When economic times are good and funds are relatively easy to lend without meaningful short-term risk, most financial institutions find themselves in strong positions from a credit risk and earnings perspective. Yet, the tough lessons of lending and risk over the past 30 years have taught us many times over that economic cycles repeat. It’s [...]
I’ve become a huge fan of a reality show called Restaurant Impossible. It features a host, Chef Robert Irvine, who visits a restaurant in some level of disarray and attempts to completely overhaul it in 48 hours. This overhaul is usually filled with tears and trauma. After all, some of these restaurant owners have worked their entire [...]
Imagine two scenarios. In the first, you fly to a beautiful, remote island for a carefree week at an exclusive and all-inclusive resort. You spend the week soaking up sun on the beach, enjoying fine dining, and snorkeling in the crystal clear water. Now for scenario two. Same beautiful island, but this time, there's no [...]
One of the defining characteristics of Sherlock Holmes (besides the deerstalker hat and overcoat) is his almost superhuman powers of deduction. In the first Sherlock novel, A Study in Scarlet, Holmes says, "From a drop of water, a logician could infer the possibility of an Atlantic or a Niagara without having seen or heard of one or the other." In every [...]
Originally published in CU Insight I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for a good sports movie. One of my favorites is “Miracle,” the 2004 movie starring Kurt Russell, who plays Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey squad, which (and I’ll try to avoid any spoilers here, but the movie’s title might have [...]
People come in all shapes and sizes. Clothing manufacturers know this, and generally have a wide array of different sizes available. However, if you want your clothes to fit well and be comfortable and stylish, and if (like most of us) your proportions aren't the same as the generic person the clothing was designed to [...]
Pendulums tend to swing, and the Fair Lending pendulum is no exception. Over the last few years, with the transition of HMDA rulemaking to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and with the CFPB’s new final rule expanding HMDA data collection requirements, it’s clear that the pendulum has been swinging toward a tougher regulatory environment. With [...]
Originally published on CUInsight.com When I was young, a teacher shared an analogy that has always stuck with me. I can’t exactly remember what she called it, but I’ve taken to calling it “2-D Bob Meets 3-D Jill.” My teacher started by sketching a diagram on the board that looked something like this. Bob has [...]
Originally published on CuInsight.com BancorpSouth Bank, headquartered in Mississippi, took a $10.6 million misstep when its mortgage lending practices allegedly discriminated against African-American consumers. While the bank has not admitted to the allegations, it did agree to a proposed settlement and consent order with the CFPB and the U.S. Department of Justice of charges that [...]
The annual New York City Marathon is just a little over two weeks away. If you’re planning on running in it, you hopefully began training many months ago. Unless you’ve got some superhuman characteristics, the average person can’t simply run a marathon on a whim, without any training. However, if information comes to light that [...]
