Banknotes

By: Stanley Koopmans, Senior Vice President – Commercial Banker

Traditional commercial loans typically offer a fixed interest rate for 3 to 5 years, with the need to renew the loan and establish a new interest rate at maturity. However, a valid concern in our current low-interest environment is that interest rates will be substantially higher when the loan matures.

By: Kevin Piette, Chief Operations Officer

Businesses in nearly every industry have the potential to go through a merger or acquisition at some point in their life cycle. While there can sometimes be negative connotations associated with a merger or acquisition thanks to the uncertainty a change like this can bring, in reality the process can be a very positive experience and benefit all involved.

By: Nick Grays, Senior Commercial Portfolio Manager

For the past two decades (at least), the prioritization of data collection and its related analysis – a field commonly known as "analytics" – has surged. It’s the reason that a statistics nerd like me has a job in banking! For some businesses that were already successful before the analytics boom, it may be a struggle to understand what all the fuss is about.

By: Dan Savage – Senior Vice President and Senior Trust Officer

Think about eating a healthy breakfast, organizing your desk, finishing projects on time, openly communicating with colleagues, reading bedtime stories to your kids, regularly working out at the health club. All of these are excellent habits that (hopefully) you’ve incorporated into a daily routine.

By: Tara Grays, Business Banking Officer

These days, there’s so much competing for our time and attention. Between our personal and professional lives – not to mention the sliver of “me” time that you (hopefully) allow yourself – the end of the day is frequently met with a feeling of exhaustion. Needless to say, our time, and that of our clients, is a precious commodity. So how are you breaking through the noise to get – and hold – their attention?

By: Sam Huntington, Vice President – Treasury Management Director

Although the number of checks presented for payment is decreasing every year, the losses from check fraud, unfortunately, are rising nationwide. In some cases, checks are stolen from unsecured mailboxes and the payee line is altered, to allow the check to be negotiated by another party. In others, the routing number and account number information is used to order new check stock. 

By: Scott Ducke,Senior Vice President – Chief Lending Officer

One of the most exciting things about small business owners is their attitude toward their work. Entrepreneurs are always thinking about ways to work smarter, wanting to serve their customers better, and taking the initiative to put those thoughts into action. In addition, you don’t hear small business owners say, “That’s not my job.” If it needs doing, then they simply get it done.

By: Bridget Krueger, Assistant Vice President and Business Banker

Last month, I revisited a Business News Daily article published toward the end of 2018 that forecasted trends across the business landscape for the coming year, and offered my perspective based on the experiences I had in the first half of the year. Following is the remainder of the predictions, accompanied by my thoughts on how they’ve played out thus far.

By: Stanley Koopmans, Senior Vice President – Commercial Banker

When it comes to your company’s operating line of credit (LOC), Goldilocks had the right idea.

Rather than trying to get approved for the largest possible LOC your business may qualify for, it’s much better to evaluate your expectations for the year, and attempt to match your credit line as closely as possible to your anticipated needs. This approach also helps cover the scenario where your current LOC won’t be adequate to support projected growth.

Not too big. Not too small. It’s time to make sure your current LOC is a perfect fit.

By: Dan Savage, Senior Vice President and Senior Trust Officer

Regardless of the nature of your business, powerful, unseen laws influence the quality of your client relationships. More to the point, they determine success or failure. When abiding by these laws, your company enjoys the following benefits: 

• Your networks rapidly grow
• Prospects become enthusiastic customers
• Clients view you as trusted partners, rather than expenses to be managed
• Others become eager to help you succeed