October 2018
Investing in BOLI/COLI When Tight on Liquidity
Management teams are responsible for ensuring that their company’s investments are getting the best returns. One investment option that they may consider is Bank Owned Life Insurance (BOLI) or Corporate Owned Life Insurance (COLI). While BOLI/COLI can provide a variety of benefits, many companies with tight liquidity overlook life insurance as one of their investment options. An alternative to using a Single Premium MEC product for a BOLI/COLI purchase is to use an annual premium, non-MEC product. Non-MEC BOLI/COLI requires a substantially lower up-front cash commitment, which allows companies experiencing lower liquidity the opportunity to use this financing tool.
August 2018
A Look into Group Term Life Insurance Carve-Out Plans
Employer-sponsored life insurance has traditionally played an important role in an executive’s pre-retirement planning for family and financial obligations. Many view the group life insurance plans as a large part of their estate planning strategy. To provide key executives additional or more efficient coverage, many employers utilize a common planning strategy, referred to as a Group Term Carve-Out (GTCO), funded with Split Dollar Life Insurance. The GTCO Plan “carves-out” a group of key employees from the group life insurance plan and replaces the coverage in excess of $50,000 with an employer-owned split dollar life policy.
December 2017
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP): The Role ESOPs Play in Bank Succession Planning
There are multiple ways to recruit, retain and reward your key executives that can also be tied to the succession plan of your bank. One example is the implementation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). An ESOP is an employee benefit plan that many banks and corporations use to retain their leadership team and provide them with a benefit, while effectively addressing their succession planning needs and providing liquidity for the bank ownership.
May 2016:
Mergers & Acquisitions: Affecting Executive Compensation
Mergers and acquisitions have been heating up over the past few years as business valuations continue to rebound and owners look to sell businesses as part of their retirement strategy. When two companies combine to become one entity, there are many executive compensation issues to deal with.
Typically, executive compensation takes the form of:
- Deferred compensation,
- Equity ownership, and
- Quasi-equity ownership
April 2015:
Establishing the Right Compensation Package
No two plans are the same, but it is clear that people value a solid base compensation and being rewarded for a good year with a strong bonus. However, when long-term planning comes to mind, it is long-term incentive plans, such as equity options and/or Nonqualified Deferred Compensation plans, which provide the cement that keeps people tied to your organization.
March 2015:
The Many Benefits of Corporate and Bank Owned Life Insurance (COLI / BOLI)
Companies use Corporate and Bank Owned Life Insurance (COLI / BOLI) to help fund their employee benefit plans, increase earnings and shareholder value as well as recruit, reward and retain key officers and directors. Tell us something we do not already know, such as its uses in:
Succession Planning
Supporting the Employee’s Family and Community
Offsetting Health Insurance Expenses
Supporting Continued Operations and Cash Need
January 2015:
Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans and ERISA
If you have a non-qualified deferred compensation plan, a recent Fifth Circuit decision may cause you to question whether the plan is exempt from the stringent requirements of ERISA. Read More
November 2014:
Hybrid BOLI: Beware of Treatment Under Basel III
The OCC Bulletin 2004-56 includes rules related to the risk weighting of BOLI assets. With the adoption of Basel III and the passage of Dodd Frank, banks may no longer rely solely on the major rating agencies to determine the risk weighting of their BOLI assets. Most concerning, is the ambiguity of how Hybrid BOLI will be treated from a risk weighting perspective under the New Basel III Capital Rules. The purpose of this document is to explain the differences in the products and expose the potential risks of owning a Hybrid product under the New Basel III Capital Rules. Read More
March 2014:
Succession Planning for Family-Owned Banks and Businesses
You are gone tomorrow. What happens to the business you poured years of blood, sweat and countless sleepless nights into? Will your family take it over? Is there an outside buyer for the business? What income will your loved ones use to survive? These are questions the people you care about will ask if you do not take time to develop a detailed, well communicated business succession plan. Read More
February 2014:
Banking Compensation and Nonqualified Executive Benefit Plan Study
Executive Benefits Network is pleased to present our first benefit plan study. The goal of this study is to provide useful information to the banking community and to reflect common market practices pertaining to Executive Benefit Plans.
Using Executive Benefits Network’s database of 111 current clients, focused mainly on Banks in the Midwest region, Executive Benefits Network compiled, analyzed and organized the data to produce a meaningful report to the banking community. This information is intended to provide information and guidance for management to make decisions on Executive Compensation. Read More.
January 2014:
Benefit Costs Expected to Rise 8.9% this Year. Is Your Bank Ready?
Rising employee benefit costs– especially healthcare costs– can put your bank at a competitive disadvantage. Benefits financing strategies, such as BOLI, can be designed to help you implement a more cost-effective strategy to offset some, or all, of your bank’s employee benefits expense while actually improving your bottom line. Read more
November 2013:
Insurance Company Owned Life Insurance (ICOLI): Offset Benefit Costs While Improving the Bottom Line
Insurance Company Owned Life Insurance (ICOLI), offers similar advantages to insurance companies as BOLI does for banks. Same with COLI and BOLI, ICOLI provides benefits such as: ICOLI is immediately accretive to earnings. Read more
July 2013:
Tax Effects on BOLI and Nonqualified Plans in Bank Mergers and Acquisitions
It seems that small banks with under $250 million in assets will be the primary target of mergers due to their higher cost of doing business and their desire to step away from the fray. In this whitepaper, Executive Benefits Network breaks down how mergers and acquisitions affect BOLI, Split Dollar Plans and Nonqualified Benefit Plans. Read more.