The Truth About the NAR Settlement Agreement

from National Association of REALTORS®

Misinformation has been pervasive in the media over real estate commissions. Here are the facts you should know. The national conversation around real estate commissions reached a crescendo since the National Association of REALTORS® announced a settlement agreement that would resolve litigation brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions. Brokers and agents have their own questions about what comes next for their businesses, while at the same time trying to answer consumer inquiries. And many headlines aren’t separating fact from fiction, feeding misinformation to you and your clients. Let’s clear the air! Click HERE to read on.

This Is How to Become More Decisive: 20 Practices

by Gregg Vanourek

To live and lead well, we must be decisive. While this may come naturally for some, many people struggle with it for a variety of reasons. There’s a lot going on when it comes to making decisions. The neurological mechanics are breathtaking. It’s no wonder so many people struggle with indecisiveness—wavering between different courses of action and having trouble choosing and moving forward. Indecisiveness can have painful consequences. Thankfully, there are many things we can do to improve our decisiveness. It’s a skill we can learn and develop. Click HERE for 20 practices.

These Are the Biggest Fraud Risks Banks Will Face in 2024

by Craig Guillot

Experian’s annual Future of Fraud Forecast highlights fraud trends impacting consumers, businesses, and the financial services industry. The forecast noted that fraud is becoming a growing problem for both businesses and consumers — and 2024 will bring not only an increase in volume but an increase in the types of attacks. Gen AI will enable new and creative attack methods, even for DIYers. More consumers are looking to in-person interactions to reduce digital risk. Experian also anticipates a surge in identity fraud and retailers being hit with empty returns. Companies and financial institutions can mitigate risk with a multilayered prevention solution. Click HERE to learn more.

Virginia Title Center Keeps You Safe From Wire Fraud with CertifID

Digital banking makes moving money easier for everyone — including cyber criminals, who are getting more cunning every day. Every wire transfer you send or receive is at risk. Yet many ask if wire fraud is really that serious? Wire transfers continue to be the most frequently reported payment method for fraud with a reported aggregate loss of $2.4 Billion and an average loss of $120k per victim. And, did you know that one out of every three real estate transactions are targeted for wire fraud?

At Virginia Title Center, we take the safety of your money and your client's money seriously as we offer wire fraud protection through a partnership with CertifID. This offers end-to-end protection to keep customer information secured and insured at all times through a suite of services. CertifID makes it easy for us to securely send our wire instructions to clients and lenders; allows us to safely collect bank details from home sellers and other partners; verifies the bank details that have been provided are accurate and not tampered with; and, offers Payoff Protect to validate the authenticity of wiring instructions to ensure loan payoff payments aren't sent to fraudsters. All wire transactions are backed by Lloyd's of London and insured up to $1 million. Click HERE for a flyer you can share with your clients, and talk to your settlement processor to learn how using CertifID can protect you and your clients.

Team Chemistry: How Do You Build It?

from thoughtLEADERS, LLC



Building chemistry between the members of your team is all about personalities, shared beliefs, and trust. Make sure everyone on your team is involved in the interview process because candidates will show different sides of themselves to different people.  It’s not critical for people to have the same personalities; actually, it’s quite detrimental. What matters here is you have to help the members of your team understand and respect other people’s personalities and how they like to work with others. Once you’ve figured out the chemistry of the team and you have people with the right fit, you need to start building trust. Trust is about shared experiences and predictability. Click HERE to learn more.

Is Being a 'Regional Bank' Now a Reputational Liability?

by Steve Cocheo, The Financial Brand

Events of the last year have cast an unflattering light on the regional bank category. While the high-profile failures were due to issues specific to those institutions, how can regional banks as a group reset their reputations? The biggest challenge for regionals as lenders is that they typically must compete on price. “Regional banks are too big to have a good connection to their communities anymore and they are too small to compete with the majors. So, they are stuck with price, and that’s a very difficult place to be. Click HERE to read on.

7 Keys to De-risking Commercial Real Estate Lending

by Ingrid Case

Amid Covid and soaring interest rates, many banks have shied away from including commercial real estate in their lending portfolios. However, 2024 could present solid opportunities for lenders to grow their CRE lending portfolios. Bank and CRE market circumstances vary, sometimes by a lot. Even so, lenders can take a page from the three banks that shared the secrets of their successful CRE lending programs with The Financial Brand. Click HERE to learn more.