about the upcoming impairment standard on credit losses. The meeting came partly as a result of two years of requests from the ABA to consider the implications of accounting changes on community banks.

“The new standard is intended to provide users of financial statements with more useful information on the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments. It improves the accounting model to better meet the requirements of today’s complex economic environment.”

FASB Chairman Russell G. Golden / January 5, 2016

On January 5, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new Accounting Standards Update (ASU) – the Financial Instruments-Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. According to FASB, the update is intended to improve the reporting model for financial instruments, giving users of the financial statements with more practical information. The ASU mandates a number of items that affect banks, with implementation set for 2017 for public companies and 2018 comprehensively.  

In chess, each player must strategize the exact right moves to defeat the opponent. Getting to make the first move may be the greatest advantage. In business, as in chess, first movers often gain momentum by grabbing market share before others get into the market.

Ask any banker to name the thorns in their side, and chances are they’ll come up with a few usual suspects, like regulatory compliance and its increasing costs. Since the Great Recession, Other Real Estate Owned (OREO) has earned a spot among those familiar thorns.

It seems every time you turn around, there is a new regulation creating unique opportunities, challenges and risks for banks. The new Basel III capital rules are no different, and for S corporations the capital conservation buffer could have a significant impact on future tax distributions.

Are you among the multitude of banks that have faced the question “Does our tax refund belong to the bank or holding company?” Well, on Friday, June 13, Federal regulators issued final supplemental guidance on income tax allocation agreements involving holding companies and insured depository institutions. The issuance represents regulators’ efforts to eliminate confusion and bring closure to the debate around the ownership of tax refunds.