Quarterly Economic Report – Q4 2025 The Federal Reserve reported economic activity changed little on balance since the previous report, with three Districts reporting slight to modest growth in activity, five reporting no change, and four noting a slight softening. Overall consumer spending, particularly on retail goods, inched down in recent weeks, although auto […]
By Barry Wides, CPA Managing Director, Artisan Advisors The recently enacted 2025 Tax and Spending Bill introduced significant changes to housing and community development programs that affect banks. This article, the second in our series, examines the bill’s revisions to the Opportunity Zone (OZ) tax incentive—now called “OZ 2.0.” Background: Opportunity Zone 1.0 The original
Understanding Opportunity Zone 2.0: Key Changes and Bank Strategies Read More »
“Financial institutions crossed a threshold several years ago, when they became totally reliant on technology to provide nearly every service to their customers. As a result, technology vendors are literally responsible for continued operation of financial institutions,” according to Steve Heckard , Managing Director and leader of Artisan’s Core Financial Technology practice. In his white paper, “Cyber Catastrophe!
Cyber Catastrophe! Coming to a Financial Institution Near You? Read More »
By Barry Wides, CPA Managing Director, Artisan-Advisors On June 30, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released its Semi-Annual Risk Perspective (SARP), a 20-page summary of key issues impacting the federal banking system. This report outlines several supervisory issues that may be useful for banks in anticipating areas of focus during
The newest episode of Artisan Unfiltered is available! Listen now to “Barry Wides on OCC’s New Banking Risk Report: What Bankers Need to Know” to get an insider’s POV on where the banking industry is heading this year. Artisan’s newest Managing Director in our Risk Management practice, Barry joined us after 20 years as Deputy Controller
Quarterly Economic Report – Q3 2025 The Federal Reserve reported economic activity increased slightly from late May through early July. Five Districts reported slight or modest gains, five had flat activity, and the remaining two Districts noted modest declines in activity. That represented an improvement over the previous report, in which half of the Districts
New Provisions in the 2025 Tax and Spending Bill, Plus Pending Legislation, Poise Banks to Deepen CRA-Eligible Investments By Barry Wides, CPA Managing Director, Artisan-Advisors Several provisions in the recently enacted 2025 Tax and Spending Bill (Public Law 119-21) will significantly broaden community development investment options for banks under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This
Congress Expands Community Development Investment Opportunities for Banks Read More »
Quarterly Economic Report – Q2 2025 Economic activity was little changed since the previous report, but uncertainty around international trade policy was pervasive across reports. Just five Districts saw slight growth, three Districts noted activity was relatively unchanged, and the remaining four Districts reported slight to modest declines. Non-auto consumer spending was lower overall; however,
The first Artisan Unfiltered episode of the year is now available. “2025 Outlook: Jim and Jeff Talk Economics, Interest Rates and Regulatory Events” takes a deep dive into the outlook for each so far this year and offers a few recommendations for what bankers can do now to prepare for what the rest of the
Quarterly Economic Report – Q1 2025 Economic activity increased slightly to moderately across the twelve Federal Reserve Districts in late November and December. Consumer spending moved up moderately, with most Districts reporting strong holiday sales that exceeded expectations. Vehicle sales grew modestly. Construction activity decreased overall, with several Districts indicating that high costs for materials