The Second Half of 2025

This year has been more tumultuous than many before it, with unprecedented economic gyrations. Short rates have remained stable, while long-term debt has reflected the unique economic uncertainties of our time. While this yielded lots of agonizing and stomach acid, it also helped steepen the curve somewhat, and contributed to some margin relief among many banks. Industry leaders shared their main concerns last year as NIM, core funding pressures (both rates and magnitude), credit quality…

THE WEALTH BUSINESS – PART TWO

Part One of this article highlighted the opportunities embedded in the Wealth business to generate coveted fee income and increase franchise value for your bank. The grim reality, though, is that many banks with a Wealth vertical found the business lacking in terms of overall contribution to the entire enterprise, either in profitability or in deposits. This part will tackle some of the underlying causes for the disappointments many CEOs have expressed with the business,…

THE WEALTH BUSINESS – PART ONE

Last week, our forum season started with the CFO group. One topic that was of interest to all was the wealth business. It’s a fee-income business with outstanding customer loyalty (average attrition is only 5%, and many enjoy a 2-3% attrition). It is subject to market vagaries, which is unfortunate, but overall, it can be very attractive. Unfortunately, the business has a few major problems: ·                     Most strong wealth advisors are poor salespeople, so organic growth…