DBA Digest for August 11, 2023

Beginning This Wednesday!

All New! Foundations of Delaware Trusts: Best Practices - Live and On-Demand

The latest Foundations of Delaware Trusts series premieres this Wednesday, August 16, with Transfer Trust Best Practices! This new series features three sessions highlighting the best practices for trust professionals taught by Delaware's top trust experts! Each session will be conducted live on the date indicated and will be available for on-demand viewing afterward to train your entire staff. DBA Members can register for all three for just $499 ($199 each purchased separately).

Transfer Trust Best Practices - August 16, 10:00 a.m.

Instructors: Matthew P. D'Emilio, Managing Member, McCollom D'Emilio Smith Uebler LLC; Tara S. Hersh, Associate, McCollom D'Emilio Smith Uebler LLC

GST Tax Best Practices - August 29, 10:00 a.m.

Instructors: Cynthia D.M. Brown, President, Commonwealth Trust Company; Kimberly Gill McKinnon, Director, Gordon, Fournaris & Mammarella, P.A.

Trust Termination Best Practices - September 7, 11:00 a.m.

Instructors: Mark A. Oller, Delaware Trust Executive, U.S. Trust Company of Delaware; Todd A. Flubacher, Esq., Partner, Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP

2023 Delaware Trust Conference - All-Star Speakers! In-Person! Live-Stream! On-Demand!

Don't miss the all-star line-up of wealth management experts and the 2023 Delaware Trust Conference ends today, August 4th! The 2023 Delaware Trust Conference will be live at The Chase Center on the Riverfront, AND live-streaming, on October 17 & 18, AND on-demand through November! See the agenda via the link below and register today!

Delaware Trust Conference - New for 2023! Monday Evening Reception on the Kalmar Nyckel!

The 2023 Delaware Trust Conference will kick off with a reception Monday, October 16, 4 to 6 p.m. on Delaware's tall ship, the Kalmar Nyckel. Tickets to this exclusive reception event are just $150. Platinum and Diamond Sponsors receive two free registrations to the reception with their sponsorships. Space is limited! Contact Corinne Stayton to reserve your spot today!

2023 FDIC Directors' College -

September 22nd - Dewey, DE

Registration is now open for the 2023 FDIC Directors' College, September 22, 8:30 to 1:30, at the Hyatt Place, Dewey, DE. The FDIC Directors’ College is an interactive program that provides ongoing education on current topics of bank supervision to bank directors, senior officers, corporate secretaries, and board advisors. The course is designed to help directors and trustees, both new and experienced, stay abreast of the ever-changing regulatory environment. Modules this year include: Consumer Protection; Risk Management; Conversation with the Regulators; and Economics and Banking Update. Please click on the link below to view the detailed agenda and to register.

Business Writing Workshop

November 1, 2023, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Time equals money in the work world, so creating clear documents quickly that can be understood easily is crucial.

Join Linda Comerford, Comerford Consulting for this rewarding on-line course via Zoom,

November 1: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  

Just $199 per person for DBA members! ($249 for non-members)

Workshop Objectives: After attending this course, participants will benefit from an increased ability to:

• Identify varied audiences and purposes for writing;
• Polish rough edges of their writing style in paragraphs, sentences, words, and format;
• Write more effective documents while following a more efficient writing process; and,
• Apply course concepts to their actual writing samples.

Taking the Grr out of Grammar

November 8, 2023, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Surveys show that 80% of those in the business world tend to say, “Grr!” a lot when editing a document.

Join Linda Comerford, Comerford Consulting for this valuable on-line course

November 8: 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Just $99 per person for DBA members! ($149 for non-members)

Workshop Objectives:  This half-day course helps participants do the following when writing and editing:  

• Analyze why correct documents are so important;
• Identify the errors that tarnish a writer’s image;
• Learn practical, current grammar and punctuation rules;
• Practice correcting grammar glitches and punctuation pitfalls; and,
• Demonstrate understanding of the rules through a pre- and post-quiz.

Mid-Atlantic Bank Executives Conference

September 10 - 11

This event, brought to you by five states (DE, MD, PA, VA and WV) will bring together bankers and industry partners for sessions with nationally recognized speakers providing relevant and timely content geared specifically to bank c-suite and other senior leaders. See the full agenda and registration information via the link below.

Fulton Bank Welcomes Two New Members

to Board of Directors

Fulton Bank announced the appointments of Retired Rear Admiral Dr. Jan Hamby and CEO of The High Companies Mike Shirk to the Bank’s board of directors.

