April
2010 BALM Newsletter Preview -
Interest Rate Risk: 2010’s Back to the
Future Awakening – by Orlando B.
Hanselman, Fiserv’s Director of Educational Programs. In this informative
article, Mr. Hanselman writes that “Many current financial institution
executives and ALM professionals may scarcely remember the years of economic
malaise from the 1980’s when an international oil embargo and high unemployment
combined with economic stagflation caused the U.S. economy to careen out of
control. Now, 30 years later, it is just possible that we again stand at a
similar economic precipice. From an interest rate risk perspective, the year
2010 could be a back to the future awakening. Perhaps in fear that we may
have been lulled into a false sense of security by the historically low and
politically suppressed interest rates of the past few years and that we may tend
to have been blinded to the troubling current economic indicators, the joint
FFIEC issued the January 7, 2010 Interagency Advisory on Interest Rate Risk.
In this advisory, the FFIEC provides 10 calls to action for financial
institutions executives and bank ALM professionals. Scenario planning,
implemented correctly, is the key to essential preparedness and capital
adequacy. The FFIEC Advisory reinforces this counsel. Scenario planning
should appropriately include rate shocks, curve twists and modeled curve slope
changes. However, current times and prudent asset/liability management require
so much more from financial institutions executives and ALM professionals….”
A summary of the FFIEC Advisory action
points are profiled in the attached article
preview. To read the executive summary of this timely article click here.
The
Bank Fraud & IT Security Report
-
The
intended audience for this important Newsletter consists of financial institutions world-wide and their employees,
particularly those with responsibility for detecting and preventing fraud or
implementing and improving physical, data and virtual security. SCI's
editors have assembled an impressive editorial board including top security
and fraud prevention executives from such prestigious organizations as
Abagnale Associates, Deloitte & Touche, Fifth Third Bank, KPMG, Wells
Fargo Bank, and The University of North Carolina. To preview this important
bank security publication Click Here.
The
Bank Asset/Liability Management Newsletter Software Survey
is now
available. This important listing exhibits the most widely used,
commercially available asset/liability management software models used in
financial institutions today. The listing is comprised of ALM software
priced under $10,000, software from $10,000-$50,000, and more complex
software models priced over $50,000. The survey also provides specific
capabilities, including costs and hardware requirements for each vendor’s
offering. The models exhibited in this list provide tools for identifying
specific interest rate risk characteristics, transfer pricing solutions,
auditing controls, budget development, and more. The software survey and
accompanying literature summarizes several essential criteria to be
considered prior to purchasing ALM software. It is important for the
effective A/L manager to have a competitive advantage, and to recognize
risks long before they become a problem to his or her institution. A solid
asset/liability management software package is essential to the attainment
of these goals. An
effective automated ALM system provides the A/L manager with the power to
quickly make informed decisions, the ability to identify alternative profit
opportunities, and the knowledge to optimize risk exposure in today’s
increasingly competitive financial markets. Click Here
Press Releases & Recent Media Coverage:
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