Strunk

About Joel Lawrence

Joel Lawrence has more than 15 years of financial industry experience, where he has gained invaluable knowledge of managing projects, resources and staff in an effective and efficient manner. Through his years of experience he as worked in lending, asset management, sourcing and compliance. Joel is highly focused with a comprehensive understanding of service level agreements, vendor management and regulatory risk. He has a consistent and proven track record of successfully employing best business practices that improve efficiency, reduce operating cost while increasing performance.

Joel is a graduate of Cumberland University where he played basketball and The University of Alabama where he received his M.S. (Global Business Management).

Joel and his wife, Beth, have two kids, a son Sean and daughter Sophie.

Entries by Joel Lawrence

Working with a vendor like Strunk is the key to establishing a successful vendor management program

November 20, 2024/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Policy Manager, Sales, Vendor Manager/by Joel Lawrence

Increasingly, financial institutions are outsourcing to benefit from reduced costs, enhanced flexibility, and improved efficiency while optimizing their resources and expertise. When a financial institution opts to outsource a task, its board of directors must ensure effective oversight and implement adequate controls. To create a robust vendor management program, the board should take into account […]

How Strunk’s Vendor Manager software can improve contract process efficiency

October 9, 2024/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Vendor Manager/by Joel Lawrence

Due to business risks and regulatory concerns, managing vendor contracts has become increasingly important. Many financial institutions outsource a wide variety of activities, from professional services to actual products, which exposes them to potential risks and possible income loss. Managing the vendor’s contract from creation through execution and contract renewal is a crucial process in […]

Today’s Overdraft Environment

September 11, 2024/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives/by Joel Lawrence

In today’s financial environment, having access to emergency funds is more crucial than ever. Many individuals are struggling to cover everyday expenses, and overdraft privilege can offer reassurance to customers who require fast access to short-term funds. Consumers, especially those who use overdraft services, continue to show a strong understanding of overdrafts and the options […]

Why use Strunk’s Issue Manager instead of Excel

August 28, 2024/in Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Risk Manager/by Joel Lawrence

How does your financial institution keep track of internal and external audit findings, customer complaints, and comments from regulators that require corrective action? Many financial institutions use Excel spreadsheets to monitor these outstanding issues. It’s no surprise that financial institutions rely on Excel for these tasks, as it remains one of the most widely used […]

How Strunk can assist you with Tiering your Vendors and applying the proper monitoring to them

July 17, 2024/in Financial Services, Markets, Vendor Manager/by Joel Lawrence

A vendor is a company or individual that supplies a product or service to your organization, irrespective of a formal contract. For financial institutions, some vendors may include technology partners, banking equipment providers, financial partners, legal and professional services, and office supplies vendors. Financial institutions sometimes work with hundreds of relationships with third-party vendors that […]

Why Vendor Monitoring is Important to the Vendor Management Process

June 12, 2024/in Financial Services, Markets, Sales, Vendor Manager/by Joel Lawrence

What is vendor monitoring, and why is it important to the vendor management process? Vendor monitoring, also known as ongoing monitoring, involves overseeing the vendor’s performance to determine if the vendor is performing as required by the service levels and contract terms. The Third Party Risk Management Guidance states that ongoing monitoring enables a banking […]

Strunk’s Issue Manager software simplifies issue resolution & improves risk management

May 8, 2024/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Risk Manager, Sales/by Joel Lawrence

Managing issues can be a cumbersome task for financial institutions, whether it’s tracking incidents, customer complaints, or audit and exam findings. The issue management process involves maintaining an issue log with action items, due dates, and responsible team members, often blurring the lines between issue management and project management. Standardizing your financial institution’s issue management […]

Highlight on the American Bankers Association’s Poll Regarding Overdrafts

April 10, 2024/in Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives/by Joel Lawrence

Legislators are continuing to push for changes in overdraft fees, which they describe as unnecessary and even predatory. They have dubbed these fees as “junk fees.” We know that overdraft fees are not “junk fees,” but rather a convenience for informed consumers. The American Bankers Association (ABA) has pushed back, stating, ‘The administration’s latest attempt […]

Strunk Response to January 2024 CFPB Proposed Changes to Overdraft Fees

February 28, 2024/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives/by Joel Lawrence

In mid-January of this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a new rule to restrict overdraft fees charged by very large financial institutions (Those with assets over $10B). View the PDF of the Proposed Rule with Request for Comment here: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_overdraft-credit-very-large-financial-institutions_proposed-rule_2024-01.pdf When the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System first adopted […]

Vendor Due Diligence Material Tracked in Strunk’s Vendor Manager Software

January 10, 2024/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Vendor Manager/by Joel Lawrence

Financial institutions regulated by the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve must conduct due diligence on third-party relationships per the Interagency Guidance on Third-Party Relationships: Risk Management. Regulators expect financial institutions to review vendor documents thoroughly rather than just glance over them. Organizing all your vendor management in a secure, web-hosted database is the first place […]