DBA Digest for November 3, 2023

Women Connect Event in Wilmington!

Over 50 financial service professionals attended the latest Women Connect event, yesterday, November 2, at the University & Whist Club in Wilmington. Sessions included 'The Return to Work - Post-Pandemic Challenges and Silver Linings,'' (pictured above) with panelists Artika Casini, Theresa Hughes, Tarrie Miller, Regina Donato, and Denise Mckelvey ; 'The 6 Pillars of Self Care, Building Self Care into Your Life," with Sarah Mayland; and, 'Emotional Intelligence,'' with Linda Comerford. In addition there was plenty of the Engagement, Empowerment, and Networking, Women Connect is known for. Stay tuned for information on the next Women Connect event!

Delaware Bankers Launches Candidate Forum Series with U.S. House of Representatives Candidates!

2024, a vital election year, is almost upon us. The Delaware Bankers Association will be holding a series of virtual Candidate Forums to enable you to meet and ask questions of the candidates running for office. 

Our first series will be with candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives on the following dates:

Colleen Davis, State Treasurer: Wednesday, November 15, 1:00 p.m.

Sarah McBride, State Senator: Friday, November 17, 12:00 noon

Eugene Young, Dir. DE State Housing Authority: TBD

These Forums allow our members to interact one-on-one with the individuals who may directly impact our industry. Your participation will help keep banking strong in Delaware and demonstrate the importance of banking to the candidates. Each session will be approximately one hour in length and conducted via Zoom. 

Sponsorship are available.

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. 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.

Bank of America Private Bank Market Minute

U.S. equity markets failed to get much of a lift from the U.S. Q3 growth print or corporate earnings reports, as major indexes such as the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each fell more than 2% last week. Both the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 entered correction territory, down about 10% from their peaks in July. Q3 U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) print showed the economy expanded at its quickest pace in almost two years. Strong consumer spending contributed to the increase in growth, growing 4% and contributing about 2.7 percentage points to an overall annualized growth figure of 4.9%. Still, there is mounting evidence that the strength in spending may not continue; the quarter saw both real disposable personal income and the personal savings rate decline. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index hit 63.8 in October versus 67.9 in September. Under the hood: weakness in Equities catalyzed lower sentiment particularly for higher income consumers, and shorter-term inflation expectations rose to 4.2% from 3.2% last month. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.4% in September while core PCE, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) preferred inflation measure excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% in September and 3.7% over the year. The Fed prepares for the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week, where policymakers are expected to hold the federal funds rate between 5.25% and 5.50%. In addition to the Fed meeting, corporate earnings continue to be reported, and a monthly October jobs report is due on Friday.

Ask the Fed®: 2023 Accounting Roundtable

Monday, November 13, 2023 | 2pm-3:30pm ET | 2023 Accounting Roundtable

The Federal Reserve System’s Accounting Communications Network (ACN) will host its annual Virtual Accounting Roundtable, with special remarks provided by Governor Michelle Bowman. This event is intended to provide participants with an opportunity to engage policy makers while enhancing communication between regulators and accounting and auditing professionals. 

Please join the Federal Reserve Board’s Chief Accountant Lara Lylozian and the Board’s Accounting Policy team, along with ACN subject matter experts, to discuss current and emerging accounting issues impacting financial institutions. Among other topics, the program will include 2023 CECL implementation observations, recent and proposed accounting standards, and an opportunity to have your burning questions addressed. 

Richards, Layton & Finger Receives the LCLD 2023 Top Performer and Compass Awards

Richards, Layton & Finger has been named a Top Performer and Compass Award winner by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), which recognizes law firms and corporations that show a strong commitment to building a more inclusive legal profession. LCLD is comprised of more than 450 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners—the leaders of the profession—who are committed to ensuring that all talent thrives, with the ultimate goal of building a more equitable and diverse legal profession.

SEC Targets Cryptocurrency, Emerging Technologies, and Anti-Money Laundering for 2024 Examination Priorities

On October 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations (the Division) released its 2024 Examination Priorities report. The report highlights that future examinations will focus on “risk areas impacting various market participants,” emphasizing risks posed by products and services: (1) related to cryptocurrency; and (2) that leverage emerging technology. In addition, the report indicates that examinations will focus on market participants’ compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws.

The report details the Division’s intent to focus on the offer, sale, recommendation of, and trading of crypto assets.

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining"!