Why a Variable Limit Overdraft Program Hurts Your Bottom Line

September 2, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Sales/by Dan Roderick

Why a Variable Limit Overdraft Program Hurts Your Bottom Line

Variable limit programs are primarily focused on reducing risk – essentially, reducing charge-offs. Of course, having fewer charge-offs is a good thing but there’s just one problem. The charge-off line item on the overdraft program P&L is the last line item to be worried about! That might sound like heresy to most bankers, but it’s really just simple economics.

The table below shows a simple P&L for an overdraft program. Overdraft protection is by far the most profitable service we offer in terms of return on capital. In fact, it’s about 100 times more profitable than most loan portfolios!

Overdraft Privilege Pro Forma
(Annualized Per 20,000 Accounts)

Revenue

Fees (Net of Refunds)		$820,000

Charge-Offs		$32,800

Net Revenue		$787,200

Expense

Personnel (1 FTE)		$50,400

Professional Services		$7,500

Funding Cost		$12,824

Letters/Notices		$13,200

Operating Expense		$83,924

Pre-Tax Income		$703,276

Capital Allocation		$33,660

ROE		2089%

This P&L assumes industry average overdraft fee income per account and a typical loss rate of 4% of total fees. Clearly, I think we all would agree that writing off $32,800 to earn $787,200 in fee income is a pretty good deal! Unfortunately, too often we get so focused on reducing the charge-off number that we lose sight of the other impact that action will have on the overdraft program. When you think about it, how high would charge-offs have to be before you would consider the overdraft program’s financial performance to be poor? The answer is the charge-off rate would have to be huge! And the notion that we can have our cake and eat it too – i.e. lower charge-offs plus the same level of fee income is just a fantasy.

The fundamental concept behind variable limit overdraft programs is to adjust the overdraft limit based on account activity. Usually, activity measures used to do this are average daily balance, deposit frequency and volume, times overdrawn or NSF, age of account, volume of POS debit card, ATM and ACH payments. Fundamentally, low balances and deposit volumes result in low limits, higher measures result in high limits. Here’s the problem – if you are a consumer with high average daily balances, high deposit amounts and fairly significant transaction volume you probably don’t overdraw your account much…if ever. If you are a consumer with low average daily balances, low deposit amounts and less significant transaction volume you may be more likely to overdraw. If you are the first consumer, what do you need a high overdraft limit for if you never use it? If you are the second consumer you are far more likely to use your limit.

Why does this matter? When it comes to overdraft fees, about 8% of consumer generate almost 80% of fees. And these consumers tend to be low to moderate income – which means they likely have lower average balances and lower deposit volume. If I reduce – or possibly even eliminate the limit on these consumers I am cutting off the largest source of fee income to the overdraft program – the line item that really matters! Here’s the real kicker too – generally variable limit software solutions are very expensive. So, you pay more to earn less.

In the table below we look at what would happen to the P&L outlined in the first table if we were to eliminate 10% of the overdraft activity – all from accounts that fall in the ‘8% group’ – those consumers who generate almost 80% of fee income. We also assume – probably very optimistically – that this will reduce charge-offs by a whopping 50%. This massive reduction in risk ends up reducing overall program profitability by almost $50K.

Overdraft Privilege Pro Forma
(Annualized Per 20,000 Accounts)

Revenue
		10% Reduction	Difference
Fees (Net of Refunds)	$820,000	$754,400	-$65,600
8% Generate 80%	$656,000	$590,400	-$65,600
All Other Accounts	$164,000	$164,000	$0

Charge-Offs	$32,800	$16,400	$16,400

Net Revenue	$787,200	$738,000	-$49,200

There’s another challenge with variable limit programs. The consumer’s limit can change periodically based on account activity which makes it very hard for the consumer to know their limit at any given point in time. Knowing the limit has been proven to be a key driver of usage, resulting in higher fee income.

If you want to maximize profitability of your overdraft program – ditch the variable limit system! By definition, the consumers who drive usage – and the revenue – of an overdraft program are the consumers that represent the highest risk. Why would you want to limit their usage or chase them away from your program?

