By: Francesca Jarosz, Indianapolis Business Journal
Community banks across the state are preparing for a deluge of new regulations that will cut into their bottom lines, make their businesses more complex and, in some cases, force them to consolidate. The changes come in the form of the federal Dodd-Frank Act, which passed last summer following the financial collapse and is beginning to be implemented. And they come just as banks are beginning to recover from a particularly tough period brought on by an overload of nonperforming assets and a national recession.

By: Pamela Black, Bank Investment Consultant
Howard Hammond is a pretty happy guy. His program, Fifth Third Securities, brought in over $1 billion in assets last year, grew 26% as of November and increased headcount by 30%. He attributes that growth to selectively hiring quality people who are dedicated to understanding the needs of the client. “We’ve had a tremendous year,” he says. “I feel fortunate heading into 2011 and very well positioned to compete. Based on what I hear out there we’re pretty unique this year.”

By Bill McConnell, The Deal
The financial reform bill approved by House and Senate conferees early Friday morning, June 25, will be known as the Dodd-Frank Act, after negotiators from the two chambers unanimously voted to name the legislation after its two chief authors moments before approving the overall package. On a more substantive level, just how the legislation will be remembered won’t be known for quite some time. For certain, the regulations and changes being ushered in will raise the financial industry’s costs of doing business. Guidon CEO Ron WInce says executives at smaller banks have some justification for displeasure because the limits on their activities, higher capital requirements and assessments on the industry are likely to be more of a relative burden.

By Terry Flanagan, Media Markets Online
The U.S. financial reform legislation that moved forward last week was not as bad as it could have been for banks and Wall Street firms, but the industry should not exhale too deeply, because the implementation of the new rules will present its own set of challenges. Guidon CEO Ron WInce says there are some positives for everyone -- it is not overly heavy-handed but it does provide some protections.

June/July 2010 issue of Bank Accounting & Finance
By Ron Wince, Guidon Performance Solutions
Guidon CEO Ron WInce talks about how CFOs should not only evaluate but also lead and participate in business process improvement. Strong senior leadership is the single biggest determinant of whether a quality improvement deployment is successful or not. For most of the past few decades, that leadership has come in the form of having a chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO) or senior vice president (SVP) of operations leading the charge. The finance department was rarely involved at all, let alone positioned to lead the effort.

By Barbara Stcherbatcheff, CNBC.com
The European debt crisis has left markets vulnerable to any sovereign debt rating reports and ratings agencies have seen their influence mushroom in Europe. And with the spotlight on the agencies, the question of conflict of interest – widely debated in the aftermath of the credit crunch --has risen again. Guidon CEO Ron WInce talks about how the agencies got complacent, got into a mechanical mindset where they went through it (ratings process) without ever raising flags.

By Geoff Williams, AOL Small Business
President Barack Obama is making news for proposing that $30 billion of the money that has been repaid from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) be now diverted to community banks. Guidon CEO Ron Wince talks about how adding $30 billion will not help open the flow as most community banks are limited by the amount they can loan due to regulations. Business owners likely won't be pursuing more debt until the economy dictates the need to grow.

By Lisa Hochgraf, CUES
Guidon helped Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union enhance their members' experience while utilizing Lean and Six Sigma. They were looking at core service processes, eliminating waste, and shortening the timeline of service events so the activity and focus is all about what the customer values.