DBA Digest for September 1, 2023

Foundations of Delaware Trusts: GST Tax Best Practices - Next Thursday, Sept. 7th!

Live and On-Demand

The next session in the new Foundations of Delaware Trusts series is next Thursday, September 7, at 11:00 a.m. Mark Oller and Todd Flubacher will present Trust Termination Best Practices.

This new series features three sessions highlighting the best practices for trust professionals taught by Delaware's top trust experts! Each session will be conducted live on the date indicated and will be available for on-demand viewing afterward to train your entire staff. DBA Members can register for all three for just $499 ($199 each purchased separately).

Trust Termination Best Practices - September 7, 11:00 a.m.

Instructors: Mark A. Oller, Delaware Trust Executive, U.S. Trust Company of Delaware; Todd A. Flubacher, Esq., Partner, Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP

Transfer Trust Best Practices - On-Demand

Instructors: Matthew P. D'Emilio, Managing Member, McCollom D'Emilio Smith Uebler LLC; Tara S. Hersh, Associate, McCollom D'Emilio Smith Uebler LLC

GST Tax Best Practices - On-Demand

Instructors: Cynthia D.M. Brown, President, Commonwealth Trust Company; Kimberly Gill McKinnon, Director, Gordon, Fournaris & Mammarella, P.A.

2023 FDIC Directors' College -

September 22nd - Dewey, DE

There's still time to register for the 2023 FDIC Directors' College, September 22, 8:30 to 1:30, at the Hyatt Place, Dewey, DE. The FDIC Directors’ College is an interactive program that provides ongoing education on current topics of bank supervision to bank directors, senior officers, corporate secretaries, and board advisors. The course is designed to help directors and trustees, both new and experienced, stay abreast of the ever-changing regulatory environment. Modules this year include: Consumer Protection; Risk Management; Conversation with the Regulators; and Economics and Banking Update. Please click on the link below to view the detailed agenda and to register.

Climb Aboard the Kalmar Nyckel for a Special Monday Evening Reception October 16th!

There's still room and still time to register for the 2023 Delaware Trust Conference kick-off reception on Delaware's tall ship, the Kalmar Nyckel. Be there, Monday, October 16, 4 to 6 p.m. Tickets to this exclusive reception event are just $150. Platinum and Diamond Sponsors receive two free registrations to the reception with their sponsorships. Space is limited! Contact Corinne Stayton to reserve your spot today!

2023 Delaware Trust Conference - All-Star Speakers! In-Person! Live-Stream! On-Demand!

Don't miss the all-star line-up of wealth management experts and the 2023 Delaware Trust Conference ends today, August 4th! The 2023 Delaware Trust Conference will be live at The Chase Center on the Riverfront, AND live-streaming, on October 17 & 18, AND on-demand through November! See the agenda via the link below and register today!

Mid-Atlantic Bank Executives Conference

September 10 - 11

This event, brought to you by five states (DE, MD, PA, VA and WV) will bring together bankers and industry partners for sessions with nationally recognized speakers providing relevant and timely content geared specifically to bank c-suite and other senior leaders. See the full agenda and registration information via the link below.

Business Writing Workshop

November 1, 2023, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Time equals money in the work world, so creating clear documents quickly that can be understood easily is crucial.

Join Linda Comerford, Comerford Consulting for this rewarding on-line course via Zoom,

November 1: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  

Just $199 per person for DBA members! ($249 for non-members)

Workshop Objectives: After attending this course, participants will benefit from an increased ability to:

• Identify varied audiences and purposes for writing;
• Polish rough edges of their writing style in paragraphs, sentences, words, and format;
• Write more effective documents while following a more efficient writing process; and,
• Apply course concepts to their actual writing samples.

Taking the Grr out of Grammar

November 8, 2023, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Surveys show that 80% of those in the business world tend to say, “Grr!” a lot when editing a document.

Join Linda Comerford, Comerford Consulting for this valuable on-line course

November 8: 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

Just $99 per person for DBA members! ($149 for non-members)

Workshop Objectives:  This half-day course helps participants do the following when writing and editing:  

• Analyze why correct documents are so important;
• Identify the errors that tarnish a writer’s image;
• Learn practical, current grammar and punctuation rules;
• Practice correcting grammar glitches and punctuation pitfalls; and,
• Demonstrate understanding of the rules through a pre- and post-quiz.