Reg E Opt-In Strategy: Boost Coverage via ODP Manager

August 26, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Sales/by Melissa Newbury

Reg E Opt-In Strategy: Boost Coverage via ODP Manager

The Evolution of Regulation E Opt-In Requirements

Regulation E was created under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) of 1978 to protect consumers in electronic financial transactions. However, its signature overdraft opt-in rule emerged following the 2008 financial crisis:

2009 Federal Reserve Rule: In November 2009, the Federal Reserve Board amended Regulation E to address automatic overdraft enrollments, creating an “opt-in” regime instead of an “opt-out” default.
2010 Implementation: Effective July 1, 2010, financial institutions were legally prohibited from charging overdraft fees on ATM and one-time debit card transactions unless the consumer explicitly provided affirmative consent.
Consumer Impact: The mandate ensured consumers were not surprised by unexpected fees for small-dollar point-of-sale or cash withdrawal overdrafts, requiring institutions to clearly outline coverage policies before collecting consent.

Streamlining Modern Reg E Opt-In Channels

Consumers must explicitly opt in to include ATM and everyday debit card transactions in their Overdraft Privilege (ODP) coverage. While financial institutions should provide the ODP Policy and A-9 Consent Form during account opening, customers can also opt in at a later date.

Consumers can submit their Reg E election through four channels:

In Person: At any branch location.
By Phone: Direct telephone requests.
By Mail: Physical submission of the A-9 form.
Electronically: Via online forms.

Note: Business accounts are exempt from Reg E opt-in requirements for ATM and everyday debit card coverage.

How ODP Manager Automates Reg E Management

For financial institutions that include an account’s Reg E flag in their data extract file, ODP Manager automatically identifies whether a consumer account has opted in or has a pending election. This drives targeted, automated communications:

Opted-In Accounts: Welcome and Reinstatement letters remind customers that their ODP service covers ATM and everyday debit card transactions.
Accounts Pending Election: Welcome, Reinstatement, and annual Followup letters sent to these accounts automatically include the A-9 Consent Form alongside instructions for all four opt-in methods.

By pairing opt-in prompts with key account milestones—such as limit assignments, reinstatements, and annual followup—ODP Manager significantly increases customer touchpoints and opt-in rates.

Digital Opt-In Integration

ODP Manager simplifies electronic elections by allowing Strunk to build a custom online form mirroring your institution’s specific A-9 form.

Website Integration: Direct links connect your website directly to the online form.
Instant Receipts: Automatic email confirmations are sent upon submission.
Central Tracking: Submissions log directly in ODP Manager, allowing team members to quickly pull reports on accounts needing Reg E flag updates.

Get Started

Have questions about optimizing your Reg E workflow with ODP Manager? Reach out to Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com.

Moving Beyond Reputation Risk: A Data-Driven Era

August 12, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Risk Manager/by Teresa Pezdek

Moving Beyond Reputation Risk: A Data-Driven Era

Federal regulatory agencies – including the FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve, and NCUA – have officially finalized rules and guidance eliminating reputation risk from their supervisory frameworks. Driven by Executive Order 14331, this shift explicitly prohibits examiners from using subjective reputation metrics to:

Issue examination criticisms
Deny expansion or charter applications
Lower CAMELS or risk ratings

For community banks and credit unions, this regulatory update removes a historically vague, catch-all supervisory category. Moving forward, regulatory oversight will focus squarely on objective, verifiable data across core, traditional risk channels: financial performance, operational resilience, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity.

The Strategic Shift for Leadership

While public trust remains essential for community institutions, regulators now explicitly define reputation risk as public perception concerns that are not clearly and directly linked to an institution’s financial or operational condition.

Regulators increasingly recognize a key operational reality: reputational fallout is almost always a secondary symptom of a core failure such as a data breach, IT outage, or compliance lapse rather than an isolated root cause.

