Joseph Battipaglia, Partner and Market Strategist with Stifel Nicolas was the featured speaker at the Chapter's January Dinner Meeting held at the Stony Hill Inn in Hackensack on Wednesday, January 20, 2010. Joseph gave a lively and informative presentation to the New York/New Jersey Chapter entitled Outlook for 2010 and Beyond ...
He further noted that both interest rates and tax rates can go virtually no lower in this environment which will tend to stifle a recovery.
Joseph completed his presentation by answering a number of excellent questions presented by the Membership. For instance, he predicted that a double-dip recession would be unlikely to occur during 2010 due to high unemployment and low GDP.
He believes that a long-term recovery will be difficult to achieve because foreign innovation and government interference will continue to cause a competitive imbalance in domestic production. He advised that the private sector can recover in time due to the higher rate of return on personal investments.
An informative Mini-Session entitled Lean Integrated GCR Assessment was presented by Kevin Hyams and Marianne Turnbull prior to the cocktail hour.
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| Kevin Hyams was the Mini-Session speaker. |
The session provided an in-depth review of the risk assessment guidelines as well as the roles and responsibilities of an institution's board of directors and audit committee in regard to risk management.
The goal of the program was to better prepare financial managers to rank and prioritize risk and determine the inherent risk in each functional area. Kevin noted the importance of matching "Must Achieve Objectives" to those risks having the greatest importance. He emphasized the need to test key controls and give immediate attention to remedy those controls that fail.
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| A sweet treat to cap off an enjoyable evening! |
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| Featured Dinner Speaker Joseph Battipaglia presented an economic outlook. |
Using a skillful mixture of wit and sarcasm, he described the economic events of the past year and explained the plight that the industry will face a result of the economic crisis. He described how the risky lending programs of money center banks, the TARP program and many general economic conditions were contributing factors.
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| Members listen to the dinner speaker at the January Meeting. |
Consequently, Joseph cited a number of conditions that will prevent a quick recovery and that he expects the industry will face a stiff challenge during 2010. He noted the high cost of government spending with little perceived benefit, the disconnect between government and borrowers to solve the financial housing dilemma as well as continued high unemployment and an inverted yield curve.
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| Chapter President Grace Cruz-Beyer leads the Pledge of Allegiance. |
