4/20/2026: Balance Sheet Strategies for the Unknowns
- DCG
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
The DCG advisory consulting team starts every week with an internal discussion of market trends, regulatory developments, and the real experiences of our bank and credit union clients. Here are the notes from this week’s Monday Morning Meeting.
Check out the meeting notes from previous weeks.
Do you have a question?
If you knew for certain that rates would fall throughout the remainder of 2026, what would you do today? Conversely, what if you knew with certainty that rates would rise? What if short-term rates are unchanged and volatility continues throughout the rest of the yield curve?
Of course no one has a crystal ball; however, these are interesting questions to jumpstart strategic discussions.
This week’s conversation ranged from deposit and loan pricing, investment alternatives, and potential derivative transactions to credit trends and AFS/HTM accounting (and everything in between).
There are many unknowns and a ton of volatility. Has that caused inaction at your institution? What is getting in the way of strategy implementation?
How often do you hear “what do we think will happen” in your meetings? It needs to change to “what will we do if this happens” (creating a playbook of sorts).
After creating this playbook, ask yourself, “What actions do we need to take today, not if/when the market changes?”
Most balance sheets still have earnings momentum. Deposit and loan pricing pressures could change that; therefore, deposit and loan pricing strategies are critical.
Most balance sheets have exposure to both rising and falling rates (depending on assumptions and magnitude of rate movements). Institutions of all shapes and sizes are implementing proactive balance sheet strategies to reduce potential exposures, not because they are guessing what will happen to rates, but because they are implementing to be ready regardless.
What are others seeing?
For more insights from Darling Consulting Group, click here.
© 2026 Darling Consulting Group, Inc.