Today’s digital-first consumers expect real-time, personalized experiences—including how they receive and manage bill notifications. Simply offering online access is no longer enough. Join Stuart Bain, SVP of Product Management at Alacriti, for a live webinar hosted by Banking Exchange on May 28, 2025, at 2:00 PM ET, as he explores how proactive digital outreach transforms bill payments. Learn how simple, automated engagement strategies can dramatically increase adoption rates, on-time payments, and create new value for both institutions and their customers.

Register now!

Ascensus Announces New Partnership with Janusea to Revolutionize IRA and HSA Administration

Ascensus announced a new strategic partnership with Janusea to deliver a financial technology solution that streamlines IRA and health savings account (HSA) administration for financial institutions. Janusea’s product creates a direct integration between Ascensus’ technology platform and banks and credit unions, eliminating manual, dual entry of IRA and HSA transactions.

Ascensus currently offers full-service IRA and HSA administration as well as related services for approximately 5,500 financial organizations through its Retirement Products & Solutions (RPS) line of business. The new partnership combines Ascensus’ position as the leading provider of IRA and HSA services in the industry with Janusea’s deep experience bridging the gap between financial institutions and innovative fintech solutions.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Janusea to bring this innovative solution to our clients,” noted Anna Johnson, Head of Ascensus Retirement Products & Solutions. “Janusea believes integration should never be a barrier to innovation and is passionate about unlocking and accelerating financial technology for banks and credit unions. We’re proud to offer this turn-key solution with minimal implementation effort on our clients’ behalf, so banks and credit unions can spend more time doing what they do best and leave the data sharing and reconciliation to us.”

Key highlights of the integrated solution include:

• Comprehensive Implementation/Onboarding Support: Clients receive full support during the implementation and onboarding process, ensuring a smooth transition.
• Productivity Gains for Front-Line Staff: Elimination of dual data entry means front-line staff can operate more efficiently.
• Data Entry Error Reduction: Utilizing Ascensus’ integrated and compliance-driven workflows virtually eliminates common errors.
• Modern Tech Stack: Backend technology streamlines operations and simplifies account management to scale clients’ IRA and HSA programs with minimal development effort.
• Improved Transaction Efficiency: An integrated solution processes IRA and HSA transactions with far greater efficiency.
• Secure and Compliant Integration: Secure and compliant integration of retirement and savings solutions is assured.
• Expanded Reach: Clients will have access to integration with more than 20 core systems.

“Technology, expertise, and partnership are shared values for both of our companies, and we are excited to bring real-time, two-way communication with Ascensus to banks and credit unions," said Kyle Stutzman, CEO and CoFounder of Janusea. “Ascensus brings purpose-built IRA and HSA technology to financial institutions and offers expertise in retirement and other tax-advantaged savings accounts. Their partnership to expand services, deepen client relationships, and grow assets at banks and credit unions aligns perfectly with the value Janusea strives for in our business. Through our technology platform, integration expertise, and commitment to partnership, we believe we are stronger when working together.”

About Ascensus

Ascensus provides market-leading technology, services and expertise that help millions of people save for a better today and tomorrow through tax-advantaged savings.    

The company's Retirement Products & Solutions (RPS) line of business provides compliance support, training, forms, mailing services, and full service administration to banks and credit unions.

Ascensus is also a premier savings program service provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator. Its platforms, industry knowledge, and data-based insights enhance the growth and success of its partners, their clients, and savers through co-branded, private-labeled, and governmental partnerships. 

Ascensus offers comprehensive qualified and nonqualified retirement plan solutions, third-party retirement plan administration, 529 education and ABLE savings program administration, corporate- and bank-owned life insurance solutions, and fiduciary and total rewards services.

The company’s brands include Ascensus; Newport, an Ascensus company; and FuturePlan by Ascensus. Ascensus has more than $862 billion in assets under administration and employs more than 5,100 associates as of March 31, 2025.

For more information, visit ascensus.com and newportgroup.com.

About Janusea

Janusea, Inc. bridges the technology gap between financial institutions and today’s most innovative fintech solutions. Many fintechs face challenges when communicating with legacy core systems at credit unions and community banks, often requiring years of development to achieve full integration. Janusea connects these worlds through a secure, cloud-based, fully hosted platform. With a focus on speed to market, freedom to choose the best solutions, and sustainable API integration, Janusea enables seamless collaboration between fintechs and financial institutions. For more information, visit www.janusea.com.

Six best practices to ensure that a BOLI program covers all the key aspects

Financial institutions are faced with constant challenges, especially when it comes to funding employee benefits. One of the big challenges is attracting and retaining key talent, and one solution is to offer more comprehensive savings options, including nonqualified plans.

Structuring a BOLI program: What You Need to Know

BOLI programs can be an invaluable and very effective tool for financial institutions seeking tax-advantaged earnings to fund nonqualified retirement solutions and other employee benefits. But with any type of financial product, issues will sometimes arise that require special attention to ensure that the purchaser is getting the most out of the asset.

