Swot Analysis for Keystone Bank Essay Example for Free

Swot Analysis for Keystone Bank Essay Keystone has a few strengths looking at its present financial condition financial statements. However, the bank is willing and able to pay higher competitive rates compared to other banks in the area. This is likely to send a strong signal to potential customers who may wish to take advantage of the rates by increasing their core deposits at Keystone Bank. Also, increasing local economic activities can also be viewed as strength to keystone. This is because if the local people are making more money than they need, they will be willing to save some especially at high rates of return which would benefit them and Keystone at the same time. It will increase their core deposits and decrease their dependence on other sources for loanable funds. Commercial and consumer loans are also strength of keystone looking at the two year period compared to their peers. They need to capitalize on that and see if they offer some commercial loans to the new company’s coming into town at competitive rates. Weakness: Keystone Bank has a wide range of weaknesses compared to its peers. Some of their weaknesses are a result of their high exposure to credit risk, interest rate risk and liquidity risk. Credit risk can be defines as the risk of a corporation not being able to pay its debt as they become due. Keystone has a lot of CD’s on its books and need to pay the holders of the CD as they become due. This is going to put a lot of financial stress on the bank considering the fact that interest rates are low and the national economy is slowing down. Liquidity risk can be defined as a company’s ability to convert its assets into cash at fair market value. Keystone Bank’s liquidity measures are below the average of its peers. If you consider its temporary investments to assets for 1990 and 1989, they were 10. 64% and 11. 02% compared to 15. 07% and 16. 15% of its peers. This means that Keystone Bank is investing in products that cannot be quickly converted into cash at fair market price. They are also offering CD’s at a high rate compared to its peers. Other liquidity measures such as volatile liability to assets, is more than 11 % above the average of its peers. This means that Keystone has huge liabilities on its balance sheet which can easily be defaulted on. Net loans leases to core deposits also show an even high trend. There is over 25% difference between Keystone Bank and its peers. In the last two years Keystone’s funds for lending to its customers have mainly come from borrowed money instead of core deposits. This means that the bank make interest payment on the money it lends to its customers which has put it at a disadvantages in terms of offering competitive rates to its customers. It also indicates that in the case of any liquidity crises Keystone bank will not be able to convert its investments into cash at fair market value as quickly as it may want. A banks largest asset is its loans or loanable funds which is not the case for Keystone bank. Lack of clear written policies regarding liquidity and interest rate management by the bank has made it difficult for managers to make good asset and liability decisions. This could be part of the reason why instead of loaning funds to customers, the bank is selling CD’s and increasing their liabilities. Opportunities: Design of the new information system of financial reports will help management make informed decisions on how best to use the banks resources and also meet the examiners criticisms. An increase in the population in the area provides a great opportunity for the bank. The bank can capitalize on this and help it propel into the future. The establishment of new facilities by three national firms in the area – an electronics company, automotive parts and accessories manufacturer and the building materials supplier – is expected to flood the local economy with about 2700 jobs. This is great news for Keystone since it can use incentives such as free checking accounts to bring in new customers and increase its deposits. It can also find new and qualified customers who might be interested in real estate, consumer and other types of loans. The establishment of the new interest rate sensitivity and liquidity reports will help management monitor and understand changes in interest rates and liquidity and how they affect the bank. Keystone can take advantage of the current low interest rates and borrow money from the Federal Reserve Bank. With interest rates expected to rise in the near future, Keystone can increase its adjusted rate mortgages to customers instead of fixed rate mortgages in hopes to increasing their returns when interest rates rises. Threats: There are numerous threats that Keystone faces as a bank. First there is the threat of other banks and thrifts in the area who will also take advantage of the expected increase in the local economy. Most of the banks in the area may be able to offer relatively high interest rates to lure in new customers. If these banks are in a better financial position compared to Keystone that will put them at an advantage over Keystone. Also, the thrifts will also compete for the same 2700 people who will be acquiring the new jobs moving into the area. The bank need to work hard to decrease it CD’s and increase its loans if it wants to survive in the long run. Lastly, even though the local economy might be booming the thought of an economic slowdown in other parts of the country may have a negative impact on the spending practices of the locals. This may result in people saving all their monies instead of spending or avoiding loans all together.

