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Residential Real Estate Faltering in the Heartland

This hurricane season will undoubtedly have lasting effects on the people, businesses and banks operating in the Southeastern United States. Our hearts and prayers are with them. For the most part, residential real estate had been holding up quite well…

Can’t Bank on Mother Nature

If anything has been made clear over the past couple of weeks, it is that no place is protected from the wrath of Mother Nature. Beyond a devastating human toll, weather-related events also take a huge financial toll. This is…

Total Household Debt Increased $109 Billion

Since the end of 2019 (before the pandemic recession), household debt has increased by $3.7 trillion (28.4%). Even more disturbing is how much of this debt is beginning to falter. Credit card delinquencies are flirting with the 11% mark for…

picture of stacks of coins with sign saying "Credit Union Assets"

Credit Unions Not Exempt From Loan Quality Woes

Federally-insured credit unions ended the second quarter 2024 with $2.3 trillion in assets, up 3.5% from a year earlier. About 70% of those assets ($1.62 trillion) is in the form of outstanding loans, which increased just slightly more at 3.6%.…

A Loan is a Great Asset (for a Bank), Unless it’s Not

All Credit Union and Bank Star-Ratings are now updated based on June 30, 2024 Financial Data. Next week we will touch more on the state of the credit union industry. This week’s focus is on overall bank loan quality. The…

How 9.11 Changed Banking as Well as Lives

With the anniversary of September 11, 2001 approaching, in addition to remembering the loss of lives, we also want to take a fresh look at how the events of that day forever changed not just the human landscape, but the…

All New Bank Star-Ratings This Week

All bank star-ratings are now updated based on June 30, 2024 financial data. That means any “Bank” reports you purchase from today forward will have June 30th financial data. Credit unions star-ratings will be available in a couple of weeks.…

Money stacked up on wooden tiles that spell out bank fees

To Fee or Not to Fee, Where Does Your Bank Stand?

Since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) started cracking down on “junk fees” in 2022, a number of big banks have eliminated those fees altogether. That was great news for consumers and it made wonderful headlines, but that is still…

Community Bank Branches Good for Consumers

Why Does the Banking Industry Keep Shrinking?

In the first quarter 2024, we lost 16 banks to mergers or acquisitions and welcomed just one de novo. In all of 2023, 121 banks were lost with just six new banks opening to replace them. The process of opening…

Lahaina, Maui: a Year After the Wildfires

A year after the worst U.S. fire in over a century and the water in Lahaina, Maui is finally “safe to drink”. That, combined with a 90% clearing of the demolished residential lots and a $4 billion settlement announced on August…

Blog (page 2)

Residential Real Estate Faltering in the Heartland

Can’t Bank on Mother Nature

Total Household Debt Increased $109 Billion

Credit Unions Not Exempt From Loan Quality Woes

A Loan is a Great Asset (for a Bank), Unless it’s Not

How 9.11 Changed Banking as Well as Lives

All New Bank Star-Ratings This Week

To Fee or Not to Fee, Where Does Your Bank Stand?

Why Does the Banking Industry Keep Shrinking?

Lahaina, Maui: a Year After the Wildfires

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