June 11, 2021

There is growing concern that the trillions of dollars of stimulus created by governments and central banks to fight the economic fallout of the coronavirus will explode through the economy and cause a surge in inflation in the second half of 2021. Sustained upward price pressures would cause governments and central banks to curtail pandemic relief efforts, strain workers trying to keep up with household bills, and risk eroding more than $40 trillion of retirement savings. But how justified are these fears?

On March 9, 2020, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued guidance encouraging financial institutions to assist customers and communities affected by COVID-19. With the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, many banks were faced with their own set of challenges. During this time, many banks took steps to assist consumers, including allowing loan modifications with no fees, waiving fees on accounts and offering in-home banking services. Many were also participating in providing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to small businesses. Because of these accommodations, many banks struggled with high volumes of COVID-related mortgage requests and questions from customers and PPP loans. Banks were overcoming these overwhelming volumes while also maintaining their efforts to keep the physical locations of the banks safe for both customers and the employees. Through these difficult times, financial institutions created and revised policies and procedures to adjust and provide excellent service to customers.

The strategic use of contracted resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources is a commonly used definition of business outsourcing. While the term vCISO (virtual chief information security officer) is a rather new designation for those in the C-suite, the solution model is rather mature.

In 2013 -2014, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) adapted the widely used government standards of NIST 800-53 for the private sector by creating and publishing the Cyber Security Framework (CSF). The CSF provided a method for private companies to complete an assessment and adopt relevant portions of the NIST standards for their own use. Soon after, the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (FFIEC) created the Cybersecurity Assessment Tool map NIST and CSF standard for banks. This framework helped banks implement cybersecurity to protect their assets and information.

At the end of May, the government’s Paycheck Protection Program came to a close. If Congress does not extend the program, we can expect the “Monday morning quarterbacking” about the program’s impact on the economy, its design and implementation, and its ultimate cost to begin. Those are appropriate questions to ask as we consider the lessons learned from the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Each year, the month of May not only shepherds in warmer days, greener grass and thoughts about golf, baseball, boating, etc., but it also brings the start of a new NBA fiscal year. Like you, I am more than happy to turn the page on our last fiscal year, which will go down in history as the lost pandemic year. Despite the many trials and tribulations we experienced over the past 12 months, Nebraska’s banking industry served as a positive light and ray of hope in what many characterize as a very dark time in our country. Your NBA also successfully navigated these challenges while serving as the primary advocate and resource for Nebraska’s banking industry.