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If you ultra-busy community bankers have been able to catch some of our policymakers commenting on the waves of fiscal and monetary stimulus rushing toward the U.S. consumer, what you heard essentially translated into an elaborate game of Kick the Can. Please note that I said “elaborate” and not “elegant.” Here are some popular sound …
Kicking The Can: Congress and the Fed are on a spending spree. Read More »
Attention bond portfolio managers: Raise your hand if you were expecting a 100+ basis-point bond rally accompanied by a corollary rate cut by the Fed in about a two-week period. Just as I suspected—none of you. You can, for the record, count your correspondent among the crowd. But, since it’s happened, let’s use this …
Not all bonds are created equal: Fierce rally highlights different risk/reward profiles Read More »
If your community bank’s bond portfolio looks like the rest of the industry’s, you own more mortgage-backed securities (MBS) than ever. There are a bunch of reasons for this, most of which you’re aware of, but some you may not be. The MBS that community banks tend to own are a small piece of the …
Mortgage bonds keep gaining fans: Community banks add weighting to loan surrogates Read More »
It was 20 years ago today More precisely, it was 20 years ago this year that community banks, and their investment portfolios in particular, were enduring a period of extremes. Many of the readers of this column were in charge of their bond portfolios then, and were, proverbially, “Riders on the Storm”, which involved: …
A best-selling book from the 1990s, “Why Things Are,” took a humorous look at curiosities originating from everyday existence, with the modest goal of answering “every essential question in life.” This column has a more ambitious purpose: to clarify a few of the phenomena surrounding your investment in bonds. So, put on your seat belts …
Why Bonds Are Riddles, enigmas and other investment mysteries Read More »
Quick: What’re the most saleable assets on your community bank’s balance sheet? If you get this wrong, you need to be running a “not-for-profit depository financial institution.” Bonds, of course. Most people I talk to consider the liquidity feature a close second (to safety) in importance when contemplating a purchase. That feature has come into …
Seller’s Market? A guide to finding liquidity among your holdings Read More »
September 7, 2008 is the mortgage finance industry’s date of infamy. It’s now been a full decade since the secondary market siblings, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have been in legal custody of the Federal Government. For many community banks, that date was the tipping point of a tortuous era of poor loan demand, sketchy …
Can’t keep a good bank down: Last decade has seen struggles, successes for the industry Read More »
“Now that interest rates have finally risen…” is a phrase I wrote in jest, a mere six months ago, in this very column. I can now use these words in sincerity. And your collection of investments is potentially the better for it. We have contended that while the discussion of portfolio performance in the board …
Muni Madness: A lot of variables affect tax-free performance Read More »
Barret School of Banking • 650 East Parkway South, Memphis, TN 38104
Phone: (901) 321-4000 • barret@barretbanking.org