Blogs

You’ve invested countless long, hard hours in building a stable, profitable business with a bright future. But negative economic forces can strike at any time, destabilizing your finances and possibly even endangering the survival of your business. This is one of the main reasons it’s so important to build and maintain healthy cash reserves. Cash reserves serve many important purposes including helping business owners meet unexpected expenses while also stabilizing cash flow and easing overall financial stress. This guide to cash reserves explains why it’s so important for a business to have...

A year ago, a headline “The Recession of 2023 might surprise everyone” would have been prescient simply because it didn’t happen. On the contrary, last year showed surprising resilience and a pace of growth no one expected, despite forecasts of a slowdown or recession by most economists. 2023 was supposed to have been the year in which the economy succumbed to the sharpest increase in interest rates in four decades; tightening lending standards by the banks; and the end of pandemic-era government spending. Accumulated savings from Covid-related shutdowns and receipts of stimulus checks were...

Commonly known as the Beige Book, this report is published eight times per year. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector. An overall summary of the twelve district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis. Overall Economic Activity Retail sales, including autos, remained mixed; sales of...

Work with banking partners you can count on to help you achieve growth goals It’s still sunny economically in the greater Phoenix area and William (Bill) Callahan, President & CEO of Arizona Bank & Trust, a division of HTLF Bank, expects it to continue into 2024. “It doesn’t feel like business has dropped off dramatically,” he said. He’s seen profit margins decline, but customers have created strategies to deal with changing economic realities. Commercial and industrial customers make up about 75 percent of the bank’s portfolio. Clients are building something, selling products or in service...

Between costs like rent, inventory, and payroll, it can be hard for businesses to cover expenses. Even if you have enough cash on hand to fulfill your obligations, an unexpected cost could derail your operation. Could a business credit card help? High interest rates might make you hesitant to open up a credit card for your business; however, obtaining a business card can be advantageous in certain circumstances. But before determining if this financial tool is right for your business, you first need to know its ins and outs. Why Should a Small Business Have a Credit Card? The idea of charging...