DBA Digest for January 31, 2025

Last Call for Sponsorships!

2025 Teach Children to Save Day!

Time is running out to sponsor the new 2025 Delaware Teach Children to Save Day comic book! Join Sponsors: Barclays, Wells Fargo, WSFS, Bank of America, TD Bank, Artisans' Bank, Fulton Bank, M&T Bank, Visa, Comenity Bank, County Bank, First Citizens Community Bank, and Shore United Bank!

Joining The Great Investo and Penny on their adventure into saving will be The Mystical Saveroo, the Savings Genie. The book will teach the importance of saving for a financially independent future. Each student will receive a copy of the book to keep. Sponsorships of the comic book are available. Please contract Sarah Long or Greg Koseluk for more information on sponsoring.

The 2025 event will be throughout the week of April 7th. Banker registration will begin next week!

2025 DBA Washington Visit - March 5-7!

Sponsorships Still Available!

Sponsorship opportunities are available through February 7th for the DBA Senior Executive Washington Visit, March 5 to 7. 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, and Discover!

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

• Wednesday March 5th reception and dinner. 
• Thursday March 6th luncheon.
• Thursday March 6th evening reception. 

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.

Don't Miss These Upcoming OnCourse Learning Webinars!

Check Frauds and Scams - February 4th

Because FinCEN sees no indication that check fraud is going to subside anytime soon, the agency cautioned financial institutions to be vigilant and, along with the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), warned that the main source of stolen checks is the U.S. mail. During this webinar, we will look at all the different check fraud schemes and how to prevent them. Plus, we will cover who takes the loss on different types of fraud for your back-office staff.

Audience: This informative session is ideal for tellers, new accounts, compliance, bookkeeping, call centers, branch managers, bank secrecy officers, and security officers.

IRA Reporting to the IRS: Getting it Right! - February 5th

While we may be completing several forms when establishing IRA plans and documenting IRA transactions, there are only two forms that are submitted to the IRS to report the distribution and contribution activity: the 1099-R and the 5498.

The boxes you check on your forms, and the transactions descriptions you use to process the work, translate into certain codes on the 1099-R IRA Distribution Reporting and the population of the contribution boxes for the types of contributions on the 5498. If the reported transactions by the bank do not match what the customer is saying on their tax return, it can create all kinds of nightmare scenarios for the customer to explain to the IRS that it was a “bank mistake.”

And, if you have ever had to correct previous year reporting mistakes, you never want to do it again. You will want to make sure it is correct when the forms are originally submitted.

Audience: This session is ideal for anyone who completes the IRA forms for the institution, the operations department who should check the coding and reporting, and internal auditors who would double check and identify repeated reporting errors.

Learn more and browse all the webinars via the link below.

Bank of America Private Bank Market Minute

Major U.S. Equity Indexes managed a second consecutive week of gains last week as focus shifted to President Trump’s first 100 days in office. Last Thursday, the S&P 500 reached its first all-time closing high since early December before finishing the week with a 1.7% gain. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.7% and 2.2%, respectively. After nearing 4.80% the prior week, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury remained basically unchanged last week. Meanwhile, overseas, the Bank of Japan raised their short-term policy rate to 0.5%, the highest level in 17 years. In U.S. economic data, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index declined for the first time in six months in January to 71.1 as year-ahead inflation expectations climbed from 2.8% to 3.3%. Existing home sales rose from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million to 4.24 million in December, above expectations and the strongest monthly increase since February 2024. This capped a year of weak existing home sales; at 4.06 million, total sales in 2024 were the lowest since 1995 as buyers remained challenged by elevated mortgage rates and record-high prices. This week, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy decision. It’s widely expected the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will keep the federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25% to 4.50%. Key U.S. economic data releases will include the first estimate of Q4 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) growth on Thursday and an update to the Feds preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, on Friday. Q4 2024 earnings season kicks into high gear with 102 companies in the S&P 500 reporting this week.

Santora CPA Group Announces

Two Addition to its Team

Santora CPA Group, a Newark-based Certified Public Accounting and Consulting firm, announced that Harry S. Nardi and Sophia G. Gerhart have joined SCG as Staff Accountants in its Tax & A&A Departments. 

Both are 2024 graduates of West Chester University: Harry with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Finance, and Sophia with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting with a minor in Business Analytics. They started their careers with SCG as interns during the summer of 2023 and worked part time during the summer of 2024. They will be providing auditing, accounting, and a variety of tax preparation services to SCG’s clients. 

Troutman Pepper Locke: 2024 State AG Year in Review

State attorneys general (AGs) continue to play a pivotal role as innovators, shaping the regulatory environment by leveraging their expertise and resources to influence policy and practice. The public-facing nature of AG offices across the U.S. compels them to respond to constituent concerns on abbreviated timetables. This political sensitivity, combined with the AGs' authority to address both local and national issues, underscores their significant influence in the current regulatory environment.



Troutman Pepper Locke's nationally recognized State AG team closely monitors developments in this complex and rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, serving as a trusted partner for clients seeking assistance with state AG enforcement, litigation, and compliance matters. The 2024 State AG Year in Review provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving regulatory landscape, highlighting key events and trends that defined the year.