Good morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
Gene Marks has a creative suggestion to save Microsoft Copilot.
Pete Hegseth wants to end the SBA’s 8(a) small business program.
The EPA has revised the value it places on a human life.
Frank Olivieri ran Philadelphia’s best-known cheesesteak stand for decades.
FINANCE
In his latest column, Ami Kassar writes about making the decision to change banks: “I am currently working with a manufacturing company that has been with the same bank for 25 years. It’s a long, stable relationship built over multiple business cycles—but you can probably guess where this is going. Three years ago, the bank was acquired by a much larger institution. On the surface, not much changed. Same branch. Same people. But beneath the surface, the decision-making authority and credit philosophy shifted.”
“Around the same time, the manufacturing sector was facing a difficult period, and this company was among those struggling. Performance declined, pressure increased, and eventually the business landed in the bank’s workout department, where it has remained for nearly two years.”
“Throughout that period, the owner has stayed engaged and communicative. He believes that if the business improves, the bank relationship will improve as well. And recently, the business has improved. Orders have picked up. Cash flow has stabilized. Momentum has returned. Despite that progress, the bank charged off and froze the company’s line of credit, making an already challenging situation significantly harder at a moment when liquidity mattered most.”
“This owner is deeply relationship-driven, which is usually a strength. He believes that by staying close to the branch manager, things will turn around. In a smaller bank, that might be realistic. In a much larger institution, it’s unlikely the branch manager has meaningful influence — especially over an account that has spent years in workout.” READ MORE