Dr. Hamby, a highly decorated naval officer, brings more than 35 years of expertise and leadership in telecommunications, space, cyber and national security to Fulton Bank’s board of directors.

Mike Shirk, CEO of The High Companies, one of the largest family-owned employers in central Pennsylvania, brings more than 25 years of business management, strategy and engineering experience to Fulton Bank’s board of directors.

“We are thrilled to expand Fulton Bank’s board of directors with two accomplished leaders, Dr. Jan Hamby and Mike Shirk," said Fulton Chairman, President and CEO Curtis J. Myers. "Their insights, expertise and unique perspective is extremely valuable to the work we do, both as a financial institution and community partner.”

Bank of America Private Bank Market Minute

Major indexes finished last week in the red following Fitch’s downgrade to the credit rating of U.S government debt, while growth and inflation concerns percolated in Europe, and monetary shifts in Asia combined for a weekly sell-off in stocks. The MSCI World Index dropped 2.3% and the S&P 500 suffered its first one-day decline of more than 1% since May—closing 2.3% lower last week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite logged declines of 1.1% and 2.9% respectively on that week. The Volatility Index (VIX) rose to its highest level since May. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to a fresh high for the year last Thursday, flirting with last year's peak of 4.24%. The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) Senior Loan Officer Survey showed further tightening including stricter credit conditions and a decline in loan demand. July’s jobs report from the Labor Department showed 187,000 jobs created last month. That's a slight increase from the downwardly revised 185,000 jobs added in June, but the smallest increase in more than a year. Hourly wages rose 0.4% in July from the month before, up 4.4% on an annual basis. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5% from 3.6% in June. Investors are pricing in an 88% probability that the Fed will keep rates at their current range of 5.25% to 5.5% in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. The Bank of England (BOJ) raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a 15-year high of 5.25%. Late this week, the July inflation picture will come into focus, with both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) releases, potentially showing a continuation of inflation moderation.

Jenifer Jurden is a Cartoonist from Wilmington who has graciously provided her Planet Jurdy cartoons for the DBA Digest. Jurdy® is her other-worldly "Hero of Happyness" whose cartoons bring levity to humans worldwide.

FedNow and Security

Wednesday, August 16, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon ET

Join us virtually from 11:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, for an introduction to the FedNow Service, the Federal Reserve’s new instant payment platform. Vince Lally, cyber operations manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, will discuss FedNow, focusing on the cybersecurity considerations during the development and go-live stages of the service.

New- Ask the Fed®: Energy Update: Oil, Natural Gas, and Renewables -

Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET

Uncertainty in the energy market in 2022 resulted in elevated volatility in the prices of crude oil and natural gas. Prices for both have cooled off in 2023, and some unanswered questions from last year have been answered this year. However, tightening credit conditions, coupled with sharp monetary policy tightening globally, is putting additional pressure on energy market participants. This energy transition is reshaping the landscape of the energy sector gradually.

This 90-minute Ask the Fed session will include speakers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ energy team: SungJe Byun, Senior Economist; Rebin Kawani, Data Scientist; Kunal Patel, Senior Business Economist; and Jesse Thompson, Senior Business Economist. The session will discuss outlook and financing trends for oil, natural gas, and renewables.

BLS CPAs Announces Summer Promotions

Belfint, Lyons & Shuman, P.A. (BLS), a Top 300 certified public accounting and consulting firm headquartered in Delaware, announces multiple well-earned promotions. Read the detailed list of promotions via the link below.

Creditor's Rights Toolkit: Who Is the Debtor?

The debtor is the entity that files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is the central player in a Chapter 11 case. The debtor sets the goal of the Chapter 11 case, such as whether to pursue a sale process, a plan of reorganization, or a plan of liquidation. This article discusses the leverage and incentives that a debtor has in a Chapter 11 Case. To access this article and read other insights from our Creditor's Rights Toolkit, follow the link below.

PODCAST: The Corporate Transparency Act: Q&A

We sat down with Christopher P. Lauer, Attorney at Manley & Brautigam, P.C. to discuss the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), and how it will affect estate planning attorneys. Our conversation covered:

CHRISTOPHER P. LAUER AND BRANDON CINTULA

• What the Corporate Transparency Act is, and why it exists
• How CTA is going to work in practice, including reporting requirements
• How CTA will affect trusts

Consequences of not reporting