Acupuncture: Chinese Medicine Essay -- essays research papers

Acupuncture: Chinese Medicine As with all things we know little about there is quite a bit of mystery surrounding acupuncture. The part people see the most is a person with needles sticking out of their flesh. Understandably being wary of sharp pointed objects being wielded by a complete stranger, this is often an obstacle that needs to be over come. The best way to do this is by becoming educated about how acupuncture is performed, where it came from, what it does, some of the benefits vs. the problems, and the different views about it. Though out the many different texts on acupuncture you find there is room for interpretation on how to perform it, what to use, and even where the pressure is placed. One thing you will find in common among these texts is this, acupuncture works to varying degrees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The earliest recordings of the use of acupuncture go back 2,000 years. In China it is widely expressed that it has been in use for 4,000 years. The origins go back as early as the Stone Age where abscesses were punctured by sharp stones or bone fragments. ( History ) When you experience pain it is an instinctive reaction to apply pressure to that location. Such as when you get a toothache. Also the body may experience pain where the infection is not localized. Your body naturally sends you warning signals that something is wrong. The Ancient Chinese utilized these warnings, and developed an intricate system of these points over time through observation. It is easy to infer that applying pressure to relive pain with your hands evolved into the use of needles instead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tortoise shells have been found and dated back to 1500 B.C. – during the Shang Dynasty - recording the use of acupuncture. The first actual written text acclaiming acupuncture is called Nei Ching Su Wen. It is written into two basic sections. The Su Wen, or easy questions and the Lung Shu, or hard questions. This book basically lays out all the different points, but it is mostly a book on concept and theory. The Nei Ching Su Wen lays the basic rules of philosophy and treaties on health. These philosophies branched form two mainstream religions that abounded during the Warring States period in Chinese history. The first is Confucianism. The teachings of this â€Å" religion â€Å" stress that the body is scared and are against dissection or surgery. T... ... You have no nasty side effect of drowsiness, or being groggy. The vomiting and stomach irritation are a thing of the past. This technique is especially being used and experimented with in China.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is also another branch of acupuncture being explored. It involves pressure points specifically I the ear. These points are being found to be connected to all other organs of the body. Although there are arguments that acupuncture is purely suggestion, they can be proven wrong. Suggestion cannot allow for a human being to under surgery with pain. The discovery of endorphins shows that a chemical process is instigated through pressure points. There is a chemical increase of endorphins when acupuncture is performed. Research being funded in China by the United States, and other Western countries, are going to lead us to a great break through some day. The future looks bright, and everyday we learn more and more. Some day we may learn the secret of why acupuncture works for now we will have to accept that it does work and try to combine old and new philosophies to reach a greater understanding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Flash Fiction and Prose Essay

Surprise endings are tricky. They either work or they don’t; people are either captivated or dubiously disappointed. I must confess that â€Å"The School† and â€Å"Dinner Time† were both extremely strange and vaguely unenjoyable for me. â€Å"School† was quite depressing and raised quite a bit of questions: when does bad luck become just bad? How were the deaths uniform and consistent in plants, animals, and even people? Was there indeed something wrong with the school itself? Or was their a saboteur? I believe the root of the problem was too many questions and not enough answered. On top of that the ending was a walking gerbil which is just odd. The language, depth and vocabulary of the students change all of a sudden and the principal displays public affection with another teacher. As a result the story conveys an unsettling and even worrying atmosphere where children go to learn; the reader gets the sense that the children may not be entirely safe, but from what is still entirely unknown. Similarly, â€Å"Dinner Time† could conceivably be a Mad TV skit or a scene behind a schizophrenic’s eyes. I’m not sure if this bizarre husband and wife team was masochistic, psychopathic, or just plain insane. There is a great deal of anger, frustration and unnecessary pain that I quite simply did not understand. I could not comprehend how this dinner could have presented itself in Edson’s head. Truly, it is nothing but puzzling, and the ending is rather a relief – the reader can finally stop being confused. Conversely, â€Å"A Story About the Body† and â€Å"Sleeping† engages the reader by presenting a picture everyone has been in: babysitter (or babysat) and desire, or in it’s basest form, human connection. â€Å"Body† was the shortest piece we had to read and also managed to convey nearly the most information of all of them. A man desires a woman because of her expression through art, her dancer’s grace and her captivating eyes. But upon hearing of her loss, he at least is able to keep eye contact when he tells her the truth. The reader immediately experiences two different sets of emotions: pity for the woman with graceful hands of art, and a reluctant empathy with the man who changed his mind. It would’ve been an undeniably unnerving experience for him and any man, making love to a woman without what some consider is part of the essence of a woman, no matter how much in love with her he thought himself to be. But then he and the reader are presented with an ending in the form of a gift: a small blue bowl filled with water, rose petals and dead bees. I was completely ignorant of what this might mean and so did brief research on the symbolism of bees and found that the bee has most often been used to represent the soul. I do not know if that is what Hass implied or even intended but it seems to fit best here. Perhaps it is a metaphor for her own body: pretty on the outside (with clothes), damaged on the inside, but still whole – still a woman (naked). Not only was this woman sending him a message, but she was also giving him part of what attracted him to her in the first place: her art. The reader is likewise quickly intrigued in â€Å"Sleeping,† even downright curious as to why Mrs. Winter prevents the hired babysitter from ever confirming the existence of the baby. Is the baby alright? Is it breathing? Does this alleged baby even exist? Whereas â€Å"School† raised disturbing questions about the safety of mass amounts of children, â€Å"Sleeping† raises thoughts of intrigue, deception, and old fashioned mystery. And the ending is not surprising so much as it merely drives the reader to a hunger to know what exactly Mrs. Winters keeps in the â€Å"baby† room. And no Mr. Winter, we do not understand.