Bank of America Private Bank Market Minute

Closing out last week, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell delivered a 15-minute speech at Jackson Hole reiterating the Fed’s commitment to bringing inflation down to its 2% goal. The yield on 10-year Treasury hit a 16-year high as the debt selloff continued. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to end a three-week losing streak, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.3% and Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) finished the week down 0.5%. Sector performance was mixed, with seven out of 11 S&P 500 sectors exhibiting positive performance for the week, led by Technology, Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services. Energy, Consumer Staples, and Healthcare shares led declines. Several retailers reported Q2 results, offering a slightly more cautious picture on the health of the U.S. consumer. According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales (including condos, single-family, townhouses and co-ops) declined 2.2% in July and 16.6% from last year to a seasonally adjusted 4.07 million—the lowest level since the start of the year. On the contrary, new home sales of single-family homes jumped 4.4% in July. S&P Global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data suggested slower business activity growth in August. The U.S. PMI Composite Output fell to 6-month lows at 50.4 from 52.0 in July. This week, watch for the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Index, spending and income data on the health of the consumer, and August’s jobs report on Friday.

Webinar: What the Basel Endgame Proposal Means for Delaware Banking Institutions - Sept. 12

In late July, federal banking regulators jointly proposed extensive revisions to the regulatory capital requirements for midsize and larger US banking institutions. The revisions are lengthy and would change the requirements for credit, market, and operational risk. Some of the revisions are long-expected (e.g., re-evaluation of use of internal models), but others are novel (e.g., capital charge for operational risk) or driven in response to the recent banking crisis. Some of these changes may have an outsized effect on institutions with significant credit card or asset management operations, both prevalent in Delaware. Therefore, it will be important for Delaware banks and trust companies to understand what the federal proposal means for their business and their peers.

Mayer Brown is pleased to offer a tailored briefing through the Delaware Bankers Association on the proposal’s impact. On September 12, 2023, 10 to 11 a.m., please join Matthew Bisanz, Jeff Taft and Julie Gillespie, partners in Mayer Brown’s bank regulatory and structured finance practices, for a webinar on what the proposal means for your institution. They also will take questions and be available for follow-up discussions.

Ask the Regulators: Commercial Real Estate Loan Accommodations and Workout Guidance -

Sept. 14, 2 p.m.

On Thursday, September 14, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. Eastern, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) (the agencies) will conduct an Ask the Regulators webinar to explain the revisions and additions to the Policy Statement on Prudent Commercial Real Estate Loan Accommodations and Workouts that was issued June 2023. During the webinar, staff of the agencies will review best practices for managing deteriorating and problem commercial real estate loans and workout arrangements, describe how supervisors assess the management of commercial real estate loan accommodations and workouts, and review supervisory expectations for valuations.

BLS CPAs Makes 9th Appearance on INSIDE Public Accounting's Top 300 Firm List

For the ninth consecutive year, Delaware-based certified public accounting firm, Belfint, Lyons & Shuman, CPAs (BLS) has been named a Top 300 firm in North America by INSIDE Public Accounting (IPA). IPA is an award-winning publication for the accounting profession. IPA’s Survey and Analysis of Firms and the resulting national benchmarking report on North America’s largest accounting firms serve as an overall barometer for the profession. BLS is the only Delaware-based firm included in the 2023 Top 300 list.

Whisman Giordano & Associates Wins Best of Accounting Award

Whisman Giordano & Associates, a certified public accounting firm, announces that they have won the 2023 Best of Accounting Award for the second consecutive year. The award is based on a client survey administered by Clearly Rated. ClearlyRated's Best of Accounting® Award winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients. On average, clients of 2023 Best of Accounting winners are 70% more likely to be satisfied than those who work with non-winning firms.

UD Data Science Symposium - September 22, 2023

Registration is now open for the University of Delaware Data Science Institute (DSI)'s 2023 Data Science Symposium. The Symposium will be held in person from 8:30am-5:00pm on September 22nd, 2023 in the Audion of STAR Tower. The Symposium’s keynote speakers, panelists, and schedule can now be found on the event website here.

There is no cost to register or participate. The registration link above optionally allows all (i.e., all academic and non-academic) participants to propose either an in-person poster or lightning talk. Posters should highlight a current research project or agenda in detail. Student posters will be eligible for a best poster award. Lightning talks should more briefly showcase a participant’s research interests or expertise, particularly in relation to building new collaborations. The deadline for proposing a poster or lightning talk presentation is September 5th. The deadline to register for the Symposium itself is September 15th. Space is limited and filling up quickly, so please register soon.