Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Week of July 27

In This Issue…

ABA study provides window into pre-COVID, post-COVID construction lending

The American Bankers Association released a research study this week examining banks’ construction-lending activity.

Based on a study examining construction lending at the end of 2019, as well as interviews with bankers both pre-COVID-19 and after the pandemic erupted in the U.S., the report shows that more than 90% of bank respondents reported at the end of 2019 their construction lending business had grown or remained stable over the past two years. When questioned again after the arrival of COVID-19, they “acknowledge[d] that construction lending may slow for a while, and it will be necessary to rigorously analyze the portfolio and work with borrowers,” the report found.

The report shows banks offer a wide range of services to support the $1.3 trillion in annual U.S. construction spending. Nine in 10 respondents offer commercial real estate and single-family residential new construction financing, while 78% finance consumer renovations and 64% lend for commercial flips of homes. Two-thirds provide lines of credit to commercial home builders.

Just prior to the pandemic, banks said they planned to improve their construction-lending businesses over the next two years by expanding training (33%), enhancing their loan administration teams (26%) and updating their marketing and education materials (22%). Fourteen percent of lenders said they would implement a major tech upgrade, and 13% signaled they would reduce or simplify loan fees.

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Abrigo’s PPP Forgiveness Platform can be helpful with SBA processes

Last week, in a procedural notice, the SBA announced a new, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform through technology provider Goldschmitt-CRI, where lenders will be able to submit loan forgiveness decisions, submit supporting documentation, request forgiveness payments and more.

This PPP Forgiveness Platform, only open to PPP lenders, will be used in the submission process of completed forgiveness applications. Banks will still need to send and collect the necessary 3508 application and other documents before submitting on this new portal.

Abrigo, an endorsed vendor of the OBA, has its PPP Forgiveness & Administration solution, which contains the functionality needed not only for a smooth borrower experience but also for lenders to easily administer and track the forgiveness process all the way from forgiveness application submission through SBA remittance of forgiven amounts. It provides a secure portal for document collection, a dynamic version of both 3508 forms, along with the necessary reporting and quick submission to the the PPP Forgiveness Platform via API integration. By automating this complicated process from beginning to end, your bank will be able to get back to normal operations instead of spending resources on the PPP process.

For more information about how Abrigo can help, click here.

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Oklahoma Views & Vistas Calendar available for discounted pricing through Aug. 31

The 2021 Oklahoma Views & Vista Calendar is now ready to be purchased – order yours by Aug. 31 (newly extended deadline) to get the special low price of just 99 cents per calendar. Pricing after Aug. 31 is $1.09 per calendar. Final deadline to purchase is Sept. 15.

This is a great way to share your bank’s logo and information to your customers! Click here for more information and an order form.

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OBA education corner …

While live events and seminars are few and far between during the summer months, the OBA’s education department has plenty of webinars lined up. You can download a flyer highlighting upcoming webinars by clicking here, or just peruse below for those coming soon!

NOTE: Effective March 16, and until further notice, TTS (our webinar provider) has extended the OnDemand access period for all ‘Live Plus Five (Days)’ registrants to 60 days (versus five business days). Also, they are waiving the $75 per location fee for additional locations

  • UCC Rules: How to Comply to Attach and Perfect Secured Transactions, Aug. 3, webinar — Leave with an understanding of how to document, close and record secured transactions covered by Revised Article 9 of the UCC. Get good working knowledge for managing the most common commercial and consumer secured transactions governed by Revised Article 9.
  • ACH Origination for Lenders and Cash Management, Aug. 4, webinar — This course is designed for lenders, senior staff, cash managers, operations staff with limited knowledge of ACH and those that are interested in gaining knowledge on ACH Origination and risk.
  • Advertising Compliance, Aug. 5, webinar — This webinar will help you learn what you can say, what you can’t say, when to say it, etc. Several examples of real-world advertising errors will also be included.
  • Opening Accounts for Nonprofits, Charity, Benefit and Associations, Aug. 5, webinar — The documentation and signature card do’s and don’ts will be covered for your financial institution so that you can document authority, liability and on-going signatory rights on each.
  • Fair Lending: Overview and New Developments, Aug. 7, webinar — This program will help you to understand the extent and particulars of Regulation B, the Fair Housing Act (FHA), and guidance the regulatory agencies (including the CFPB) have introduced recently.
  • Credit Analysis Basics, Aug. 19, webinar — We will cover the basics of the three main areas of lending- consumer, mortgage, and commercial lending. Each of the three areas will be illustrated with real-life case studies.
  • Implementing the Revised URLA: Here Are The Details!, Aug. 19, webinar — Join us as we work through each of the FIVE sections, line by line, offering implementation and training tips throughout the way.
  • 2020 OBA Compliance School, Aug. 24-28, Oklahoma City — Students will return to their banks equipped to deal with compliance regulations that impact lending practices and deposit functions as well as other related federal and state laws and regulations.
  • 2020 OBA Basic Banking School, Sept. 14-17, Oklahoma City — The school is designed to introduce students to basic banking concepts as they relate to the overall functioning of a bank.

Also, the OSU Agricultural Economics Department is hosting the Rural Economic Outlook Conference at the ConocoPhillips Alumni Center located on the OSU campus, Wednesday, Oct 14. The lineup of speakers includes Dan Kowalski, knowledge exchange division, CoBank, and Ambassador Gregory Doud, U.S. trade representative. Ambassador Doud has agreed to speak, schedule permitting. The registration fee is $50, which includes breakfast, lunch and breaks on Wednesday. More information and a detailed agenda by clicking here.

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