2023 DBA Washington Visit

It's good to be back! After three years, the DBA Executive Officer Washington Visit was held in person! The 2020 Visit was conducted the last week before the COVID lockdown. The group received extensive briefings from the American Bankers Association, the FDIC, FHFA, Treasury, and the OCC. There were also meetings with Senators Carper and Coons and Representative Blunt Rochester's office.

Thank you to all our sponsors! Platinum Sponsor: Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh. Reception & Dinner Sponsor: S&P Global. Lunch Sponsor: Discover Bank. Reception Sponsors: Richards Layton & Finger; Sallie Mae; and, WSFS Bank. Shuttle Bus Sponsor: JTC.

2023 Teach Children to Save Day!

April 24th - 28th

Volunteer Today! Classrooms Still Available!

Classrooms are still available for 2023 Teach Children to Save Day! This year's event, the 25th annual, is April 24th through 28th. The majority of classrooms will be in-person! Over the years, Delaware’s bankers have taught an important lesson on saving to over 230,000 kids. Teaching is fun and easy, with complete materials and training provided. Register via the link below.

Bank of America Private Bank Market Minute

Stocks regained ground last week, kicking off the first few days of March with positive performance. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 1.6% and 2.0% last Friday alone, capping weekly gain of 1.9% and 2.6% respectively. Over the week Materials (+4.0%) and Communication Services (+3.3%) shares led the advance, while Utilities (-0.7%) and Consumer Staples (-0.4%) shares lagged. Economic data from the Commerce Department showed durable goods orders posted the largest decline since April 2020, tumbling 4.5% for the month of January. Stripping out the volatile commercial aircraft segment, orders for nondefense capital goods (excluding aircraft) rose 0.8%. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained in contraction territory at 47.7 in February—levels below 50 indicate slowing activity—although a tick higher for the first time since May. The Services PMI fell slightly while still indicating moderate expansion (55.1). The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note closed above 4% last Thursday for the first time since November, although slipping to 3.95% by that Friday. The yield on the two-year note briefly hit a 15-year high of 4.937% last Thursday. Overseas, European markets were mostly higher on the week following data on inflation and employment. In local currency terms, the Euro Stoxx 50 Index — blue-chip index for the Eurozone—added 2.8%. Germany’s DAX Index climbed 2.4% as France’s CAC 40 Index gained 2.2% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index added 3.1%. Eurozone inflation eased to 8.5% from a year ago in February compared with 8.6% in January, attributable to falling energy costs. Core inflation, excluding food and energy costs, ticked up to 5.6% from 5.3%. The Eurozone’s January unemployment rate held steady at 6.7%, close to record lows. U.S. employment will be the focus this week with both the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) due Wednesday and Friday’s release of the February jobs report.

Peak Trust Company:

Trust Jurisdiction Comparison Guide

Interested in learning more about the differences in trust law between the top states? This handy comparison lays out the applicable state statutes in each of Alaska, Nevada, and Delaware for various trust planning techniques.

 New- Ask the Fed: Residential Real Estate

Housing Market Correction –

 Trends and Emerging Risks in the Year

Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET - 3:00 p.m. ET

After Two and a half years of extraordinary growth spurred on by historically low mortgage rates and unprecedented levels of home prices appreciation, the housing market is in the middle of a major correction. Sales have declined, home price appreciation has slowed, and home buyer sentiment is near all-time lows. Taken together, all these factors point to a significant amount of uncertainty in the housing market as we enter the peak selling season of 2023.

On March 28, 2023, Domonic Purviance from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, will host a webinar that addresses current housing market conditions and future risks and expectations over the next year. Registration is now open at www.askthefed.org. As always, we want your questions. You can email your questions in advance of the session at questions@askthefed.org. We'll take questions during the session as well, but questions received in advance will receive priority. We strongly encourage participants to use the webinar audio on their computer for the best experience. Webinar materials will be archived for future viewing.

Whisman Giordano & Associates, LLC Announces the

Hiring of Three Senior Accountants

Jeni Head

MaKayla Vidal

Joan Wilson

Whisman Giordano & Associates, LLC announces the hiring of three Senior Accountants: Jeni Head; MaKayla Vidal, CPA; Joan Wilson, CPA, MBA.

Jeni Head comes to the firm with over 20 years of accounting experience in various capacities. Her specialties include employee benefit plans, not-for-profit organizations, partnership and individual taxes. Head is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa and will be involved with both the firm’s audit and tax practices. Head shared that she is “. . .happy to be with Whisman Giordano. The family atmosphere has been very welcoming” and that she enjoys “helping clients.”

MaKayla Vidal, CPA, is a graduate of Lamar University in Texas and specializes in not-for-profit organizations and financial statement preparation. Vidal states, “I really enjoy new challenges, and I’m looking forward to being part of the team.” Vidal, like Head, will be involved in both the firm’s audit and tax practices.

Joan Wilson, CPA, MBA, brings 25 years of accounting experience to WGA. Her specialties include not-for-profit organizations, closely-held businesses, low-income housing, retirement plans, S-corps, partnerships, and individual tax. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Wilson has also served as an accounting instructor at a local college and a professional accounting society. She shares, “I’m very excited to be part of this firm. They really care about their clients and each other.”

President and Managing Director Joseph V. Giordano says, “We’re very happy that Jeni, MaKayla, and Joan have joined our team. Each one of them brings a unique set of talents that will help us continue to deliver outstanding service to our clients. We look to hire good humans who care for others, and these three certainly meet those criteria. Putting our clients and our team first has been our winning strategy for 50 years and will help us prosper for our next 50.”

FinCEN and USPS Issue Alert on Mail-Theft Check Fraud and SAR Filing Instructions

On February 27, 2023, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in conjunction with the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a press release and alert concerning the “national surge in check fraud schemes targeting the U.S. Mail.” In what FinCEN Acting Director Himamauli Das called a “disturbing trend,” criminals are increasingly stealing checks from the U.S. Mail and USPS mail carriers—sometimes by force—and using the personal information contained therein to commit identity theft or other crimes.