Breaking | Alabama Bank News

Preview of the 2021 Legislative Session

Breaking, Capitol Notes, Politics, Publications

MONTGOMERY, Ala., Feb. 1, 2021 — The Alabama Legislature begins its 2021 Regular Session on Feb. 2. Thanks to the Alabama Constitution, everyone has known when this session would begin. But because of the coronavirus pandemic, no one really knows what will happen next. State ...Read More

Breaking, Compliance Q&A, Publications

Q: We have an applicant who is doing a cash-out refinancing. They stated they will use the funds for a purchase of another dwelling, but it is at an unknown, future date. Would this still make it a “Home Purchase” loan for HMDA purposes? ...Read More

Compliance Q&A: Flood Insurance Considerations

Breaking, Compliance Q&A, Publications

Q: If the bank is escrowing for flood insurance is there a regulatory requirement to also escrow for real estate taxes or can the bank waive it? A: The federal regulations only require you to escrow for taxes and hazard insurance if the loan ...Read More

COVID-19 Turns One: Lessons Learned from a Global Health Crisis

Breaking, Industry Reports

by Rob Nichols, American Bankers Association President & CEO As impossible as it is to believe, we have been living in a global pandemic for an entire year. What began as a headline from a distant corner of the world quickly became a worldwide ...Read More

Economies of Scale in Community Banks: An FDIC Study

Board Briefs, Breaking, Industry Reports, Publications

by Michael Murphey Overview In December 2020, the FDIC produced a staff study entitled Economies of Scale in Community Banks which concluded community banks generate 90% of potential efficiency gains when a bank’s loan portfolio reaches $300 million and continue to accrue cost savings ...Read More

Top 10 Changes to Consumer Bankruptcy Proposed in the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020

Board Briefs, Breaking, Publications

By Elizabeth Brusa, Chris Hawkins, and Alex Dugan, Bradley On Dec. 9, Congressional Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), proposed sweeping legislation that would overhaul consumer bankruptcy law. The proposed changes, if adopted, generally would make it easier for consumers to ...Read More

Supreme Court Update for Banking and Financial Services Professionals

Breaking, Industry Reports, Politics

by Charles W. Prueter, Waller For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven, a wise man said long ago. And 2020 showed us that all the things and all the matters can, in fact, be jam-packed into one ...Read More

Vaccines in the Time of COVID: An Employer’s Perspective

Board Briefs, Breaking, Publications

by Mag Bickford and Chase Stoecker In the time of Coronavirus, with many municipalities implementing restrictions on business and individual activity, banks may currently allow employees to work remotely to the greatest extent possible. However, given the nature of the business, many bank managers ...Read More

COVID, Capital, Scale & Opportunity: A Case for Community Bank Mergers

Board Briefs, Breaking, Publications

by Mike Murphey, Porter White & Company COVID has accelerated change in our economy, and banking is no exception. We all know the issues: (i) declining Net Interest Margin, (ii) the need to reduce costs and grow fee income, (iii) a potential shift from ...Read More

Compliance Q&A: HMDA and Refinance Considerations

Breaking, Compliance Q&A, Publications

Question: Bank A has a loan that is paying off a dwelling with funds from a new dwelling secured loan. The old and new loans are not secured by the same dwelling, but they are both to the same borrower. Would this be reported ...Read More

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