Asset/Liability Management · Services

ALM strategy and consulting for community banks

NineFive works with community bank CFOs, treasurers, and ALCO committees to set asset-liability strategy: how to position the balance sheet for the rate outlook, where to fund, and how to defend net interest margin. It is an ongoing advisory relationship, delivered by people who have run a community bank, not a one-time report.

The engagement

Quarterly

Aligned to your ALCO and board calendar, plus support between meetings

CFO, treasurer & ALCO

Banks from $200MM to $17B in assets

Former community bankers

Advisory, not a software login

An ongoing seat at your ALCO table.

Each quarter, NineFive works through the strategic questions a community bank balance sheet raises, and turns the answers into a plan the CFO and ALCO can act on.

Positioning

Balance sheet positioning for the rate outlook

Where the bank sits on asset sensitivity, how that fits the rate path, and what to change in loan mix, investment duration, and funding to hold margin through the cycle.

Funding

Funding and deposit strategy

Core deposit growth, pricing discipline, wholesale and brokered capacity, and how to fund loan growth without giving back the margin the loans earn.

Margin

Net interest margin defense

Where margin is leaking, what a rate move does to it, and the pricing and funding actions that protect it, tied to how the bank actually books loans.

Readiness

Board and examiner readiness

Strategy documented the way a board wants to read it and an examiner expects to see it, with the peer context that shows the bank is not an outlier.

Every quarter.

  • A quarterly strategy session with your CFO and ALCO.
  • Written recommendations on positioning, funding, deposits, and the investment portfolio.
  • Scenario analysis of the strategy under the rate paths that matter to your balance sheet.
  • ALCO-ready and board-ready materials built from your own data.
  • Access to the NineFive team between meetings for pricing, funding, and rate decisions.

The people who own the balance sheet.

CFO

Wants a sounding board who has sat in the chair, and a documented strategy to take to the board.

Treasurer / ALM officer

Runs the position day to day and wants a second set of eyes on funding, duration, and deposit assumptions.

ALCO committee

Wants the quarterly meeting to produce decisions, not just review reports.

CEO & board

Wants confidence that margin and rate risk are being managed with discipline and peer context.

Quarterly cadence, built on your data.

Your numbers, our analysis, your decision

NineFive builds the analysis in BankCore from your call report data and a few schedules, brings peer context, and where loan pricing is part of the strategy, runs it through TrueNIM. You review before ALCO, we join the meeting, and the decisions become the next quarter's plan.

  • Data in from you once a quarter, plus ad-hoc questions any time
  • Peer-anchored scenarios, not a black box
  • Materials you can hand to the board without reformatting

See ALCO meetings & prep

Scenario analysis of an ALM strategy showing the effect of rate and funding assumptions on net interest margin, liquidity, and Tier 1 leverage

Advisory from people who have run a bank.

  • The NineFive team has worked inside community bank executive leadership, not only advised from outside it.
  • The same analysis is available to run yourself in BankCore and TrueNIM, so bringing it in-house later is a decision, not a migration.
  • One relationship covers strategy, IRR reporting, liquidity, ALCO, and peer reports, rather than four vendors.
  • Priced for community banks between $200MM and $17B in assets.

Frequently asked questions

Basics

What is ALM consulting for a community bank?

ALM consulting is ongoing advisory on how a bank positions its balance sheet: interest rate risk, funding and deposit strategy, the investment portfolio, and net interest margin. NineFive works with the CFO and ALCO each quarter to set that strategy, review results against the plan, and prepare for the board and examiners.

vs software

How is consulting different from buying ALM software?

Software gives your team the tools to model the balance sheet. Consulting gives you a person to decide what to do with the output. NineFive offers both; the engagement uses BankCore and TrueNIM as the tooling, and your team can take that tooling in-house at any time.

Model

Does NineFive replace our ALM model or perform model validation?

No. The bank owns its risk management and its model. NineFive advises on strategy and can produce the interest rate risk and liquidity reporting, but independent model validation is a separate function that should stay independent of the people setting strategy.

Cadence

How often do we meet?

The core cadence is quarterly, aligned to your ALCO and board calendar, with access to the NineFive team between meetings for pricing questions, funding decisions, and rate moves.

Data

What data does NineFive need?

Your quarterly call report, a handful of supporting schedules on deposits and borrowings, and your current ALCO policy and limits. NineFive handles the rest, including peer data, from BankCore.

Let's talk strategy

Bring one question your ALCO is stuck on.

We will work through it with your numbers and show you how a quarterly engagement would run.