Garnet Capital Advisors Blog

Archived news

Industry Outlook

Our take on the latest trending events:

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Garnet Capital Advisors offers several programs that credit unions could advertise to new customers. These could also work toward enhancing services to maintain existing customers. 
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With deposits in decline, as Americans spend down their remaining stimulus funds, banks are once again faced with finding creative ways to satisfy liquidity requirements. For the majority of banks, that means turning to FHLB (Federal Home Loan Bank) for overnight loans to keep reserve levels adequate when they have less cash on hand. 
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Commercial real estate lending tends to react slower to shifting economics because of long-term leases, but the FDIC suspects that the confluence of economic conditions will soon catch up with banks that have a heavy commercial loan portfolio
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The handful of banks that make up what can be known as "mega banks" lost more than 100 of their top employees over the last couple of years.
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The reality is that as more banks merge together, there are fewer overall banks, and thus each new bank lost is a greater percentage of the total. Overall, the percentage of the total number of banks that are lost each year continues to be fairly consistent. That number is around 4% of the total, and that means that the large banks are continuing to swallow up any of the remaining community banks that they can find. Thus, it is best to still consider ourselves to be in a period of banking sector consolidation. 
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One area of modern finance that is not spoken about nearly enough is how a flood of government-back PPP loans has impacted the overall economic landscape. This is a brand-new product to hit the market in response to COVID-19, and some industry players have wasted no time figuring out how they can profit from it. The mid-tier banks in particular have done well by collecting fees on these loans. Big banks also got in on the action, but the mid-tier players have made it a central piece of their ongoing operations.
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Complex financial transactions require different entities coming together to complete them. People should be aware of dual agency brokers when it comes to these situations as they bring some risks.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on many people and companies. Ordinarily, in a crisis, you would expect banks to extend more loans to cash-strapped consumers.  However, the actual situation is different. The total loans extended by banks have dwindled while the banks' deposits have increased significantly.
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Of the many predictions and forecasts experts made on COVID-19’s effects and its subsequent lockdowns on the Financial Sector, very little light was shed on the excess liquidity that may result from it. A year later, banks are still grappling with excess deposits that have grown at an alarming rate.
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Confidence among US workers in various industries is up, according to a recent LinkedIn survey. This improved positivity comes despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as different industries come up with more innovative ways to continue doing business.
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CIT and First Citizens are merging in an effort to better compete for deposits and loans and bolster their balance sheets to weather a recession. Other regionals may follow suit and dump their underperforming assets to make room for more robust ones.
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As consumers spend less and worry about the economy amid the pandemic, they're making more deposits and keeping their money safe. In the meantime, banks are seeing growth in deposits but little in the way of loan growth.
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Bank M&A activity is seeing an uptick, symbolizing optimism and change in the financial industry. Now may be a good time for lenders to clean up their loan portfolios with a debt sale before entering the market.
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Credit unions are stepping up to the plate when it comes to issuing PPP loans to small businesses across the US.
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Banks are looking for new avenues of revenue, and Ally Financial's recent deal to get into point-of-sale financing is a great example of this.
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There are a lot of loans and mortgages coming to the end of their forbearance period after millions of Americans sought financial assistance. Lenders would be wise to sell a portion of their portfolios to minimize the overall strain that this may place on servicing departments.
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Home improvement loans are high-quality loan assets for lenders. And while traditionally difficult to find, today's spike in home improvement projects and loans allows lenders to optimize their loan portfolios.
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The result of limiting dividends and buybacks among banks will be to increase bank capital. This, along with the recent swelling of deposits, is putting added pressure on banks to boost earning assets, which can be helped by adding high-quality, short-term consumer assets to the books.
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Big banks are regaining market share as fintechs face unique challenges amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
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The US Economy is in dire need of bouncing back from the massive hit it's been taking from the coronavirus pandemic, but opposite sides within the administration have differing views on how to go about taking the next steps.
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Small community banks showed their true value during the first wave of the Paycheck Protection Program by stepping in and providing small businesses with the loans needed to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Warren Buffett's recent stock realignments may suggest an economic downturn is on the horizon and makes suggestions about which stocks may do well in the near future and which ones might not.
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Corporate debt has now exceeded household debt for the first time in three decades, prompting lenders to take a closer look at their loan portfolios to ensure risky assets are sold off.