Inspiration: Disability and Final Lap

Disability and Final Lap BY cancans Inspiration: Life Is Like photography. You need the negatives to develop. Do you always think of what people say about you? Does It affect your dally basis and break down your motivation and inspiration? Always try to avoid negative people, they feed on your reaction and if they see you being affected by what they say or do, they'll keep doing it. If paralysis had their minds posted to the bad comments people give, they would've never reached success.The reason why I chose the Paralytics instead of the Olympics as inspiration, is the fact that paralysis are disabled and they need o work so much harder to gain a certain goal. Their disability can easily break their will to keep on working towards these goals as well as their mindset and motivation. Being disabled keeps you humble because you know what it feels like to have nothing, to lose something very important like their legs etc. Or to work twice as hard as people with no disability.It's like a little voice that whispers to them â€Å"maybe† when it seems like the whole world is shouting â€Å"no†. Paralysis never know how strong they are, until being strong is the only choice they have. That is why they are an inspiration to so many people. They teach you that discipline Is the distance between reality and your dreams and you need to appreciate the little things In life because one day you're going to look back and realize that it was the big things.People tend to be more inspired by disabled people because even though they have lost something they still work hard to gain something to replace what they've lost. They know, when you truly want success, you'll never give up on it. No matter how bad the situation may get. Of course what they do are challenging but challenges are what make life Interesting and overcoming them Is what makes life meaningful. They would also tell you that they never underestimate their strength and never overestimate their weakness es and that's why most of them are humble.At the Olympics in London in the year 2012, there was four deferent swimmers: One with both arms and Just one leg, one with both arms and no legs, one with half an arm and the most important one, one with no arms. To start the swimming competition you have to jump in the water and hold on to the blocks. The man with no arms couldn't so they tied a ball on a piece of string and attached the string to the block and he put the ball In his mouth. He swam the fastest fifty meters anyone could've ever seen.In the first lap he was in the lead and everyone was standing for two reasons: one, he is winning and two, how is he going to turn? He slowed down, bumped his head turned. The second lap was breast stroke, not his strongest and at the end of the second lap he dropped down to third place. He turned for the third lap. This time it's the butterfly . He gets to the end of the third lap and dropped down to fourth place. He turns for the final lap. Th is time it's freestyle, his fastest stroke. He was quicker in the freestyle than any other stroke.In the final lap, this man went from fourth place to third, from third to second and with a meter to go, the crowd on their feet as his head Is in front of the man next to him. But he didn't win because the man next to order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure and that's why he was happy with second place. His motivation was so powerful that he kept humble and gained his goal of succeeding in what he does. If you love what you do it will be the only way to great work. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle for something less than your goals you set for yourself.

The First Stanza of The Song Of Roland Essays

The First Stanza of The Song Of Roland Essays The First Stanza of The Song Of Roland Essay The First Stanza of The Song Of Roland Essay Charlemagne, the king of France, has waged war in Spain against the Saracens for seven years. He has conquered the entire Spain and there isnt any city left to invade but only Saragossa, which is located upon a mountain. It is the city of pagan King Marsile. He has no love for God for he is a follower of Muhammad and besides, he prays to Apollo. No matter what he does, he will be unable to prevent his ruin. There is no place where we are told about these seven years except for thefirst stanza, for the rest of the poem tells about specifically the seventh year of Charlemagnes war in Spain. This stanza is definitely a brief summary of background of the whole poem, and the poet gives the course of the story immediately at the beginning. So with this opening, audiences have the basic idea of the story, which will be developed in the rest of the poem that is built upon the same basic idea. Thefirst line of this stanza begins with the name, Charles, who is the king of Franks and it is ent irely reserved for Charlemagne and his attributes. Thefirst attribute referring to Charles is ;the king; which could be simply taken as his title. But, just after that, the poet assigns another attribute, ;our great emperor;, to Charles. Although this second one seems to be very same as thefirst one atfirst glance, it means more than a title. At this point we have come to realize that the poet is also a Frank. Furthermore, here the tone is extremely emotional, for the poet expresses Franks; engagement and admiration to their king by these words. And this is developed in the rest of the poem as the concept of a good vassal. Beginning with the second line, we are introduced to the action part of the story. And we learn that the King of France is on a successful campaign in Spain. On the next line, the poet refers Spain as the ;proud land;, which is ;as far as the sea;. We cannot k

