Not so fast OCC and CFPB
I’m a fan of innovation in the financial industry. God knows, it is needed. However, I'm not a big fan of regulation. God knows, there’s a lot that should be given the old heave-ho. But, there are limits. And, we’ve recently reached a big one. That’s why I’m opposed...
Mr. Banker, time to rethink hiring a book of business
The traditional bank practice of hiring a commercial lender who will “bring his book of business” has become a risky proposition. Late last year, the Federal Reserve clobbered two bankers with a double whammy: first the bankers got hit with a...
Undone by a blue Schwinn
In 1955, when I was 9 years old, my father moved the family to Detroit, MI from Asheville, NC. It was a sudden decision. I came home from West Asheville’s Vance Elementary School one Friday afternoon and the following Monday, I was attending class at Burns...
Turning the Right Screw
In 1969 I was an apprentice in the service department of a company sold and serviced typewriters and adding machines. I had an important job. I was the guy who dunked all the machines brought in for service and repair into the gunk tank. The tank was filled with...
My grandfather’s photo should have been in the dictionary beside the word “deliberate.”
My grandfather (the non-Scots/Irish one) was a first-class carpenter. According to family legend, he worked with his father on the construction of the Vanderbilt's dairy barn at the Biltmore House, which would have been around 1901 or so. Later, during the...

Community banks need a slingshot. They already have the stones.
Community banks have the stones – or can get them readily – to conquer commercial deposit accounts. I’m talking about treasury services such as RDC, mobile banking (including mobile capture), bill pay with cash management, etc. Yes, the bank can readily buy the...
Why Us
Rolling on three tracks Track One: We deliver great ideas wrapped up in an enterprise-wide marketing and PR strategy that will make you money, increase your franchise value and enhance your customer experience. Track Two: We organize effective and affordable federal...
Seven smart marketing steps bankers can take now.
Stop advertising. Until you’ve done your marketing homework, just stop doing any advertising. There are better things to do with your money. We have the numbers for this if you’d like to see them, but you don’t need the numbers to understand that advertising is harder...
Pixels are cheap. Or, how you may be under-utilizing your website.
If you haven’t reviewed your company’s web strategy lately, now is the time. Pixels are cheap and technology is only getting better. Here are some often overlooked areas for website utilization.
Typekit comes out in support of “.webfont”
Seems I'm running behind in my blog-reads. I missed this statement of support for .webfont on Typekit's blog last week. That's what I get for playing with a post as a draft for long enough that it becomes dated at posting. Typekit's release A .webfont primer (from...