To align with this evolving supervisory landscape, executive leadership teams are reorienting their Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) strategies around three core pillars:

Prioritizing Concrete Metrics: Institutions are replacing qualitative scorecards with measurable Key Risk Indicators (KRIs), including control testing results, internal audit findings, system uptime, and vendor performance metrics.
Fortifying Core Operational Controls: Protecting public standing now requires strengthening foundational processes – ensuring cybersecurity protocols, third-party vendor management, and overdraft/ODP compliance programs are rigorously maintained and audited.
Streamlining Risk Architecture: Replacing static, disconnected spreadsheets with a structured risk management platform allows institutions to build clear, data-backed risk profiles that withstand regulatory review.

Aligning ERM Frameworks with Modern Standards

As regulatory expectations pivot strictly toward structured, objective evidence, relying on fragmented manual processes creates oversight gaps and excessive administrative burden. Modern ERM best practices favor unified software solutions that centralize risk data across departments.

Purpose-built platforms designed for community financial institutions streamline core risk activities by delivering:

Standardized Risk Assessments: Pre-built, regulatory-aligned frameworks allow risk teams to evaluate inherent and residual risks across operational, credit, overdraft, and cyber categories with objective data rather than guesswork.
Integrated Control and Issue Tracking: Direct links between internal controls and routine testing schedules enable institutions to identify and remediate operational vulnerabilities proactively well before examiners arrive.
Centralized Regulatory Reporting: Consolidating vendor assessments, policy tracking, and risk profiles into a single repository gives board members and regulatory examiners a clear, consistent view of institutional health.

Building a Resilient Operational Foundation

By grounding ERM strategies in objective operational controls and leveraging specialized technology, such as Strunk’s Risk Manager solution, community banks and credit unions can navigate shifting regulatory requirements smoothly while protecting their bottom line.

Ready to modernize your risk management framework? Explore how Strunk’s Risk Manager simplifies compliance and operational oversight.

Overdraft Fee Income: What Your Bank Is Missing

July 22, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Sales/by Dan Roderick

Overdraft Fee Income: What Your Bank Is Missing

Unless you are the very rare circumstance, your overdraft fee income could be significantly improved. Why? Because, as an industry we have taken our eye off the overdraft fee income ball. The hyper-focus of regulators on overdraft fees created compliance concern, rule changes and class action litigation caused fee income to drop, and some banks even reduced their overdraft fee. As a result, fee income began to drop dramatically year-over-year, and we just accepted that as a reality we could do nothing about. That’s no longer the case! In fact, overdraft fee income across the industry has actually been increasing slightly over the past year. Is yours? Plus, the regulatory concern has softened significantly.

What did this trend cause us to do? We stopped thinking about how we could increase our OD fee income. We stopped managing our overdraft program as a line of business! I see it every day with prospects and clients. Penetration rates are far below where they should be. Reg E opt-in rates are extremely low. Management oversight is not focused on the processes to ensure these things don’t happen. If I asked you to tell me right now, what your current penetration rate is or your opt in rate – would you know? You should. Strunk provides all the tools you need – but someone must monitor the metrics so you can take action if necessary. And the ‘taking action’ part is not a process that can be ‘automated’.

Penetration and opt-in are the key indicators underlying the health of your overdraft program. When you think about it, no one can cause consumers to just decide to overdraw their checking account more often. The best we can do is communicate the fact that the program is available and let them know what their limit is, so if they have a need, they will use it. But creating a dramatic shift in consumer behavior, well, that’s the fool’s errand. However, what you can do is make sure virtually all of your accounts are IN the overdraft program. And you can put initiatives in place to improve Reg E opt in. These things increase the number of consumers who can potentially produce an overdraft fee, and they increase the transaction activity that can produce an overdraft fee. That’s how you move the needle on fee income.

