August 24, 2020

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, financial institutions can quickly realize savings by renegotiating major vendor contracts.

Is racism baked into our nation’s systems of justice, health and education, or are there disproportionate correlations between race, poverty and crime? Are people too quick to accuse others of racism, or are those in positions of power too slow to recognize their role in perpetuating racial inequities? Is it fair that I posed these as either/or questions, or is all of the above true?

Is your institution prepared for the coming wave of small business bankruptcy filings that will be crashing upon us later this year and early next year? The financial distress that COVID-19 is wreaking for small businesses is well known.

These days more people are working remotely than ever before and many tasks previously done in person are happening online – including banking. Unfortunately, fraudsters are aggressively taking advantage of potential vulnerabilities that arise from this increased online activity.

The last few months have put stresses on banks in ways that could not have been previously imagined. It is easy for bankers trying to meet the needs of distressed customers to lose sight of day-to-day responsibilities. However, it is during a crisis that our best business practices become even more important.

How did you become a banker? Did you always aspire to be part of the financial industry?
Although I always had a positive view of bankers due to their community involvement where I grew up in Cherryvale, Kansas, banking was not on my career radar. After college graduation I served in the military for several years, then began to search for a job. The father of a good friend of mine, Gary Cotterill, was a local banker and gave me an opportunity to learn the industry.