March 2022 Outlook and Insights

Looking ahead

• Where are all the workers? An estimated 5% of Northeast Ohio workers have remained out of the workforce since the pandemic began. Responses to a recent TeamNEO survey (https://teamneo.org/) completed by 760 Northeast Ohio businesses show:??
• Two-thirds are experiencing higher employee turnover
• 78% are having challenges filling open positions
• 94% indicate there is an insufficient pool of qualified candidates
• The economy is on your side. With the United States (U.S.) GDP growing at an annualized 5.5% compared to the historical average growth of 2%, spend money to automate anything you can to maintain your headcount instead of increasing it. Growing your business without expanding your headcount will put you in a much better position. Do all you can now to make yourself more efficient and borrow the money to do it.

Looking back

• The average price per million dollars in Director & Officer (D&O) insurance coverage increased 16% in the 4th quarter of 2021 compared to the 4th quarter of 2020, according to Aon’s recently released D&O pricing index (https://www.aon.com/risk-services/thought-leadership/d_o_report/default.jsp)
• The COVID-19 pandemic fueled self-service banking adoption. 42% of checks are now deposited using digital and mobile applications compared to 30% pre-pandemic. Further, 1 out of 3 bank customers are now comfortable opening up a new deposit account online rather than in person at a bank branch, an increase from 1 out of 10 pre-pandemic.

Resources, recommendations, and reminders

• It’s more important to be accurate than to be fast. An estimated 30% of all work is rework. One of the best efficiency focus areas is getting it right the first time.
• For non-traditional insights on trends and the strength of the U.S. economy, refer to the links below:
• Monthly number of airport screenings https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput
• Monthly trend in U.S. vehicle miles driven https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M12MTVUSM227NFWA/
• Monthly trend in OpenTable restaurant reservations https://www.opentable.com/state-of-industry?

About Westfield Bank?

Westfield Bank has grown to $2 billion in assets and serves 25,000 customers throughout the NEO regional metro area comprised of Cuyahoga, Mansfield, Medina, Stark, Summit, and Wayne counties in addition to providing insurance premium financing, loan, and deposit services to independent insurance agencies and RIAs across the U.S.

Westfield Bank's vision and strategies are built on a “mobile-first” platform providing real-time, secure, cloud-based, comprehensive digital loan, deposit, and payment capabilities.

Westfield Bank, for the second year in a row, is a 2021 recipient of two awards for best places to work, in addition to the Northcoast 99 Industry Award of Excellence in the Finance & Insurance category.

The information contained herein is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as advice on any subject matter. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content herein without seeking other professional advice. Any statistics contained herein have been obtained from sources deemed reliable, but the accuracy or completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed and is expressly disclaimed. The information herein is information of general nature, and may or may not address your situation. As such, the author and Westfield Bank disclaim all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on this information.?

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