Another issue that plagues overdraft program performance is an irrational focus on charge-offs. This might sound almost sacrilegious, but if you are focusing on charge-offs you are watching the wrong line item on the P&L! It’s natural for us to think about minimizing losses because we think about losses in the context of our lending business. However, unlike any other line of business we manage, the metrics of an overdraft program do not behave in the same way as the metrics of a loan portfolio. In the case of a loan portfolio, generally speaking, if you manage to find ways to reduce delinquency and loan losses within your existing portfolio that just reduces expense and improves profitability. It does not have an impact on the interest income produced by those existing loans. But, in the case of an overdraft program the behavior is dramatically different. Actions that may reduce charge-offs – taking certain consumers out of the program based on some subjective criteria or reducing certain consumers limits – don’t just reduce perceived risk and potentially reduce losses, they reduce the revenue of the program as well. In fact, far more than they will reduce losses!

Typically, our average program experiences losses equal to 5% of fee income. As shown on the pro forma below, if the program generates around $2.5M per year in fee income the annual charge-offs would typically be about $125K. Operating expenses and funding cost (cost of funds to fund the average overdraft outstanding) are very low. So, the bottom line for the program is still significant – over $2.1M. If you were to compare this with the profitability of any other line of business you manage – well…there is no comparison. To compare fairly you need to common size the relative profitability. We have done that using ROE – or return on capital – as the common-size measure. The typical commercial or consumer loan portfolio might generate an ROE of 18% – and extraordinary performance would be in the 20-25% range. The ROE on the typical overdraft program is about 100 times that! Even if charge-offs were double our 5% guideline, the bottom line would still be almost 100 times the ROE of a loan portfolio. The reality is that it would be impossible to end up with a charge-off result high enough to make the program not look extremely profitable – and more profitable than any other line of business you have. When you think about it, why else would regulators target this business like they have for the last decade and a half?

Revenue

Fees (Net of Refunds)		$2,460,000

Charge-Offs		$123,000

Net Revenue		$2,337,000

Expense

Personnel (2 FTE)		$84,000

Professional Services		$9,025

Funding Cost		$38,473

Letters/Notices		$13,200

Operating Expense		$144,698

Pre-Tax Income		$2,192,302

Capital Allocation		$100,980

ROE		2171%

That’s what I mean when I say managing the charge-off line on the P&L is the wrong line to be worrying about. What we want to do to maximize profitability is make sure we have the highest possible percentage of consumers with a limit, try to get as many of those opted in for Reg E, and make sure everyone has a reasonable limit and knows exactly what that limit is so they use it. That’s been the formula that has made the Strunk program work for over 30 years. When we start trying to over complicate the process – decide that certain individuals shouldn’t be in the program because we believe they may be higher risk than others or decide to give certain individuals lower limits than others – we upset the apple cart. We take too many people out of the program or reduce the limits on too many accounts and reduce fee income more than we reduce losses – possibly far more. Remember, only 8% of accounts produce almost 80% of overdraft fees. What happens if you take too many of those account holders out of the program or reduce their limits? There’s no way reduced charge-offs could come close to make up the difference!

Strunk has implemented and assisted with the management of more overdraft programs than any other firm in the industry. Let us help you maximize the performance of yours! For more information, please contact us at info@strunkaccess.com, visit https://strunkaccess.com/bank-and-credit-union-overdraft-privilege-software/ or call 800-728-3116.

How to Streamline Cyber Risk for Community FIs

July 8, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Risk Manager/by Teresa Pezdek

How to Streamline Cyber Risk for Community FIs

Manage Your Cyber Risk with Strunk’s Risk Manager

Community banks and credit unions are the bedrock of local economies. For generations, you have built your reputation on personal relationships, trust, and deep community presence. However, as the digital landscape continues its rapid evolution, that hard-earned trust faces a sophisticated threat from cybercriminals.

Smaller financial institutions are no longer flying under the radar. In fact, malicious actors frequently target community organizations precisely because they assume smaller teams lack enterprise-grade defenses. For community FIs, a single major breach can be financially and reputationally catastrophic.

