DBA Digest for February 2, 2024

2024 Teach Children to Save Day!

April 15th - 19th

Volunteer Registration Now Open!

Sponsorships Still Available!

Banker volunteer registration for 2024 Teach Children to Save Day is now open! This year's event, the 26th annual, is April 15th through 19th. Over the years, Delaware’s bankers have taught an important lesson on saving to over 240,000 kids. Teaching is fun and easy, with complete materials and training provided. Register via the link below.

The Delaware Bankers Association and the Delaware Financial Education Alliance have created a new comic book, especially for this year's event. Featuring The Great Investo and Penny, the story illustrates the power of compounding and the importance of saving for a financially independent future. All students will receive their own copy of the comic book to keep.

Bank sponsorships for the comic book and the event are welcome. Join the growing list of sponsors including: Barclays, Wells Fargo, Sallie Mae, Smarty Pig, TD Bank, WSFS Bank; Artisans' Bank; Bank of America; Fulton Bank; M&T Bank; Visa; Comenity Bank; County Bank; First Citizens Community Bank; and, Shore United Bank.

Please contact Sarah Long or Greg Koseluk for more information on sponsorship.

2024 DBA Washington Visit - March 6-8

Sponsorship Still Available!

Expanded Sponsorship opportunities are available through February 9th for the DBA Senior Executive Washington Visit, March 6 to 8. Sponsorship opportunities are open to all associate members who would like to participate in the event. Join these prestigious sponsors: Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, Richards Layton & Finger, Discover, WSFS Bank, RKL CPA, S&P Global, and Wipfli!

Sponsorship include opportunities for representatives from your ­firm to select to attend any of the following:

• Wednesday March 6th reception and dinner. 
• Thursday March 7th luncheon.
• Thursday March 7th evening reception. The evening reception will feature a new and engaging entertainment venue.

Take advantage of this unique networking opportunity to meet with top leaders in both the financial services and legislative realms. See the form below for full details and to reserve your organization’s place.

Bank of America Private Bank Market Minute

Despite January’s shaky start in equity markets, last week marked an impressive 11 weeks of gains out of the last 12 weeks. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow), and Nasdaq Composite gained 1.17%, 0.72%, and 2.26% for the week, respectively, with the S&P 500 finishing at an all-time high last Friday, closing nearly 1% above its previous record set in January of 2022. Also closing at an all-time high last Friday was the Dow. Information Technology and Communication Services led the week sector-wise. In line with positive equity performance was a series of better-than-expected economic data. Preliminary estimates showed consumer sentiment jumping from 69.7 to 78.8 in January, per the University of Michigan release. Sentiment has increased 29% over the last two months, the largest such increase since 1991. Short term (1-year) inflation expectations have fallen further to 2.9% per the survey. Retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.6% in December, a contributor to the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rising over 18 basis points last week. Also strong were initial claims which fell further to 187,000, the lowest level since September 2022, as continuing claims unexpectedly fell to levels last seen in October 2023. Rate cut expectations shifted markedly last week amid comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Christopher Waller suggesting that cuts may come later than widely expected. The probability of a March cut stood above 75% at the start of last week; a majority now expects the first cut to arrive in May per the CME FedWatch Tool. Looking ahead to this week, Q4 earnings season continues with 15% of S&P 500 companies reporting. The first Q4 gross domestic product (GDP) estimate and the final Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index reading for 2023 will also be released.

Wilmington University Micro-Credentials: Advance Your Skills and Earn Academic Credit!

Gain industry skills and turn your passion into academic credit with a micro-credential from Wilmington University (WilmU). WilmU has a catalog of micro-credential course offerings available to Delaware Bankers Association and Delaware Financial Education Association members that help to advance your skills and earn academic credit. Offered in convenient formats and coupled with comprehensive support, these courses are led by companies such as Google, IBM and Meta. During checkout, use the special discount code 2324DEBA to receive $100 off your six-month access subscription. To learn more, visit wilmu.edu/Partnerships/DEBankers.

Ask the Fed®: Novel Activities Supervision Program

The Federal Reserve's Novel Activities Supervision Program enhances the supervision of novel activities conducted by banking organizations supervised by the Federal Reserve. The Program focuses on novel activities related to crypto-assets, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and complex, technology-driven partnerships with nonbanks to deliver financial services to customers. 

Please join us on Wednesday, February 7, 2:00 p.m., for this Ask the Fed® session with Program Co-chairs Kavita Jain, Associate Director, Novel Activities and Innovation Policy of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and Kristin LaPorte, Vice President of National Programs of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The presenters will provide an overview of the Program, discuss the scope of the Program, explain its supervisory approach and partnership with traditional supervisory teams, and hold a Q&A.

Note: this session is only open to members of Financial Institutions. 

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.

Santora CPA Group Announces a New Director

Santora CPA Group, a Newark-based Certified Public Accounting and Consulting firm, is pleased to announce that Keith M. Hammond, CPA has joined the firm as a Director. His prior experience includes nearly 20 years providing audit, accounting, and consulting services to business, nonprofit, and governmental clients. In addition to a wide array of employee benefit plan clients (such as pension plans, 401(k) plans, ESOPs), Keith has worked with clients in infrastructure, manufacturing, real estate, and service companies. Over the years, he has helped many clients in consultative functions such as assisting with accounting standards implementations, accounting and forecasting for specific transactions, and serving as interim controller. Keith is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. He is a member of the American Institute and the Delaware Society of Certified Public Accountants and is a former Board member of Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County.

2024 Perspectives in Financial Services - April 2 & 3

Wipfli is hosting Perspectives in Financial Services, 4/2/2024 - 4/3/2024 at the Marriott Philadelphia Downtown, an in-person event designed exclusively for executive officers and board members of financial services organizations. Join us for two days of information and insights into the topics profoundly impacting the financial services industry today.

We’re expanding our event this year, covering critical concerns — from cybersecurity and data analytics to talent management — and offering industry-specific breakout sessions to give you targeted, actionable guidance. You can also join our unique networking opportunity and connect with our speakers or learn from industry peers.

The speakers, topics and networking make this an event you don’t want to miss. Space is limited, so register below to secure your spot today.

Webinar: The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in the Two Cases Raising the Question of Whether the Chevron Judicial Deference Framework will be Overturned: Who Will Win and What Does It Mean?

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument for January 17, 2024 in the two cases (Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Commerce) in which the question presented is whether the Court should overrule its 1984 decision in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc. That decision produced what became known as the "Chevron Judicial Deference Framework" framework - the two-step analysis that courts typically invoke when reviewing a federal agency’s interpretation of a statute. In short, under Chevron, a court must uphold the validity of a federal agency regulation if it is a reasonable interpretation of a statute that is ambiguous with respect to the issue covered by the regulation.

Alan Kaplinsky, Senior Counsel and Former Practice Group Leader in Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, will moderate. Thursday, February 15, 2024 | 12:30 - 2:00 PM ET

Podcast: Unauthorized Access

Unauthorized Access, Troutman Pepper's privacy and cybersecurity-focused podcast, spotlights the human aspect of the cybersecurity industry, introducing you to the remarkable personalities that make the industry amazing. In this episode, Troutman Pepper's Gene Fishel joins Sadia Mirza after discovering that she was snooping around his office hoping to snag a challenge coin. Sadia uncovers their meaning, but more importantly discusses Gene's twenty-year career as chief of the Computer Crime Section in Virginia's Office of Attorney General, and his time as a special assistant U.S. attorney. Gene discusses his views on leading cyber investigations, managing forensics units, breach notifications and what he has learned since deciding to play defense.