Overdraft Privilege Continues to be an Important product for Consumers

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With the ongoing negative perception and strict regulations surrounding overdraft privilege, financial institutions find it increasingly challenging to offer this service. Most adults in the U.S. consider overdraft privilege a valuable resource at a reasonable price, highlighting the significant disconnect between regulators and public sentiment.

Overdraft privileges help consumers avoid declined transactions, which can lead to late payment fees and non-sufficient funds (NSF) charges. Consumers feel it is essential to have overdraft privileges to ensure that large payments, such as mortgages or rent, are covered and paid on time if these payments overdraft their accounts. Generally, overdraft privilege is more affordable than some short-term credit alternatives, like payday loans. This is why most consumers have not seriously considered giving up their overdraft privilege. While some consumers with a buffer amount in their checking accounts may not need overdraft privilege, for most Americans, it is necessary to prevent essential transactions from being declined.

When surveyed, banks have found that consumers appreciate that banks covered payments that would have otherwise been declined. Consumers have an easier time checking their account balances than ever before. With access to their accounts via websites or mobile apps, many Americans can monitor their account balances to avoid overdrawing their accounts and incurring fees.

For decades, Strunk has supported financial institutions in delivering a convenient overdraft privilege to their clients while enhancing fee income and ensuring full compliance. Our consulting services for overdraft privilege, combined with top-notch software, can help your institution’s program thrive. Given the increasing regulatory scrutiny, our compliance guarantee is becoming even more crucial. As regulators focus on returned checks and re-presentment, our Overdraft Privilege (ODP) program provides excellent service to customers by covering item costs instead of returning them.

Click here for more information or to contact Strunk for a demonstration.

Strunk at ICBA LIVE 2025

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The Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) hosted this year’s LIVE event at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee from March 11-14. In addition to various roundtable discussions, ThinkTECH presentations, and Learning Labs attendees enjoyed visiting with vendors in the Expo Hall. The highlight of the event just may have been the final evening at the Grand Ole Opry!

Strunk was excited to meet with so many bankers, discussing a variety of topics important to them. Many banks are taking advantage of Strunk’s Pricing Manager solution, a full-featured loan and deposit pricing application. Banks are able to deploy a tool to all lenders to ensure they are armed to price loans profitably and consistently based on each bank’s target profitability objectives. It also provides the ability to understand the details of relationship profitability so that better pricing decisions can be made. Pricing Manager is affordable, easy to implement and use, and it will increase the bank’s net interest income by 25-50 basis points.

Many banks are understandably concerned about lost fee income, so another hot topic of conversation was to review Strunk’s Overdraft Protection program with current and prospective clients. As regulatory scrutiny increases, Strunk’s compliance guarantee is even more valuable than ever.

Strunk continues to provide value-added SaaS solutions that help community banks increase profitability, while controlling operating expense. In addition to these offerings, Strunk discussed their best-in-class governance, risk and compliance solution, Risk Manager.

For more information on Strunk’s solutions, visit https://strunkaccess.com/ or contact Strunk at info@strunkaccess.com.

 

ODP Manager Comments and Reminders

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Hosted ODP Manager allows users the option to create comments or reminders as needed. If institutions do not already have a robust method of tracking notes, they can choose to use this useful feature. The comments and reminders are created for the individual account. They are retained in the individual account view and are printed with the Account Summary PDF as well.

After speaking to the customer or reviewing the account, users can add notes that can be viewed by all ODP Manager users. Comments can be used to document information. Reminders can be used to identify items that need follow up as of a certain due date. Attachments can be added in comments or reminders as needed.

Comments or reminders are created by clicking the Calendar or Speech icons when viewing the accounts listed in Account Inquiry. The Calendar and Speech icons can also be used in the letter generation screens, or on the Overdraft Aging, New Accounts, Status Tracking, Fresh Start Tracking, or Heavy OD Users Reports. When viewing an individual account’s reminders or comments, the Add Reminder or Add Comment buttons can be clicked.

Overdue reminders are displayed in the Events section which users can access by clicking Events in the purple bar in ODP Manager. Upcoming reminders can also be displayed. Once reminders are completed, they can be marked as closed.

If you have any questions about using comments or reminders in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Increase Net Interest Income With A Loan Pricing Tool

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Many community banks net interest income is well below the 50th percentile compared to peers when looking at year-end UBPR numbers. It doesn’t have to be that way. The key is to price loans competitively but also consider the risk of the borrower, the term of the loan and the SIZE of the loan. Yes, size does matter when pricing commercial loans.

When analyzing the commercial loan portfolio of community banks we almost always see very little difference in the yield of loans under $100K compared to loans over $500K or $1M. Why is that? Doesn’t it cost a lot more to underwrite and service a larger loan than let’s say a farm equipment loan?