Step #1: Know Your Risks

When resources are tight and time is short, it’s easy to fall into the trap of relying on a patchwork of disconnected tools and manual processes. But let’s be honest: this isn’t saving you time, it’s draining it. It is inherently cumbersome, error-prone, and fails to provide a unified view of your security health.

True cybersecurity isn’t about adding complex chores to your to-do list. It’s about proactive, structured risk management that actually gives time back to your team.

Completing a formalized cyber risk assessment is Step 1 in any robust compliance process. Far from overcomplicating your workflow, a centralized assessment moves your institution away from a reactive, time-consuming “firefighting” stance and into a defensible position by helping your team:

Identify Unique Risks Instantly: Pinpoint the exact vulnerabilities your organization must consider before attackers exploit them, eliminating guesswork.
Maximize Limited Resources: Stop wasting hours on low-impact tasks. Focus your efforts and allocate limited IT budgets exactly where they will deliver the greatest impact.
Ensure a Painless Control Environment: Explicitly prove your security posture and adherence to strict regulatory expectations without scrambling before audits.

Without a structured, repeatable framework, institutions risk over-investing in low-impact areas while leaving critical operational vulnerabilities completely exposed.

Flexible, Regulatory-Aligned Frameworks: NIST vs. CRI

Every financial institution has a unique risk profile, meaning a one-size-fits-all approach to cybersecurity simply doesn’t work. But “custom” shouldn’t mean “complicated.” To select the best assessment tool for your needs, Strunk’s Risk Manager platform empowers your institution to execute self-assessments using pre-loaded templates based on two highly regarded frameworks in the sector:

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF): A broad resource that helps organizations manage and reduce cybersecurity risks through a set of high-level desired outcomes.
Cyber Risk Institute (CRI) Profile:An assessment tool based on the NIST CSF extended to align with the financial sector’s cybersecurity environment, protection needs, and regulatory requirements.

Effectively Evaluate Your Risk Posture with Strunk

Automate the complex task of documenting your organization’s current cybersecurity position. The Cyber Risk Assessments module within Strunk’s Risk Manager streamlines the entire process and turns it into a manageable workflow.

From interactive statement assessments to precise tier selections, our solution gives you centralized visibility and generates gap-analysis scorecards that pinpoint strengths and weaknesses by function. You get the exact reports you need for Board or external auditor use, generated automatically.

Protecting your community means protecting their data. Let us help you transform cybersecurity from an administrative burden into a clear, strategic advantage.

Ready to see it in action? Schedule a demo today to see how our Cyber Risk Assessment solution can help you trust, verify, and prove your compliance without the operational headaches.

ODP Repayment Plans: How to Manage Fresh Starts

June 17, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Sales, Tips/by Melissa Newbury

ODP Repayment Plans: How to Manage Fresh Starts

Offering structured repayment options is a powerful way to help your customers recover from a negative balance while protecting your institution’s bottom line. In ODP Manager, these are managed through Fresh Start Repayment Plans.

These plans allow customers to repay an overdrawn balance in up to four payments while retaining the use of their checking account. For community financial institutions (CFIs), Fresh Starts serve an essential purpose: boosting collections on overdrawn accounts that might otherwise face a charge-off.

To understand why these plans are structured so specifically, it helps to look at the compliance history that governs them.

The Regulatory History: Reg Z, Reg B, and Incidental Credit

The “four-payment rule” utilized by ODP Manager is not arbitrary. It is carefully engineered to align with the historical definitions of incidental credit under federal lending regulations.

The Birth of the “Four-Installment Rule” (Regulation Z)

When the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and its implementing Regulation Z were enacted, the goal was to ensure full transparency regarding the cost of consumer credit. However, regulators recognized that not every deferred payment arrangement was a traditional loan.

To separate formal credit from informal accommodations, Reg Z established that a transaction only qualifies as “consumer credit” requiring extensive disclosures if it meets a specific threshold. It must either:

Impose a formal finance charge.
Be payable by written agreement in more than four installments.

If an institution extends credit that carries no finance charge and is payable in four or fewer installments, it falls outside the heavy disclosure requirements of Reg Z. This exemption became known as incidental credit.

