Guest blog written by: Mark Hutchinson, Vice President and Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at STAR Financial Bank This is the third and final blog in our series on Incentive...

Since the financial crisis, the banking industry as a whole has been reporting record profits for several quarters, at least in terms of dollar figures. Unfortunately more meaningful measures of bank profitability–such as average return on equity, average return on assets, and net interest margin–have remained depressed or stagnant.

(Part 3 of a 3-part blog series) Preparations for the 2018 budgeting process are underway in financial institutions. Few people relish the experience, which is often characterized by long hours and vast differences between the future financial performance executive stakeholders want and what management can deliver. Aligning strategic plans with tactical plans and associated budgets often does not occur or the linkages among these pieces are weak.

Study finds growing sophistication in measurement and control—and more need. But some basics keep on rolling

(Part 2 of a 3-part blog series) In this follow-up blog, I explore how to better identify individual customer value—first by measuring the contribution of each customer to overall institution profitability, and then by assessing the full scope of each customer’s influence.

On the one hand, the prevalence of stagnant net interest margins across the industry suggests that community institutions would be desperate to get an accurate picture of exactly where...

There are two words that finance leaders at banks and credit unions should take away from this blog post. You won’t have to remember anything else. I encourage you to read through the narrative and examples, but all you really need to remember are those two words.

This blog discusses the continued importance of the branch network for financial institutions.

Hear Ken Levey's thoughts on the state of profitability analysis and strategies for improvement.

In this final blog of the series, I explore the importance of leveraging such information to improve the overall customer experience at your institution. Read more!

As community bankers evaluate the most effective ways to achieve their profitability goals, the importance of calculating and tracking funds transfer pricing (FTP) should not be...

In the previous blog we discussed the challenges facing many financial institutions in today’s marketplace, including substantial regulatory requirements, significant competition...