Advice General

season’s greetings

Posted on December 16, 2016 Published by

From our family to yours, we wish you the best for the holiday season and continued success in 2017.

2016 brought change for both Enlighten and the industry. We have added depth and experience to our team to continue to provide high-quality loan review services that you expect and demand. We have continued to grow the number of clients we serve in the upper Midwest. We thank you for your trust in allowing us to be a partner with you. We look forward to the introduction of our new proprietary loan review tool in 2017 to provide enhanced reporting capabilities and efficiencies to our process.

2016 saw a reduction of 16 banks in Wisconsin through the third quarter. That decline created opportunities to add talent, geography and revenues to the acquiring financial institutions. We were pleased to be a part of several of these transactions to assist the buyer and/or seller with their due diligence. The year also brought the new accounting standard, ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses, which includes the current expected credit losses methodology (CECL). This new accounting standard is four to five years away for reporting purposes for most institutions and will continue to challenge staff and organizations in applying a new standard for estimated losses.

Credit risk management will continue to be a critical function within financial institutions — the current expansionary period has lasted more than seven years, almost two years more than the average post-World War II recovery. Limited opportunities, along with stiff competition, will challenge underwriting and credit approval to meet policy and pricing objectives. We hope you continue to trust our deep experience and find value for the dollars you spend to assist you in your risk management needs.

 

Enlighten Financial is a specialized consulting firm that focuses on loan review and risk management services to community banks and credit unions. Enlighten Financial has made it our business to shed light on the complex financial landscape, and lead clients in the right direction. We work with financial institutions and other providers to mitigate risk. To talk to us directly, please call: (920) 445-8881.

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“The staff at Enlighten have been available for questions, in addition to the engaged work that they do. They've been very helpful as a resource beyond the major audit.”
— Meghann Kasper, Chief Credit Officer, Bank First
“Enlighten gives us a very good second set of eyes on our transactions. They're not afraid to challenge us on some of the work that we've done, which is what is needed. I don't need to pay somebody to tell me I'm good, I need to pay somebody to tell me where I've made mistakes.”
— Robert McPherson, VP of Risk Management, Peoples State Bank
“Enlighten provided industry best practices that weren’t going to show up in an audit report. They would say, ‘Hey, I noticed you do this. This is really unique, you do a really great job of it.’ And then they might add, ‘Some other clients that I have are doing something like this.’”
— Bill Beardsley, President, Michigan Business Connection
“By questioning some of our methodologies, Enlighten has helped us say, ‘Okay, this is where we need to train staff better and focus on so that they understand what they're doing better.”
— Robert McPherson, VP of Risk Management, Peoples State Bank
“The organization of the communication — before, during, and after the reporting process — was certainly better with Enlighten than what I've experienced with a lot of auditors.”
— Bill Beardsley, President, Michigan Business Connection
“The staff at Enlighten have been available for questions, in addition to the engaged work that they do. They've been very helpful as a resource beyond the major audit.”
— Meghann Kasper, Chief Credit Officer, Bank First
“Enlighten gives us a very good second set of eyes on our transactions. They're not afraid to challenge us on some of the work that we've done, which is what is needed. I don't need to pay somebody to tell me I'm good, I need to pay somebody to tell me where I've made mistakes.”
— Robert McPherson, VP of Risk Management, Peoples State Bank
“Enlighten provided industry best practices that weren’t going to show up in an audit report. They would say, ‘Hey, I noticed you do this. This is really unique, you do a really great job of it.’ And then they might add, ‘Some other clients that I have are doing something like this.’”
— Bill Beardsley, President, Michigan Business Connection
“By questioning some of our methodologies, Enlighten has helped us say, ‘Okay, this is where we need to train staff better and focus on so that they understand what they're doing better.”
— Robert McPherson, VP of Risk Management, Peoples State Bank
“The organization of the communication — before, during, and after the reporting process — was certainly better with Enlighten than what I've experienced with a lot of auditors."
— Bill Beardsley, President, Michigan Business Connection