The Operational Relief under Regulation B

When the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B were implemented to prevent credit discrimination, the framework adopted a similar stance. Reg B officially defined incidental credit as an extension of consumer credit that:

Is not made via a credit card account.
Carries no finance charge.
Is payable by agreement in four or fewer installments.

Recognizing that incidental credit is usually offered as a courtesy, Regulation B grants limited exceptions from certain strict procedural rules. For true incidental credit, institutions are exempt from certain rigid requirements regarding formal adverse action notices and strict record retention mandates.

By capping the Fresh Start Repayment Plan at a maximum of four payments without adding finance charges, ODP Manager allows CFIs to assist overdrawn account holders and maximize recoveries without the operational burden of treating the workout agreement as a formal consumer loan.

Streamlining the Fresh Start Process in ODP Manager

When a customer requests assistance, your team can quickly review the account against your institution’s specific criteria to determine eligibility. Once approved, tracking the agreement is completely seamless within ODP Manager.

ODP Manager Reminder ➔ Check Core System ➔ Verify Payment ➔ Update ODP Manager

By simply entering the repayment schedule start date, total balance, and number of payments, ODP Manager automatically calculates the correct payment amounts and due dates. From there, your team can:

Populate agreements: Generate the Fresh Start agreement directly from the automated repayment schedule.
Export documentation: Save and export individual account Fresh Start information as a PDF for easy record-keeping.

Proactive Payment Tracking & Reminders

Keeping track of manual payment schedules can drain your staff’s time. ODP Manager solves this by creating individual payment reminders that clearly display when a payment is due or overdue.

These reminders prompt users to verify the core system and ensure the payment was made as agreed. If successful, users can instantly log the payment dates and amounts directly into ODP Manager.

Handling Defaults and Charge-Offs

If a customer fails to make a payment as agreed and falls 10 or more days past due, the Fresh Start plan enters default. At this stage, the checking account should be closed and charged off.

ODP Manager accelerates this offboarding process:

Enter the account number to automatically prefill the customer’s name and address.
Generate the Fresh Start Default letter instantly.
Notify the customer that their account has been officially closed, charged off, and reported to the appropriate agencies.

Robust Compliance and Tracking Reports

To maintain clear compliance visibility, the platform includes a Fresh Start Tracking report that lists every account currently assigned a Fresh Start ODP Status Code.

Operational Best Practice: Ensure your team assigns the Fresh Start ODP Status Code to accounts the moment the ODP Limit is removed and the repayment plan is initiated.

Additionally, ODP Manager can display a comprehensive list of all active repayment plans. This dashboard helps users easily track loan amounts, payments made to date, and outstanding balances.

Need to share these insights with your leadership team or auditors? All summary reporting can be exported to PDF or Excel in just a few clicks.

Optimize Your ODP Strategy Today

Have questions about unlocking the full potential of ODP Manager’s Fresh Start Repayment Plan features? Contact Strunk Support at support@strunkaccess.com for more details.

Vendor Risk Assessment Tools for Community Banks

June 10, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Sales, Vendor Manager/by Teresa Pezdek

Vendor Risk Assessment Tools for Community Banks

Automate the vendor management process, save time, and build a practical compliance framework with Strunk’s centralized Vendor Manager.

Third-party relationships play a critical role in community financial institutions. However, managing vendors effectively requires more than just maintaining a list of contracts and contacts.

Regulatory expectations continue to evolve. Because of this, community banks and credit unions must establish a structured, repeatable approach to vendor oversight. Strunk’s Vendor Manager solution helps institutions streamline the entire vendor lifecycle while strengthening risk management and regulatory compliance.

A Single Source of Truth for Vendor Data

At its core, the platform centralizes vendor information. It creates a unified hub for:

Contracts and contacts
Due diligence documentation
Risk assessments
Ongoing monitoring activities

Built-in document management capabilities allow institutions to securely store and organize critical vendor records. This ensures information is easily accessible during regulatory examinations, independent audits, and internal reviews.