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Texas Capital Bancshares and Independent Bank Group recently announced a merger, which will provide both entities with plenty of opportunities to become stronger, more competitive, and better able to service their customer base.
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Two mega giants in the banking and tech world - Citigroup and Google - are partnering up to give consumers a more Google-like user experience while doing their banking. But how will this affect banking going forward?
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Upcoming rule changes in December will impact banks that lend to lower-income borrowers in terms of meeting CRA requirements. This could potentially change how lenders profit from loans in lower-income communities.
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Heightened competition among fintechs and narrower margins as a result of low interest rates are prompting banks to focus their attention on fee income and liquidity.
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Restaurant loans are struggling right now with many casual dining chins filing for bankruptcy protection. Could this be a sign that an economic downturn is looming?
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There are talks of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being removed from conservatorship, causing concern over the future of these GSEs.
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In the event that another recession takes place, some banks and lenders are retreating from loans in certain sectors, including commercial real estate, to hedge against risk. All banks should take a closer look at their loan portfolios to adjust them for possible risks.
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Valley National Bank recently announced plans to acquire Oritani Financial, which will not only help boost its assets and presence in its home state of New Jersey and other nearby states, but will also help strengthen its loan portfolio. And it's time that other banks follow suit.
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Ally Financial is selling one portfolio and adding another product to strengthen its loan portfolio, and other banks should follow suit.
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Lending to companies that are already overleveraged is risky business for lenders. But it's not the banks that are necessarily at risk, but nonbank finance companies.
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There is a new wave of large bank consolidations on the horizon, with a recent deal between BB&T and SunTrust marking the largest in about a decade. As such, now is the time for banks to clean up their balance sheets and be prepared for these anticipated mergers.
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New rent regulations in New York are negatively affecting community banks, prompting lenders to revisit their loan portfolios to ensure they're well-balanced.
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Tech giants like Google and Amazon have recently been exploring the financial space, but will they follow through with an application for national bank charter?
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What sets Garnet Capital's approach to closing deals apart from others?
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Bank consolidations appear to be more attractive to midsize banks these days, thanks to current regulatory and market conditions, including heightened competition from bigger banks, pending regulatory changes, and the explosion of mobile banking.
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With uncertainty over what will happen with BREXIT, how will American financial institutions be affected? Read on to learn more.
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There are several common concerns among community banks across the US: attracting the right types of clients using affordable tactics, putting profitable loans on the books, and freeing up capital on portfolios that are being taken up by delinquent and underperforming assets.
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Anyone following the news will regularly hear of continued brick-and-mortar retail store closures, many of which are big names in the retail sphere that are seemingly dwindling by the minute. And the wave of retail store closures only seems to be getting started, as more are expected well into 2019 and beyond.
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Does the future of FinTech lie in mergers and combinations within the financial services industry globally?
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Will big changes be on the horizon for the accounting laws on Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL)? At a recent roundtable meeting hosted by the FASB, some banks and lenders pushed back on the new standard that's to take effect early next year, asking the FASB to reconsider modifying the new model, while others are in favor of it proceeding. So, what will the FASB do with the concerns raised?
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As leveraged loans become more prolific, debt cushions are shrinking and posing a risk to certain lenders. This is the ideal time to evaluate and adjust portfolios for risk and return.
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Read on to learn how one bank CEO views his institution's recent growth, and how your business can learn from his example.
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A scenario of rising interest rates can be challenging for banks caught with lower interest rated, long-term loans on their books. Banks can sell these loans and use the proceeds to improve their margins and strengthen their balance sheets.
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Strong trends in employment and GDP spelled good macroeconomic news in 2018, and the strong trends are expected to continue in 2019. As a result, trends in the consumer credit market should be robust as well.
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CECL is a new standard set forth by the FASB. It is set to be implemented in 2020 for all SEC registrants and 2021 for all other banks. The ABA terms it a "significant challenge for the banking industry" and notes that it has the potential to change the way banks do business. While many industry associations seek to delay or mitigate the implementation of CECL, the fact is, it is coming, and banks need to be prepared.
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Non-banks now write the majority of mortgages in the U.S., but the sustainability of their business model in an economic downturn is not proven - and may be questionable. In addition, traditional banks lend to non-banks, and are thus still exposed to any vulnerability they have.
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