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Banking Newsletter Articles

October 2020
Volume 11 Issue 4

  • Plan for Business Continuity if Second Wave of COVID Hits

    With winter around the corner and the threat of seasonal viruses looming, a second wave of COVID-19 poses a real threat to our health and business operations, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal that the 2019-2020 flu season took 24,000 lives and sickened 39 million … Read More >

  • Three State Level Tax Hikes That Might Be Coming Due to COVID-19

    No surprise, but Americans are consuming and spending less since the coronavirus kicked in. Retail sales dropped to 8.7 percent in March, the largest month-over-month decline since the Census Bureau started tracking this data. Previously, the sharpest decline was less than half this – at 3.9 percent from October 2008 to November 2008, during the … Read More >

  • Three Strategies Companies Can Implement to Recover Faster

    Small businesses nationwide were already facing cash problems before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to McKinsey & Company. The firm found that almost one-third of small businesses were either seeing losses or making just enough to stay in business, but not realizing profitability. Looking at businesses selling essential and non-essential items, McKinsey & Company reports that … Read More >

  • Laws to Enhance Benefits for Service Members, First Responders, Veterans and to Restore National Parks and Public Lands

    A bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to extend lease protections for servicemembers under stop movement orders in response to a local, national, or global emergency, and for other purposes (S 3637) – This bill extends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to protect service members who were previously issued orders to change duty … Read More >

August 2020
Volume 11 Issue 3

  • R&D Tax Credits May be Part of the Next Tax Relief Bill

    As the economic impact of COVID-19 lingers and an impending second wave is on everyone’s mind, Congress is already thinking of new legislation to stimulate the economy. One of the ideas on the top of the list is an expansion of the Research and Development (R&D) tax credit as part of the next COVID-19 relief … Read More >

  • How to Develop an Employee Leave Policy During COVID-19

    According to the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act addresses how select businesses must give their workers paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave under permitted circumstances in light of COVID-19. Effective starting April 1, 2020, the following will be in effect through Dec. … Read More >

  • Borrowing From Your Retirement Plan: New CARES Act Rules

    It’s been nearly half a year since Americans first became widely aware of the coronavirus contagion within the United States. While for a brief month it looked as if we had the virus in hand, since then it has spread wildly out of control in many areas. People who did not suffer dramatic financial consequences … Read More >

  • How To Use Qualified Charitable Distributions For Charitable Giving

    Each year, millions of Americans make donations to charitable organizations and receive something in return – a tax break. However, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act curbed this tax advantage because it reduced the number of people eligible to claim a charitable deduction by raising the standard deduction. For 2020, the standard deduction is … Read More >

June 2020
Volume 11 Issue 2

  • Why Sequence of Returns Risk Matters Now

    That year or two when you are closing in on your retirement date, followed by a year or two after you retire, are the worst times for a sustained market decline. Market analysts call this scenario the sequence of returns (SOR) risk – because once your principal has been significantly reduced, there’s not enough time … Read More >

  • IRS Questions and Answers on COVID-19 IRA and 401(k) Loans & Distributions

    The CARES Act stimulus package substantially relaxed the rules around certain retirement account loan and distribution requirements, but with much confusion. As a result, the IRS recently put out a FAQ document to address the COVID-19 rule relaxation around IRA and 401(k) loans and distributions. This important information should come as welcome news for the … Read More >

  • Understanding the Federal Government’s Proposal for Opening Up Again

    After seeing a peak and then a sustained decline in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths resulting from COVID-19, the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has rolled out a three-tier approach to get the nation back to its pre-coronavirus economic activities. While this program is led by the Federal Government, it … Read More >

  • Heightened Hacking as Corona Pandemic Worsens; How to Avoid Being a Victim

    Since the escalation of COVID-19 cases, malicious activity from cybercriminals is also on the rise. Hackers are taking advantage of the coronavirus fear to carry out attacks. This is done by creating websites that claim to have cures for the virus or by spreading emails that contain links to malware. Consider this research by Check Point, where … Read More >