When making commercial loans the three most important factors of loan profitability are 1) size of loan; 2) credit risk of the borrower; and 3) term of the loan. It is hard to make money on a small loan that pays off in a short period of time. Likewise it is hard to make money on a small line of credit that rarely gets used.

Strunk’s loan pricing tool will ensure your lenders price new loan opportunities that meet both the customer’s needs and the bank’s profitability target. It factors in deposits and other loans as well.

To increase net interest income contact Strunk at 800.728.3116 or info@strunkaccess.com to learn more about Strunk’s affordable loan pricing solution.

Strunk at the ABA’s Conference for Community Bankers 2025

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This year, the American Bankers Association hosted the Conference for Community Bankers in Phoenix, Arizona at the beautiful JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa from February 16-18. Attendees kicked the event off with a golf tournament, some educational sessions and an exciting reception where they were able to reconnect.

Speakers discussed topics such as the future of community banking, the age of digital transformation and a variety of sessions focused on lending. Both bankers and vendors alike enjoyed a reception on Monday evening toasting to community banking.

Strunk was excited to have the opportunity to discuss and demo, Pricing Manager, to several clients as well as to many new faces. Pricing Manager is a full-featured loan and deposit pricing solution that will provide banks with the ability to set loan and deposit pricing consistently and profitably. Commercial loans can be priced consistently by every lender – creating options for customers that all achieve the bank’s profitability targets. Additionally, rate sheets for consumer loans, residential mortgage loans, and deposits can easily be created that are also based on established profit objectives. Not only will Pricing Manager drive consistent achievement of profitability targets – it will also help banks win more quality deals! Pricing Manager integrates with any core system, so lenders can see the value of the full relationship when making each pricing decision.

Strunk’s goal is to continually provide value-added SaaS solutions that help community banks increase profitability, while controlling operating expense. In addition to their latest offering, Strunk highlighted their overdraft service and best-in-class governance, risk and compliance solution, Risk Manager.

For more information on Pricing Manager or any of Strunk’s other solutions, visit https://strunkaccess.com/ or contact Strunk at info@strunkaccess.com.

Using ODP Manager to Review Your Overdraft Privilege Program Information

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Strunk’s hosted ODP Manager software is updated daily with information contained in an extract file generated from your core system. After the daily import, users can generate letters, review management reports, and access additional information to effectively manage a compliant ODP program.

Percent of accounts with an assigned overdraft limit and percent of accounts opted in for Regulation E are important metrics to monitor for the success of an ODP Program. This importance is highlighted on the Dashboard which is displayed after each ODP Manager login. Trends in the Percent with Limit and Percent Opt In are shown over several months. Monthly benchmarks for the Percent with Limit and Percent Opt In are compared to other Strunk clients by the 25th, 50th, and 75TH percentiles. Overdraft Fee and Overdraft Limits are also benchmarked against other Strunk client percentiles. The Utilization Analysis report and the Opt-In Impact report allow users to further review the percentages summarized by branch and by deposit product.

On reports that include account-level details, users can apply filters or select groups to further examine data. Once the filters are applied, the filtered results can be exported to PDF or Excel for additional review or discussion. Reports that show account details include Overdraft Aging, New Accounts, ODP Status Tracking, Fresh Start Tracking, and ODP Heavy Users.

In the Account Inquiry area in ODP Manager, users can apply column filters and groups. If users need to create a list of accounts meeting certain criteria, Account Inquiry gives them the flexibility to build the list and export it to Excel. This flexibility allows users to access all the data included and mapped from the daily import file.

ODP Manager also allows users the ability to search for specific events that occur during a date range. This can help users compile a list of letters sent, OD limits assigned or removed, or Reg E opt ins or opt outs.

If you have any questions about ways to view or export the data in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

How to track responsibility for each vendor

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Financial institutions are increasingly outsourcing various business functions. Given the growing regulatory and compliance landscape, maintaining an efficient vendor management program is essential for any financial institution engaged in outsourcing risk. Having numerous vendors in your operations can complicate your vendor management program, especially if your financial institution is unclear about who is responsible for each vendor. In a vendor management program, the individual accountable for each vendor is often referred to as a ‘Vendor Owner.’ This person works within your financial institution to manage the daily relationship with the vendor, encompassing communication, contract oversight, performance monitoring, risk assessment, and resolution of issues. Essentially, they take ownership of the vendor relationship to ensure it meets the company’s needs.

