Jim and Jeff Talk about Bravery and other Key Drivers of M&A in the newest episode of Artisan Unfiltered. When it comes to M&A in a noisy environment, Jim Adkins observed, "It's hard to balance the short-term against your long-term strategy and you might have to be brave sometimes to do that." Listen now.

The first Artisan Unfiltered episode of the year is now available. "2025 Outlook: Jim and Jeff Talk Economics, Interest Rates and Regulatory Events" takes a deep dive into the outlook for each so far this year and offers a few recommendations for what bankers can do now to prepare for what the rest of the year may bring. Jeff Voss weighed in on possible rate cuts: "I think rate cuts are going to be data dependent. I think the one thing about the Fed is, relatively speaking, it's as independen...

Listen in as Jim Adkins discusses the evolving role of the IT leader in a financial institution, with Wade Barnes, Managing Director, Financial and Professional Services at Hartman Executive Advisors. One key takeaway - if your IT leader doesn't have a seat at the strategic planning table, it's time to pull up a chair for them. Listen to the podcast for more useful insights on how to ensure your IT efforts are actively contributing to your business goals.

Listen as Jim Adkins, Jeff Voss and Dave Larson discuss a broad range of risk-related topics, including: · The role that risk plays in managing a profitable bank · A frank discussion of the average board member’s understanding of risk and what needs to change · What the current mood on risk management is among regulators and how it can affect your exams There’s something in it for everyone, so listen now.

TRUE. And absolutely essential. “After personnel, your bank’s biggest cost is likely your core vendor contract. If it’s not working in service of your overall strategic plan, then it’s just not working.” - Jim Adkins, Managing Partner, Artisan Advisors In the latest episode of Artisan Unfiltered, “Core Vendor Technology and Your Strategic Plan,” our team of experts – Steve Heckard, Matt Bergman, Jim Adkins and Jeff Voss – dive deep into the complexities of negotiating the core processing vend...

Get a reality check about the risk and liability associated with data security and listen now to the Artisan Unfiltered podcast, Cyber Security Risk and How to Manage It. Panelist and data security expert Chad Holstead notes that for banks of any size, “the hard part is management's ability to rally and champion a security culture.” What’s your bank’s security culture? Listen now.

The latest episode of our Artisan Unfiltered podcast series, “Making Sense of CECL,” is now available for download. It focuses on the important and timely topic Current Expected Credit Losses, or CECL. A credit loss accounting standard that was issued by Financial Accounting Standard Board in 2016 that replaced the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses accounting standard, CECL has been a long time coming and it’s finally here. What does it mean for you? We put together a great panel of e...

“Core Financial Technology 101” features an interview with Stephen Heckard and Matt Bergman – the two newest additions to the Artisan team. Steve and Matt are leading Artisan’s newest practice, Core Financial Technology Consulting, which focuses on generating more favorable contract outcomes from a highly competitive core vendor assessment process. They are are both deeply knowledgeable technology solution professionals with decades of experience in selling and evaluating core processing serv...

We invited Michael Fisher, president and CEO of Allant Group, a data-driven journey orchestration solution provider, to sit down with Cynthia Rohde, our Managing Director of Strategic Marketing, to discuss a hot topic: how data is the way forward for banks to ensure customers are engaged in ways they expect with audience-specific marketing. Banks, credit unions and non-bank financial institutions are facing a more diverse and demanding customer base than ever before. These two experts s...

“Better legislation, not more legislation.” Just one of the points Artisan Advisors’ Jim Adkins and Dave Larson raised when they sat down with IBA President and former US Congressman Randy Hultgren, to discuss the recent bank seizures, the repercussions for the banking industry and where we go from here.