I have some good news for community bank portfolio managers who have grown weary of some or all of the following conditions that have persisted since 2020: declining portfolio returns erratic cash flows call option exposure paltry yield spreads Chances are, your bank’s portfolio has been affected by at least some of these conditions over …

Munis for the Many: Taxable municipal bonds have appeal for nearly all community banks. Read More »

  Greetings Grad Program participants: As referenced in previous emails, there will be required prerequisite virtual courses you all will need to complete before attending this year.  We would hope you can work out your schedule to be there live, where you can take part in Q & A. If you are in your 1st …

Barret Graduate Session Update-Important information Read More »

Greetings Grad Program participants: I wanted to share a quick update as you all finalize your travel plans to attend in June.  Since we will have a few classes ahead of time via Zoom, we freed up the schedule a little – the actual schedule of virtual classes will be forwarded in the next week …

News for Barret Graduate School of Banking Students!! Read More »

Memphis, TN (November 10, 2020) – The Paul W. Barret, Jr. School of Banking today announced it’s 2020-2021 Executive Committee during its fall Board meeting. Steve Handke, Chief Administrative Officer and Regional President of First Option Bank in Horton, KS will serve as Chairman. Joining Handke on the Executive Committee are: Brian Walhood (Chair – …

Kansas community banker Steve Handke elected Chairman 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 »