The vendor owner is often a representative from the business unit that predominantly uses the vendor’s services. This person has extensive knowledge of the necessary product or service and is well-equipped to manage performance effectively. While this isn’t universally true, most financial institutions typically identify their vendor owners this way. In Strunk’s Vendor Manager software, your financial team can designate a vendor owner for each vendor, as well as assign responsibility for other activities such as contract management, risk assessment, and performance monitoring. An effective vendor management program must assign responsibilities and track them efficiently, which Strunk’s Vendor Manager software facilitates. It also provides reporting features to ensure tasks are completed on time and not overdue. Your financial institution can also categorize vendors in Strunk’s Vendor Manager software by defining vendor types, ensuring that each business unit understands which vendors they are responsible for. You can establish your own naming system in this customizable field. Identifying the business unit of your vendors and determining the vendor owner for each will enhance the organization and efficiency of your vendor management program.

 

Grow Your Loan Portfolio with A Loan Pricing Tool

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Competition for “A” rated commercial loan customers is tough in many markets and a loan pricing solution might be the answer to win more deals. How many times has your financial institution lost a loan customer or have been told that “I can get a better deal down the street or from Farm Credit”. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Pricing loans that meet your profitability target can come with many different strategies that meet the borrower’s needs as well. What is the interest rate; what is the term; is it an adjustable or fixed; are there fees involved or not; what about deposits the borrower may have and are they interest bearing or in a operating account; does the borrower have other business with you. Why not give your prospective customer several choices that have the same financial result to the bank?

I have heard about everything…that our bank is “too small” or “Farm Credit’s interest rates are way too low” or “we can’t compete with the larger regional banks on rates”. Really? Why not look at a loan pricing tool that will help you price loans based on the entire banking relationship including other loans and related deposits. They are easy to use, easy to implement and your lending officers will like the flexibility they afford.

Start competing for larger loans, make smaller loans more profitable and get a handle on who your best customers are from a profitability standpoint…they are likely NOT the customer who has multiple loans with you as most lenders think.

To grow your loan portfolio by winning more deals contact Strunk at 800.728.3116 or info@strunkaccess.com to learn more about Strunk’s affordable loan pricing solution.

Save Reports Automatically After Each Import

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The hosted ODP Manager software includes a comprehensive suite of standard reports. These reports should be reviewed periodically to assist with Overdraft Privilege program management and maintenance. These reports are updated after the daily extract file is imported into ODP Manager. Reports can be viewed in the browser or can be exported to a PDF or Excel file.

In addition to allowing users to review reports for the last seven as of dates in the browser, ODP Manager also offers a Report Archive feature. This allows past reports to be automatically retained so that they are available for future review, analysis, or comparison as needed.

Institutions can select which reports they would like to archive. After each import succeeds, the selected reports are saved as a PDF and stored within the ODP Manager software. The reports can be retrieved from the Archived Reports section in Reports and are organized by as of date. If users would prefer to download the reports to store on a network drive, the Archive feature can be configured to allow a Download Report Archive link instead.

If you have any questions about setting up or using the Report Archive feature in hosted ODP Manager, please contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

The importance of ongoing monitoring of vendor relationships

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A crucial aspect of the Third-Party Relationship Life Cycle that is often overlooked is ongoing monitoring. Regularly monitoring vendors is vital for managing external risks and making sure that third parties adhere to compliance and performance standards throughout the duration of the relationship. The frequency of monitoring your vendor management program depends on various factors, such as the type of business relationship, vendor risk rating, vendor performance, and regulatory obligations.

To effectively monitor your vendors, begin with a risk assessment to evaluate the inherent risks they pose when introduced to your operations. This assessment will pinpoint areas that need careful oversight and establish how often you should conduct reviews, depending on the vendor’s associated risk levels. Next, define your monitoring criteria according to the vendor’s risk level. Establish thresholds and alert mechanisms within your monitoring system to identify any deviations from these criteria, enabling you to respond quickly to potential issues.

When establishing a monitoring process, choosing the appropriate third-party monitoring solution is crucial for supporting continuous oversight. Strunk’s Vendor
Manager software enables you to tailor your ongoing monitoring categories according to risk levels, automating the entire process. This improves efficiency and minimizes missed opportunities. Strunk’s software also helps track deviations and gives feedback on the vendor’s performance.

Ongoing monitoring is crucial for managing vendor risks, ensuring that vendors fulfill their contractual obligations, and adhering to regulatory standards. An effective vendor monitoring process enhances your overall vendor management program. Additionally, it serves as one of your most valuable tools to address minor issues before they escalate into major ones. Click here for more information.

An independent certified public accountant has examined Strunk’s operations and found them to be in compliance with the AICPA’s Trust Service Principles. It was determined that Strunk meets the Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy criteria for SOC 2 established by the AICPA.