Utilize these best practices for providing a BOLI program that can maximize its effectiveness:

1. Get to know the entire BOLI banking landscape. Find a provider that works with banks of all sizes and is well-versed in all types of BOLI life insurance policies. The provider also should be able to provide in-depth insurance carrier and product analysis for all BOLI product types—including general, hybrid, and separate accounts. The benefits of banks owning different types of BOLI life insurance policies include the fact that separate and hybrid insurance policies are isolated from creditors (unlike general insurance), which protects banks who take out those types of BOLI on their employees. Not all BOLI providers are created equal, as some focus on only certain aspects of the market and work with a limited number of banks and insurance carriers. Working with a provider with a keen understanding of banks of all sizes as well as every type of carrier and product can be a tremendous advantage. 
2. Understand regulatory and tax rules. Obviously, BOLI products are not as simple as savings accounts or CDs. So, understanding the rules governing these programs will require some guidance. Working with a provider who can educate the bank on BOLI-related regulatory and tax rules will lead to better understanding of risks and opportunities, and to more-informed decisions.
3. Review due diligence procedures. Many providers merely pass along the data given to them by insurance carriers without validating the information, which can sometimes lead to undiscovered inaccuracies that can cause problems and errors with financial reporting. Properly evaluate BOLI providers to assure they have adequate due diligence systems equipped to manage BOLI policy data, and that they’re reviewing the data provided by insurance carriers for errors before passing along values used for financial reporting.
4. Verify the credit quality of the issuer. A significant concern for banks is the credit quality of the BOLI issuer. It pays to verify that the BOLI insurer’s financials are sound, so choosing a provider that offers you a full array of information on carrier financials can be an important safeguard against potential credit risk. It is also important to consider an issuer’s longevity and commitment to the BOLI market.
5. Monitor market conditions and seek out upgrade opportunities. Given that market conditions are ever changing, from time to time it may be advisable to review and possibly adjust a client’s BOLI program. Having a provider that will work with you to identify possible areas for improvement in a BOLI program is another important best practice.
6. Leave the “heavy lifting” to someone else. A BOLI provider that can provide all-encompassing BOLI solutions – from portfolio design to claims processing and everything in between – can create peace of mind. 

Choosing the right provider is essential when it comes to structuring your BOLI program, and having access to in-depth data can often spell the difference between a successful program and one that sometimes falls short of its goals. You want a BOLI team that adheres to the best practices detailed above and that takes a comprehensive approach to building BOLI portfolios.

Ideally, this BOLI provider:

• Has a reputable name in the BOLI bank marketplace
• Is well-versed in all types of life insurance policies
• Works with banks of all sizes and with different types of needs
• Provides unbiased, in-depth insurance carrier and product knowledge and analysis for all BOLI product types
• Has the ability to provide education on the tax and regulatory aspects of BOLI
• Can prepare long-term cash flow/income projections
• Can provide interest-rate sensitivity testing and separate account investment analytics to ensure the product is properly positioned for current conditions
• Has a thorough due diligence process that meticulously validates the data provided by the insurance carriers for accuracy, rather than just passing the data along to the next link in the chain 
• Will collaborate closely and be there with you through the entire life cycle of the BOLI process, from the initial purchase of a BOLI program through the ultimate maturity of the asset, which can exceed 40 years
• Covers all the bases for you when it comes to enrollment and administration and other services, and offers complete outsourcing solutions, thus allowing clients to focus on their primary businesses

Partnering with a BOLI provider to fit your needs

With more than 30 years of experience and 75 BOLI professionals on staff, we’re ready to partner with you and your bank clients to help determine the optimal path forward based on each bank’s unique factors and circumstances. We work with banks of all sizes, from small to midsized to large, and can help structure programs that meet the needs of each type of financial institution. 

For more information about how Newport can help you craft the ideal BOLI solution, please contact us.

Loan Data Coffee Talk with Guest Banker
Friday, May 9 11:00-11:45am ET

Wondering if Portfolio Analyzer would be a win for your bank? You won't want to miss this one! We're welcoming Cindy Cheng, SVP & Chief Credit Officer of PCBB to discuss and demonstrate how they are using Portfolio Analyzer to stay on top of their loan data and credit risk—without bogging down their team. With today's uncertainty around credit quality, this Coffee Talk will be a valuable and important discussion. Grab a coffee and join us!

Ncontracts is excited to partner with ICBA to offer community banks special pricing on the latest technology and services for confidently managing third-party risk.

Nvendor gives you the tools to streamline every step of the vendor management lifecycle and ensure compliance with third-party risk management guidance. Understand your vendors and your third-party risk with an effective vendor risk management program.

Learn more: http://hubs.ly/Q036bmM_0

Bankers Discuss: What's Working for Growing Deposits
Friday, May 2 10:00-10:45am ET

Join us as a panel of executive bankers share their perspectives and experiences on what's working right now for growing deposits. With deposit retention and growth remaining a top priority for community banks, these bankers will discuss the approaches that have driven their success and lessons learned along the way. This is an interactive session, so bring your questions and engage with the panel and your peers. See you there!