Pub. 2 2024 Issue 3

Tuesday, Sept. 10 American Whiskey Experience Wednesday, Sept. 11 CBW Golf TournamentGleneagle Golf Course Welcome Reception & Trade Show Dinner Leading Teams to Thrive Under PressureKeynote Speaker Dr. Dan Diamond Thursday, Sept. 12 Profitability & the Efficient Use of CapitalMichael Benedict, ICBA Securities/Stifel OMG Am I In Sales?Tom Miller, Shazam CSBS & DFI Updates Charlie Clark

In today’s competitive banking landscape, the strategic allocation of resources is crucial for determining a financial institution’s resilience, profitability and capacity for growth. A key aspect of this strategy involves the optimal use of collateral for regulatory and commercial purposes, as well as accessing liquidity. Traditionally, banks have set aside excess collateral to provide principal protection for uninsured balances in deposit relationships. While effective in addressing the investment policy needs of customers, the increasing opportunity cost of holding collateralized deposits has led bank treasurers to seek alternatives for using high-quality liquid assets.

As a regulatory agency, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions knows all too well how quickly people can be defrauded out of their hard‑earned dollars. We see it in the consumer complaints pursued by our enforcement and investigations units.

There are a whole lot of anomalies in community banking in the waning stages of this restrictive Fed cycle. One of the overriding themes is the sheer duration of the process. We’re now fully one year past the last tightening, which has left the effective overnight rate at 5.375% since July 2023, and given rise to the “higher for longer” sound bite. The past six tightening cycles have averaged well under a year between the last hike and the first ease. We will be soon approaching another record: the longest-ever pause between the last hike and the first cut is 15 months, from June 2006 to September 2007.

There has been a recent uptick in ATM attacks across the United States, particularly in multiple Western states. In many of these attacks, criminals have utilized never-before-seen ATM skimming devices and new methods.

Flexibility: It’s one of the characteristics that sets our community banks apart, enabling us to meet the needs of distinct communities in unique ways.