NEXT WEDNESDAY! ALL NEW!

In-Person and Online!

2023 Compliance School - February 8th -

Expert Speakers!

Last call! The DBA Regulatory Compliance School is in session, next Wednesday, February 8, 2023, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The agenda is all new for 2023 facilitated by a dynamic lineup of expert panelists and speakers. Attend online or at the Wilmington University Brandywine Campus in Wilmington. Get the latest information on the trends and topics you need in the ever-changing regulatory compliance environment. Sessions and topics include: Regulatory Panel Discussion, BSA/AML, Fraud Mitigation, and more! seven (7) DE & PA CLE Credits, CPE and CRCM Credits Applied For. DBA Members pay just $699 ($899 for non-members). See the full agenda and speaker lineup via the link below. Register today!

2023 DBA Washington Visit - March 1-3 -

Sponsorship Opportunities

After two virtual years, the DBA Senior Executive Washington Visit will once again be live and in-person in our Nation’s Capital, March 1 to 3. Expanded sponsorship opportunities are now available for our valued associate members to participate in the event. 

Sponsorship are available and include opportunities for representatives from your ­firm to attend the following:

• Wednesday March 1^st reception and dinner. 
• Thursday March 2^nd luncheon.
• Thursday March 2^nd evening reception. The evening reception will feature a new and engaging entertainment venue.

Join sponsors: FHLB of Pittsburgh, S&P Global, Discover Bank, Richards Layton & Finger, and WSFS Bank, and 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. 

ABA Safe Alert: Emerging Ransomware Ruses Hitting the Banking Industry

Cybersecurity has been a key concern for banks for many years, especially related to ransomware threats and tactics. 85% of community bank executives cited cybersecurity as a top priority according to a 2022 survey conducted by the Risk Management Association.

While losses from ransomware are nothing new, this SafeAlert addresses a few emerging trends that distinguish the current threat landscape from the environment of only a few years ago and offers some best practices that may mitigate your exposure. 

Supply Chain Attacks are those where threat actors target critical supply chain vendors, hoping to inflict serious financial and reputational damage to the many companies downstream of that vendor. By increasing their “blast radius” and creating major disruption, criminals seek to maximize ransom amounts and increase their odds of getting paid. For example, a 2021 ransomware attack affected at least 1,500 customers of an IT service provider. Another highly publicized event, the 2020 SolarWinds hack, affected over 18,000 users of their system management software.

Fulton Bank Invests $1 Million In

Innovate Capital Growth Fund

Innovate Capital Growth Fund Partner Della Clark and Fulton Financial Corporation Chairman and CEO Curtis J. Myers celebrate the bank’s investment to help fund growth for minority- and women-owned businesses.

Fulton Bank, a subsidiary of Fulton Financial Corporation, has invested $1 million in Innovate Capital Growth Fund, L.P., which provides capital and operational expertise to enable minority- and women-owned businesses to grow. The investment is part of Fulton Bank’s Commercial Affinity Banking initiative, which is designed to increase access to financial services for diverse businesses.

“Fulton Bank’s investment will advance our mission of connecting institutions with minority businesses, unlocking the potential for future growth,” said Innovate Capital Growth Fund Partner Della Clark. “There are more than 3,200 minority-owned and 8,800 women-owned businesses in our target market in the Mid-Atlantic region, and providing them with equity capital represents a significant opportunity to contribute to overall economic growth.”

Bank of America Private Bank Market Minute

As January comes to a close, U.S. Equity markets are tracking a gain for the first month of 2023. Equities rose again last week guided by a slew of economic data releases and Q4 2022 corporate earnings reports. The S&P 500 gained 2.5% with nine of the 11 major sectors advancing, led by the Consumer Discretionary and Technology sectors. The Utilities and Healthcare sectors lagged the most last week. The Nasdaq Composite soared 4.3% adding to an advance of over 10% so far for the year. A Q4 U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) report showed growth of 2.9% in Q4 2022 and a slight deceleration from 3.2% the previous quarter. Consumer spending is showing signs of fatigue with personal spending declining 0.2% in December from the prior month. The savings rate stood at 3.4%, much lower than its long-term average of over 8%. The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) core price index rose 4.4% in December from a year prior. The headline gauge climbed 5.0% year-over-year (YoY), both of which are the slowest paces since late 2021. These data releases will help inform policymakers at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting with consensus widely expecting a 25 basis point interest rate increase, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.5% - 4.75%. A few readings on the labor markets are also due this week, like the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey as well as the January labor report.

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.

Richards, Layton & Finger Again Tops the M&A Deals Chart

Richards, Layton & Finger again tops The Deal’s annual Delaware rankings of M&A transactions valued at $100 million or more. The law firm served as counsel on as many of these high-value deals in 2022 as the other ranked Delaware law firms combined, and has kept its spot at the top of the deal charts for 30 years running.



“We’re proud that our firm consistently sets the standard as Delaware deal counsel,” said Lisa Schmidt, president of Richards Layton. “Our talented lawyers routinely handle challenging, high-stakes matters, and our clients know they can rely on our outstanding service, innovative solutions, and excellent results.”

 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Modernization: Large Bank Impact

While the FDIC, OCC, and FRB work aggressively to finalize the proposed rule issued on May 5, 2022, modernizing the CRA, the impact to large banks (assets of $2 billion or greater) promises to be significant. With performance to become tied to new a standard known as Retail Lending Assessment Areas and overall performance to be evaluated under four tests – Retail Lending Test, Retail Products and Services Test, Community Development Financing Test, and Community Development Services Test – now is the time for large banks to be planning for compliance. In addition to preparing for a host of new data collection and reporting requirements, changes to a bank’s current CRA performance strategy may be required to achieve at least a satisfactory rating given the new thresholds, metrics, and tests.

Cinnaire wrapped up 2022 by closing of two of the largest Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity funds in our organization's history!

In late 2022, Cinnaire announced the closing of the 2022 Midwest Community Fund, a $211 million LIHTC Equity Fund with capital raised from fifteen institutional investors. The fund is the largest single equity fund in Cinnaire's 30-year history and will infuse capital investments into 25 affordable housing properties to create or preserve more than 1,900 homes in five states.

In December, Cinnaire announced the closing of the largest MidAtlantic LIHTC Fund in our history. The $86.3 million fund will bring more than 691 units of affordable housing to the region. Since 2013,. Cinnaire has partnered with financial institutions and insurance companies throughout the MidAtlantic to raise more than $417 million to support more than 4,800 units of affordable housing.