logicpath Blog | Whoknew

Top 4 Financial Apps Customers Love

Jul 5, 2018 | Teresa Romero

The way your customers approach banking is drastically changing, and it’s no secret that fintechs continue to rise in popularity, but they don't have to be the bad guys. In fact, many banks and credit unions are leveraging fintech technology and partnerships to help create a better, more customized experience for customers. In a recent article from Forbes.com, the author, Martin Haering, analyzed the many variables of the banking environment and came to the following conclusion:

Can Banks Give Payday Loans A Run For Their Money?

Jun 21, 2018 | Meghan Quinlin

Payday loans are very, very expensive, and often trap consumers in a vicious cycle of debt that is hard to break. The sad part is that Americans at the bottom of the financial ladder, folks who barely get by paycheck to paycheck, have no option but to resort to these loans because banks and credit unions have not offered small short-term loans to consumers since the recession. Hence, a recent bulletin from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) was welcome news for cash-strapped con...

Topics: Banking Products

Don’t Call It a Rewrite – The Ease of Volcker Rule is for Efficiency Sakes

Jun 15, 2018 | Kelly MacConnell

On May 30, 2018, the Federal Reserve proposed rules to simplify compliance requirements relating to the "Volcker rule," which was established after the global financial crisis of 2008, and prevented taxpayer-insured banks from engaging in risky proprietary trading, and from owning or controlling hedge funds or private equity funds. The Fed’s proposed changes do not go against the rule’s core principles of prohibiting banking entities from making risky financial bets, but aim to ease the nightmar...

Topics: Federal Reserve, In the News

Top 5 Mistakes of Branch Transformation

May 17, 2018 | logicpath

Faced with changing customer preferences, especially from millennials and Generation-Xers who make up America’s largest demographic, banks and credit unions are keen to transform their branches from traditional to newer models that incorporate the delicate balance between high tech and high touch (see 100% Branchless Banking – Myth or Reality?). But successful branch transformations aren’t easily accomplished. Here’s why:

Topics: Branch Transformation

The Fear of “Running Out of Cash” is an Illusion

May 10, 2018 | Teresa Romero

Every responsible branch manager strives to satisfy his/her customers’ banking needs, especially when it comes to their demands for cash. Not being able to fulfill a customer’s request for cash at a bank or credit union branch is probably every head teller’s nightmare! Every banker wants to have more-than-adequate cash, and is pretty fearful of running out of cash (total cash holdings at the branch; not to be confused with cash flow at the branch). This fear, however, is an illusion that leads t...

Topics: Vault Cash, Cash Usage

What is the Fed Doing to Ease the Stress of Stress Testing?

Apr 27, 2018 | Kelly MacConnell

On April 10, 2018, the Federal Reserve Board sought comment on a proposal to simplify capital rules for banks while preserving strong capital levels to maintain their ability to lend under stressful conditions. The proposal would reduce the amount of Tier-1 capital that large, medium and small-sized banks would need to hold as a buffer against future economic shocks – based on size, complexity, and systemic footprint of each firm. This should help small and mid-sized financial institutions and n...

Topics: Financial stress testing

Are We There Yet?? A Dodd-Frank Deregulation Update

Apr 5, 2018 | Kelly MacConnell

Update: Are we there yet? On March 14, 2018, the Senate passed a bipartisan measure to exempt dozens of small community and regional banks and credit unions from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law enacted in 2010. The bill, which recognizes that smaller financial institutions are disproportionately burdened by regulatory demands, now moves to the House of Representatives, where it faces a tougher approval battle because conservatives believe the Senate version doesn’t go far enough in disman...

Topics: Dodd Frank

When Should I Implement Deposit Reclassification?

Mar 29, 2018 | Meghan Quinlin

Deposit Reclassification, commonly called a retail sweep program, helps banks and credit unions reduce and even eliminate reserve balances; allowing them to deploy the freed-up funds for profitable lending and investment purposes. A bank or credit union’s motivation to implement deposit reclassification depends on costs versus benefits. Implementing Deposit Reclassification makes sense at all times, but is even more important when interest rates are rising and expected to continue to rise, whe...

Topics: Deposit Reclassification, Federal Reserve Balance

Deposit Reclassification vs. other Retail Sweep Programs

Mar 22, 2018 | Kelly MacConnell

A Comparison of Deposit Reclassification and the core providers’ Retail Sweep Programs Deposit Reclassification, commonly referred to as retail sweep programs, help banks and credit unions recover their Federal Reserve balances due to reserve requirements and quickly improve profitability. These programs reduce reserve requirements to the point where in most cases, they can be met with vault cash alone, without parking funds at the Fed. Financial Institutions can then invest these freed-up fund...

Topics: Deposit Reclassification, Retail Sweep Program

5 Warning Signs of Poor Branch Cash Management

Mar 15, 2018 | logicpath

Most retail operations and branch managers at banks and credit unions believe that they are doing a good job of managing cash. While they may admit to some room for improvement (nobody’s perfect, right?!), many don’t believe that tweaking their branch cash management practices would significantly improve the branch’s operations or profitability. As a result, many branches operate under the myth that they are doing a good job of managing cash. However, here are five warning signs that might revea...

Topics: Cash Management