Fortner Bayens, P.C. Banking Letter - March 2018 Edition

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Fortner Bayens, P.C.

Charitable Contribution After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Joseph M. Press, CPA, CFE

One of the side effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has been to diminish the value of the charitable contribution deduction. Can anything be done to minimize the impact? 

To read more, click here. 

Borrowers' Business Plans

Lenders typically request that borrowers seeking to purchase a business or start a new business provide a business plan as part of their commercial loan application.

In many cases the banker that a borrower deals with when applying for a commercial loan is not necessarily the officer(s) who may approve the loan. As a result, there can be a lack of communication about specific plans and capabilities to operate the business successfully.  The business plan is typically the model to thoroughly understand the nature of one’s business. It is important for the applicant to understand what the bank is looking for when reviewing the business plan. 

To read more, click here. 

Update on Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Notice

Val J. Vought, CRCM, CAMS

Since the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) notice expired at the end of 2017, we have been waiting for an updated notice that all banks must provide to mortgage loan borrowers within 45 days of delinquency.  The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), who publishes the notice, posted a request in the Federal Register on January 16, 2018 to update the form (OMB 2504-0584/HUD 92070), which also included a comment period that ended on February 15, 2018.

To read more, click here.

Treasury Proposal: Repeal Nearly 300 Tax Regulations

David J. Bayens, CPA

The US Treasury Department recently proposed the elimination of 298 tax regulations.  These rules became obsolete with the enactment of new tax laws over the years.  Some of the regulations date back to 1942.

Additionally, Treasury is proposing to amend 79 existing regulations to reflect the removal of the 298.

To read more, click here. 

2017 Independent Bank Compensation Survey (Results Available Now)

We have completed our 29th annual Independent Bank Compensation Survey.  The 2017 survey is based on 244 responses from community banks in 34 states.  This survey provides valuable compensation information, including:

  •  Your bank’s executive staff along with key operations, lending, IT and compliance positions.
  •  Average compensation levels for branch managers, teller, customer service and other positions.
  •  Directors’ compensation including both inside and outside directors.
  •  Information regarding bonus and benefit plans and health insurance programs.

Also, we would be happy to make available to you a set of Customized Survey Results.  These reports will include average and median values for banks comparable to your bank. All of our reports are free of charge.

To access the report on our 2017 Independent Bank Compensation Survey and/or to input your bank’s demographic information for Customized Survey Results, simply click here.