Do these cliché career tips actually work

Do these clichà © career tips actually work Does this sound familiar? You’re trying to figure out your future and you’re in the midst of some serious career planning, when all of a sudden you’re inundated on all sides by a hurricane of advice on what to do, what not to do, and how to move forward. The truth is, when it comes to career planning most people think they have all the right answers when they’re dishing out clichà ©d and uninformed advice to others, and if you’re the unwitting recipient of these tired tips from everyone in your life you’re likely feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to turn.Don’t bother doing a blind search on the Internet for career tip guidance- you’ll only encounter the same sort of tired advice that contradicts itself and takes all sides and forms depending on where you look. So, with all of this â€Å"career noise† at every turn, how do you know what to believe and follow?You should always do what you love.This is a nice thought, and it would be an interesting world if everyone got to do exactly what they want to do or love. But the truth is, reality sometimes holds a different view of how our careers should play out. While it can be a good idea to pursue a dream, it can be foolhardy to pursue it forever- after all, a noble pursuit like following your dream won’t pay your bills. Besides, it’s possible to find happiness and fulfillment while pursuing a backup plan. Use logic and reality as your guide when deciding between pursuing your dream and choosing an acceptable alternative.Don’t leave your current job until you have a new one lined up.This job advice tidbit is as old as it gets- but does that necessarily mean it’s sound advice? This tip gets particularly murky if your job environment is especially toxic or unhealthy. Sure, it makes sense to have a steady paycheck and job history while job hunting and until something new comes along, but life is short and if you’re re ally in a difficult or miserable spot, then it may be worthwhile to see if you can survive if you left your job. Besides, it’s easier to job hunt when you have more time to focus on it. Once again, fully weigh your situation, along with the pros and cons, and decide wisely.Don’t leave a job before you’ve been there for at least a year.Everyone has heard this one before, but is it actually sound advice? Employers like to work with people who stick around since it’s so expensive to recruit and train them.†However, they also suggest that reality might not be so black and white: â€Å"While you want to avoid having  lots  of short stays in your job history, most people will understand if there was a particular situation that wasn’t great. If it’s your boss or the day-to-day nature of your work that’s  not what you expected, keep in mind that there are sometimes options to change positions without leaving the organization. Sta rt by looking for new responsibilities and discussing a  transfer to another team. If, after that, you’re still itching to get out, update your resume and re-start your job hunt.†If you change your field you’ll have to start at the bottom.Are you finding yourself in a position where you’re thinking of a complete career overhaul? If so, then you’ve undoubtedly encountered this advice, which came from the notion that you always have to â€Å"pay your dues† when starting out in an industry and work your way up from the bottom. But whoever originally came up with this one obviously never thought about the value of transferable work experience and skills. According to The Muse, â€Å"if you’ve already put time into your current career, you probably have more skills that transfer from field to field than you recognize. Not just that, but your years of work have also taught you how to network, which can play a role in getting off the groun d floor.† Bottom line: recognize your value and transferable skill set when considering what positions in other fields make sense for you, and don’t let this tired old clichà © deter you from pursuing a new career in a new field.There you have it- a fresh look on some old career tip clichà ©s. Use the information provided here to help declutter your brain when it gets too full of competing advice and you’ll be on your way to make smart career decisions in no time.

List of book 234 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

List of book 234 - Essay Example Description: This brightly colored picture book tells the story of a couple who adopts a child from another country. It is a helpful aide for teaching kids about adoption. Karen Katz (Author, Illustrator) Description: This picture book for young children teaches children about the different kinds of families in the world today. It is particularly helpful in teaching about multiculturalism and acceptance. Description: This award winning book presents the classic Aesop’s Fable about a lion and a mouse who are overcome their differences and help each other. This is a good book for teaching children about overcoming differences and helping one another. Description: This book is particularly helpful for toddlers as it teaches how to control emotions and how to calm down when upset. For any child with tantrum problems, this can be a great tool with its fun pictures and rhymes. Elizabeth Verdick (Author) †º Visit Amazons Elizabeth Verdick PageFind all the books, read about the author, and more.See search results for this author Are you an author? Learn about Author Central Day and Night Description: This is a picture book for children at preschool age or younger. It is a humorous tool for teaching children about things that they should do such as changing their socks each day and things that they should not such as brushing teeth with peanut