NEENAH, Wis. – The importance of aligning investment analysis with balance sheet interest rate risk position was a key focus at QuantyPhi’s Strategic ALM Workshop here.
The workshop was the first in a new series of workshops to come, and was hosted by Central Alliance Credit Union. The day-long educational event offered area credit union executives insights into asset liability management (ALM) best practices, benchmark setting, analytics, and strategic planning considerations during times of unpredictable interest rate fluctuation.
“Despite three consecutive Fed rate hikes, the odds of successfully forecasting interest rates are no better than a coin flip,” said Kevin Chiappetta, QuantyPhi president and Corporate Central Credit Union SVP of Investment Services. “That’s why building a solid ALM process remains so critical to credit unions' success. That’s why balance sheet optimization—finding opportunity on both sides of the balance sheet and making risk work for you like assets work for you—is so important.”
Designed for credit union CEOs, CFOs, and staff actively involved in balance sheet management, the workshop laid a foundation for understanding interest rate risk and key interest rate risk measurement, Corporate Central reported.
“This was the first of many hands-on traveling workshops, in which our goal is to help those who are directly—and indirectly—responsible for monitoring, measuring and managing their credit union’s interest rate risk,” said lead presenter Danny McIntyre, Corporate Central VP of Investment Services. “Education is a cornerstone of our mission, so we plan to continue holding these types of sessions across the region.”
A presentation intended to help asset-liability committee (ALCO) members successfully lead the ALM process was also a key component of the workshop. Led by Nick Haisler, Corporate Central Financial Strategist, the segment’s main focus was on establishing effective ALCO structure and policy.
“Helping train our management teams and boards on what the numbers mean—and how to use them to make better decisions—is really important,” said Michelle McClelland, Prospera Credit Union CFO. “As rates go up, we need to make sure that we’re well-versed on what’s happening with our balance sheets and what it looks like from an interest risk perspective.”