Building a Solid Construction Loan
Finally, the construction loan you’ve been working on for the past month — meeting with the client, gathering all the information and documents, understanding all the details, getting it blessed by your senior lender to proceed and finally underwritten — was approved. You’re done, right? No, not really, and you know that. There are many […]
January 4, 2022
Artisan Unfiltered: A Conversation with IBA CEO Randy Hultgren
On this episode of Artisan Unfiltered, Jim Adkins and Jeff Voss sit down with current Illinois Bankers Association CEO, and former US Congressman, Randy Hultgren to get his unique perspective on the legislative process and the banking industry – revealing a little of the behind-the-scenes sausage making. A passionate supporter of community banking, Randy also shares […]
January 3, 2022
Artisan Unfiltered: Is Your Bank Picking the Right Fights?
Hosted by: Jim Adkins, Managing Partner with Artisan Advisors Guests: John Hecht, Managing Director with Artisan Advisors John Reichert and Melissa Lanska, attorneys and banking experts with Reinhart, Boerner, Van Duren’s Banking and Finance Practice We tapped the sharp legal minds of John Reichert and Melissa Lanska, attorneys and banking experts with Reinhart, Boerner, Van […]
November 6, 2021
Panning for Remote Gold: Cultivating Business Leaders in a Remote Working Environment
The last 20 months have been challenging to say the least. Covid-19 has dramatically changed how we all live together and interact with each other, both socially and in the way we make our livings. Prior to the pandemic, remote working was more of a trend than the dominant form of working life it has […]
November 5, 2021
Community Banks – Relevant Today, Relevant Tomorrow
At a strategic retreat of family owned and closely held banks, I was privileged to connect with community institution leaders from the Upper Midwest. As we went around the room, each introduced themselves and shared a little background about their bank and what made them unique. There was an overriding theme that resonated with each […]
October 7, 2021
What’s Lurking in your Loan Portfolio?
“Unexpected and unpleasant surprises may be lurking behind what could be interpreted as an initial rebound after such an unprecedented year.” In a recent opinion piece, this was the solemn conclusion my colleague Jeff Voss reached when he offered his evaluation of the state of community banking, once the COVID-driven government intervention completely recedes. For […]
September 24, 2021
Artisan Unfiltered: An Interview with Tommy Fitzgibbon
In our podcasting debut, Artisan Advisors’ Jim Adkins interviews the legendary Tommy FitzGibbon about his life, banking experience and the future of community banking. Listen now.
August 18, 2021
For Community Banks, the Worst May Not Be Over
There’s a lot of talk lately about getting back to normal. People are getting vaccinated. Mask restrictions are easing. Towns and cities across America are opening up again. Businesses are beginning to call people back into the office and many industries are seeing signs of real recovery. Banking is something of a different story. Given […]
August 17, 2021
New Services from Artisan Advisors
Artisan Advisors is now offering two great new tools that will help your bank and your clients survive – and thrive – in the COVID economy: the COVID-19 Assessment Readiness (CAR) Program and the Rapid Real Estate Loan Evaluation. Both were created by Artisan banking experts, to help community banks gain quick and reliable insight into their regulatory exam […]
November 12, 2020
Is Your Bank Prepared for 2021?
“It was the best of times.” The economy was humming along, and bank profits were stable to increasing; then, Covid-19 changed almost everything, and suddenly, “it was the worst of times.” A large part of the country and world went into shutdown, and economic turmoil ensued, followed by civil unrest. 2020 is a year of […]
October 3, 2020
Are You Ready for Your Next Safety and Soundness Examination?
Are You Ready for Your Next Safety and Soundness Examination? (Spoiler alert: It Will Require you to Evaluate the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Your Bank) Did you know that, in June 2020, the federal financial institution regulatory agencies, in conjunction with the state bank and credit union regulators, jointly issued examiner guidance to […]
July 21, 2020
Another Great Time to Start a New Bank…?
It definitely could be, but let’s start with some not so ancient history. Back in late 2008-09, the Great Recession was beginning to cause serious headaches for many banks, even the strongest ones. Earlier that year I had committed to move forward with the business plan to start a new community bank, thanks to the […]
July 1, 2020