A Review of OCC Proposed CRA Strategic Plan Benchmarks and CRA/Community Development Update
Barry Wides, CPA Managing Director, Artisan Advisors The following are prepared remarks, delivered by Barry Wides, CPA, at the Wolters Kluwer Innovation Forum on May 28, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to speak with such an esteemed group of CRA professionals. I’m Barry Wides, Managing Director at Artisan […]
June 1, 2026
The Finish Line is in Sight for Housing/Banking Legislation
By: Barry Wides, CPA For the past several months, housing/banking reform legislation has been working its way through Congress and is now near bipartisan enactment. On May 20th, the House passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act text that reflects an agreement with the Administration. Senate action, hopefully, will soon follow. This legislation cuts […]
May 21, 2026
Executive Summary: FinCEN Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM1) that fundamentally reforms the requirements for financial institutions’ anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs. Below is Artisan Advisors’ executive summary of the salient points of the proposal. Artisan’s Risk Management expert, Dan Bagus, read the 202- page Notice […]
May 12, 2026
The Artisan Advisor Q1 2026: Your Guide to Economic and Real Estate Outlook for the Upcoming Quarter
Quarterly Economic Report – Q1 2026 Overall economic activity increased at a slight to moderate pace in seven of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts, while the number of Districts reporting flat or declining activity increased from four in the prior period to five in the current period. Although consumer spending increased slightly on balance, two […]
April 16, 2026
Talking Community Banking: Jeff Voss Reflects on His 40-Year Career
April is Community Banking Month. To mark this occasion, The Artisan Advisor talked with co–founder and managing partner, Jeffrey Voss, about his career, the evolution of community banking and what he sees around the bend. After a career like his, Jeff had a lot to share. AA: How long have you been in community banking […]
Credit Union Acquisitions of Community Banks: Trends and Implications
By Mike Boettcher, Director, Artisan Advisors We are seeing a growing trend in the community bank merger and acquisition space: credit unions have become more active and successful acquirers of community banks. We anticipate this trend to continue as community banks are experiencing multiple challenges in the competitive financial services environment. Liquidity is a common […]
March 30, 2026
House Passes Housing for the 21st Century Act Containing Community Bank Provisions
On February 9, the House of Representatives passed the “Housing for the 21st Century Act” by a vote of 390-9. The bill contains a number of provisions of interest to community banks, some of which are summarized below. The bill also contains several provisions affecting the resolution of failing banks and creation of new banks. Other provisions seek to incentivize greater levels of housing production and increase financing […]
February 10, 2026
February 20 Comment Deadline Approaching on OCC Community Bank CRA Strategic Plan Proposal
On December 17, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued proposed guidance intended to simplify how banks with assets of up to $30 billion may obtain approval for a CRA strategic plan. The proposal would supplement the existing guidance contained in OCC Bulletin 2019-39, “Community Reinvestment Act: Guidelines for Requesting Approval of a Strategic Plan.” Despite being available since 1995, relatively few banks use CRA […]
February 9, 2026
Building a Risk-Focused Culture: A Framework for Modern Financial Services
According to Artisan’s risk specialist, Dan Bagus: “An enterprise risk management program should serve as the rudder of the strategic planning process for every institution – large or small—and operate in service to the specific goals and objectives of the strategic plan.” Get the full white paper, “Building a Risk-Focused Culture: A Framework for Modern […]
January 7, 2026
The Artisan Advisor Q4 2025: Your Guide to Economic and Real Estate Outlook for the Upcoming Quarter
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 […]
November 13, 2025
Understanding Opportunity Zone 2.0: Key Changes and Bank Strategies
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 […]
November 4, 2025
Artisan Unfiltered Podcast: BOLI Tips from a Real Pro
When is the last time you did a thorough evaluation of BOLI as an asset? If your answer is on a scale of “I don’t know to ‘What’s BOLI?’” you need to listen to this podcast. We brought in Scott Richardson – longtime friend of Artisan and THE expert in all things BOLI – to […]
September 19, 2025