Advanced Risk Assessment Frameworks

One of the solution’s key benefits is its ability to help institutions accurately assess and understand vendor risk.

The platform features automated calculations for inherent and residual risk scores, providing a consistent framework for evaluating third-party relationships. By identifying risks before controls are applied, and measuring the effectiveness of mitigation efforts, institutions gain greater visibility into their overall vendor risk profile. This allows leadership to focus resources where they are needed most.

Eliminating the Administrative Burden Through Automation

Manual vendor tracking is prone to errors and oversight. Strunk reduces this administrative burden by streamlining routine tasks, including:

Automated OFAC searches for compliance verification
Streamlined document requests and vendor survey generation
Automated email notifications and reminders

These automated workflows help ensure critical activities are completed on time. This drastically reduces manual effort while supporting strict compliance with shifting regulatory expectations.

Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Monitoring

Ongoing monitoring is an essential component of effective vendor oversight. Strunk’s Vendor Manager solution helps institutions continuously evaluate:

Financial condition: Track the fiscal health of critical third parties.
Relationship status: Maintain clear insights into partner alignment.
Performance metrics: Ensure vendors are meeting service level agreements (SLAs).
Compliance obligations: Verify adherence to industry regulations.

Customizable review questionnaires promote organizations maintaining a proactive view of vendor health. This allows teams to identify potential concerns before they escalate into significant risks.

Audit-Ready Reporting and Governance

Comprehensive reporting provides management and boards with meaningful insights into the institution’s third-party risk program. Users can quickly generate reports on:

Vendor inventories and risk ratings
Due diligence status and contract renewals
Monitoring activities and other key performance metrics

This high-level visibility supports informed decision-making. More importantly, it demonstrates a strong governance framework to regulators and auditors alike.

Build a Stronger Compliance Foundation

By combining centralized data management, risk assessment tools, automation, ongoing monitoring, and robust reporting, Strunk’s Vendor Manager solution helps community financial institutions build a more efficient, effective, and compliant program.

The result? Greater confidence in your third-party relationships and a stronger foundation for managing risk across the entire organization. Contact Strunk at 800.728.3116, email info@strunkaccess.com or visit our site to learn more.

Bank Revenue Growth: What Your 2026 Plan Is Missing

June 3, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Pricing Manager, Risk Manager, Sales, Secure Checking/by Mike Sobba

Bank Revenue Growth: What Your 2026 Plan Is Missing

At a recent bankers conference in Florida, a speaker shared a survey detailing the highest priorities for bankers in 2026. The audience consisted of bank vendors looking to align their products with what bankers want.

After 42 years in the banking industry, the results flabbergasted me. Nowhere on the top ten list was making more money.

The Tech Distraction vs. The Bottom Line

Unsurprisingly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the role of Bitcoin dominated the list. Both are critical as bankers navigate a shifting competitive landscape and fight nonbanks for loans and deposits.

However, it seems those surveyed weren’t thinking like bank shareholders. Increasing franchise value was completely absent from the conversation. Innovation is vital, but a bank cannot innovate without profitability.

Driving Profitability for Over Three Decades

Strunk has helped community financial institutions maximize their revenue since 1993. We provide proven programs designed to boost your bottom line:

Overdraft Privilege (ODP) Program: Historically one of the best fee income ideas in the industry, it remains a pillar of non-interest income.
Secure Checking Program: Significantly increases fee income while providing high-value benefits directly to consumers.
Loan and Deposit Pricing Solution: Optimizes your interest income structure, with the potential to increase net interest income by 25 bp.
Risk, Policy, and Vendor Manager Programs: While these tools don’t directly drive fee income, they dramatically boost operational efficiency and protect your franchise.

Make Income Your Top Priority Again

Increasing income should be at the forefront of every banker’s strategy. Strunk has spent over three decades helping financial institutions do exactly that.

Ready to maximize your profitability? Contact the Strunk team today at info@strunkaccess.com to see how we can strengthen your institution’s financial future.

