Read Any Good Books Lately?

By Barbara E. Hurst, Editor

I just got back from a lovely winter vacation, and had done most of my homework before I left so that I didn't have to work all day, every day I was gone. I deliberately left myself time to read some good books - some I have been wanting to read for several years.

I love to read. Good thing. There are, at the latest count, 52 subscriptions that come into our office about banking - one of them daily, the rest weekly or monthly - and now there are 12 more that come over the Internet every day. We wade through this ponderous print by the hour, trying to glean the important points, so we can pass them on to you. Even spare time in the evening is usually spent browsing through banking publications. (Not that I mind, you understand. Strangely enough, there are some of us weird folks that actually enjoy reading all that banking material!)

You, in turn, have to wade through all the summary articles that come to you and sort out the ones that are most important, which ones you'll have to pass on, which ones you'll have to set up new training time for, which are required, which are advantageous, and which ones provide some pleasure! (Those are few and far between!)

When we started this newsletter twelve years ago, it seems to me it was a simpler task to work my way through all the information coming out of Washington. It has gotten progressively more complicated - and more time consuming. That realization came when I started to pack some books and realized how long it had been since I'd had time to sit down and digest a whole book at a time. I'm talking about a book club best seller - not commentary on regulations.

One of the real advantages of new technology, though, was being able to pull up BankersOnline when I returned, and help catch up what I missed. What a boost!

We included, in this issue, the way to subscribe to the FDIC email service. Hopefully you already subscribe to the BOL Compliance Update, the Weekly Update, and the Technology Update. There are other banking email delivery services you can also access, and have all the news you care about at your fingertips first thing in the morning. Careful though, they tend to pile up on you!

Between all the resources and sources you have available, who knows, you may even be able to condense all that information enough so that you'll be able to read a good book every now and again!

Copyright © 2002 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2/02