Independent Banker - July 2022 - 35

Next: Be proactive to fight fraud 
" In spite of Buck Owens' claim that his
song was about a man who's sad and
lonely, the community banking industry
is in great shape by most every measure,
mainly because it has reacted according
to its instincts. "
similar tales of woe from would-be
borrowers. Lucky for us, community
banks have their safe-and-sound
lending practices in place, which
enables us to suggest...
" Act Naturally "
Still, it helps to have a glossary handy
to sort through the debris of shorthand
foisted upon the investing public
by these service providers. Terms
such as DCPCs, Canary, BQ, FICO or
GWAC are casually tossed around in
commentary and actual off erings. And
for the record, Fannie Mae came to
life in 1938 as the Federal National
Mortgage Association.
" Cost of Livin' "
I don't know that this harkens directly
back to how a community bank might
manage its bonds, but it does strike me
that the lyrics refer to " four dollars and
change at the pump " despite it being
a hit for Ronnie Dunn a full 11 years
ago. So perhaps the takeaway from this
song is that the interest rate cycle is a
multiyear process. We had near zero
yield on short-term rates for the past
two years. And probably, one day, rates
(and energy prices) will go through a
correction. A quick check of U.S. crude
oil prices show that they were nearly as
high in 2008, 2011 and 2013 than they
have been this year.
" I'll Never Get Out of this
World Alive "
No compilation of country music would
be complete without a ditty by Hank
Williams. I'm not sure this is the most
challenging moment of Mr. Williams'
career, but it was probably in the sub25th
percentile. In this one, he claims:
A distant uncle passed away and
left me quite a batch
And I was living high until that
fatal day
A lawyer proved I wasn't born
I was only hatched.
I imagine some of the capable chief
credit offi cers reading this story could
write a song that stitches together
Jim Reber, CPA, CFA (jreber@
icbasecurities.com), is president
and CEO of ICBA Securities, ICBA's
institutional, fixed-income brokerdealer
for community banks
In spite of Buck Owens' claim that
his song was about a man who's sad
and lonely, the community banking
industry is in great shape by most
every measure, mainly because it has
reacted according to its instincts.
Earnings will not likely hit records this
year but are far ahead of the numbers
in the post-Great Recession era from
2011 through 2015. The business
model continues to perform well. And
as we heard from the Buckaroos in
1962, your community bank might
even win an Oscar without rehearsing.
All it's got to do is act naturally. 
Education on Tap
2022 webinar series takes a summer break
ICBA Securities and its exclusive broker Stifel Financial will go on
hiatus from its Community Banking Matters series for several months
but will resume our schedule in the fall. Look for announcements in
this space beginning in September.
Fall balance sheet conference
The 2022 Balance Sheet Academy will be held in Memphis, Tenn., from
Oct. 17-18. This is an intermediate-level program that addresses topics
such as interest rate products, bond swaps and private-label securities.
Up to 12 hours of CPE credit are off ered. For more information, contact
your Stifel representative or visit icbasecurities.com
independentbanker.org Q 35
http://www.icbasecurities.com http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - July 2022