ODP Manager Software: How to Optimize Account Inquiry

May 20, 2026/in Banks, Compliance, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Overdraft Privilege, Perspectives, Sales/by Melissa Newbury

ODP Manager Software: How to Optimize Account Inquiry

Maximize Efficiency with ODP Manager Account Inquiry

The hosted ODP Manager software provides a centralized hub for managing imported account data. Whether you need a high-level overview of multiple accounts or a deep dive into a specific file, the Account Inquiry feature simplifies your workflow.

Flexible Data Visualization

Stop digging through spreadsheets. Customize your workspace to see exactly what you need:

Custom Views: Select specific data columns to display only relevant information.
Dynamic Filtering: Use Groups or individual filters to isolate accounts meeting specific criteria.
Easy Export: Generate customized reports by exporting your filtered lists directly to Excel.

Comprehensive Account Management

Gain a 360-degree view of both open and closed accounts. Within the individual Account Inquiry screen, users can review:

Core ODP Information: Contact details and event history.
Compliance & Plans: Access Reg E Opt-In/Opt-Out status, Fresh Start Repayment Plans, and Charge-off items.
Communication: View internal comments and reminders.
Documentation: Aggregated individual account data can be downloaded as a PDF for easy sharing or filing.

Customizing Your Inquiry Experience

To improve performance and relevance, institutions can customize how their data loads. By default, the system displays Open Accounts from the most recent import.

Pro-Tip: Tailor Your Load Times

If your institution manages a high volume of accounts, you can request two specific customizations from Strunk:

Change Default Groups: Designate a specific group to load automatically upon login.
Search-First Loading: Set the system to only display results after a specific filter (like an account number) is entered. This significantly reduces load times for larger databases.

Need Assistance?

If you have questions about optimizing your Account Inquiry settings, the Strunk Support team is here to help.

Contact us: support@strunkaccess.com

AI Risk Management for Community Banks: A Strategic Guide

May 13, 2026/in Compliance, Banks, Credit Unions, Financial Services, Markets, Risk Manager, Vendor Manager/by Teresa Pezdek

AI Risk Management for Community Banks: A Strategic Guide

Strunk’s Risk Manager is a risk management solution for community banks and credit unions, providing comprehensive oversight of emerging technologies and regulatory compliance.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the banking landscape, offering community financial institutions powerful ways to improve efficiency and enhance decision-making. From automating routine processes to strengthening credit analysis, AI presents meaningful opportunities for growth. However, these benefits come with significant risks that require active management.

The Evolving AI Risk Profile

AI introduces unique challenges that can impact a bank’s stability. Institutions must be prepared to address:

Model Risk and Fairness: Preventing biased or discriminatory outcomes, particularly in customer-facing decisions.
Data Governance and Privacy: Protecting sensitive customer information and ensuring data quality throughout the AI lifecycle.
Regulatory Compliance: Keeping pace with evolving guidance while applying existing laws to AI use cases.
Vendor Management: Maintaining oversight of external AI vendors, including transparency, performance, and control environments.

Integrating AI into Enterprise Risk Assessments

Evaluating AI-related risks across key domains is no longer optional. Institutions should focus on:

Operational Risk: Potential system failures or processing errors.
Compliance Risk: Ensuring AI outputs meet strict lending and privacy laws.
Reputational Risk: The impact of “black box” decisions on customer trust.
Strategic Risk: Aligning AI adoption with long-term institutional goals.

Secure Your Strategy with Strunk

Strunk’s Risk Manager software suite enables institutions to systematically identify, assess, and monitor AI-related risks. Our tools streamline vendor due diligence, support risk tiering, and provide clear audit trails – helping banks stay aligned with evolving regulatory expectations.

Proactively addressing AI risks is a management priority. Institutions that leverage the right tools will be best positioned to capture the benefits of AI safely and strategically.

Contact Strunk at 800.728.3116, email info@strunkaccess.com or visit our site to learn how we can help you manage your institution’s risk.