What is the best growth strategy? How do we develop a plan? How can we improve earnings? Should we expand by acquisition? Or by branching? Or through diversification into other product lines related to banking? Do we have the right tools for market research for branching? What is the loan demand in a given geographic area? What are our options for non-interest income expansion and diversification? ...more
Should we sell now or build and expand? Should we merge? What are we really worth if we sell? Who do we buy? What would we pay? What other terms are involved? What is the process and the timeline? Should we obtain a "fairness opinion"? How do we price another bank's branches with loans and deposits for sale? ...more
What is the best long term capital structure? Should we issue common stock, preferred stock or Trust Preferred Stock? What should our dividend policy be? How do we promote our stock? How do we access other forms of capital? ...more
How do we go about starting a de novo bank? What is our best choice for a charter? What is the process, how long does it take and what does it cost?
How do we deal with a regulatory enforcement action? How do we assure compliance with regulatory terms of a cease and desist order or a memorandum of understanding?
What is our conversion value in going from a mutual to a shareholder owned institution? What is the application process? ...more
Do we have the right financial measurement and control systems? How can we improve these systems to monitor and enhance performance? How do we measure profitability by product, or branch or department? How do we measure profitability in loan pricing? How should we measure interest rate risk without confusing ourselves? How realistic is our budgeting process? What should our long-term financial goals be and what is a reasonable long-range financial forecast to achieve them? Is there good software at reasonable prices that would reduce our dependency on large complex packages each time we need to reevaluate a financial decision? ...more
What succession planning steps should we be thinking about? What attributes should we be looking for in our executive staff to assure goal congruence with the philosophy and mission of our institution? ...more