For more in depth information regarding this article, download the entire report here. What is the Beige Book? The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a variety of mostly qualitative information, gathered directly from each District’s sources. Reports are published eight times per year. What is the purpose of the Beige Book? The
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Happy New Year all! We hope you enjoyed the holiday season with family and friends. In our previous commercial blog post, we discussed how to apply for a small business loan and what the application process involves. Today, given that it is the beginning of a new year, we will discuss how to develop a budget. The budgeting process varies depending on the size and needs of your business. For larger entities, you will likely work within your accounting software and with your accountant. For smaller
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For more in depth information regarding this article, download the entire report here. This article was written by Brodie Oldham, Vice President of Commercial Data Sciences from Experian Business Information Services. Beyond the Trends is a quarterly report written by Experian Business Information Services. The report offers a unique view of the small business economy based on what we see in the data. With up to date information on over 33 million active businesses and how they perform from a
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It is likely at some point a business owner will need an outside financing source to purchase a new or used piece of equipment or even to supplement working capital needs. In times like this, the resources of your community bank are essential to helping you maintain smooth business operations. First Community Bank and Trust provides personalized support and flexible financing solutions to address your commercial loan needs.   As a business owner, you may ask “how do I start the process
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Eight times per year, the most important color for anyone wondering what’s going on in the economy is beige. While it won’t be the Pantone color of the year (this year that would be Very Peri, a light purple), the Federal Reserve Beige Book is an update on the regional economies through surveys done by the various Federal Reserve Banks. The most recent one was released on April 20th and painted a more positive picture of the economy as a whole, and the Chicago region more specifically. You
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Spring has sprung (sort of), Opening Day is here, and your 2021 tax returns are due. So let this serve as your final reminder that you need to file or extend your tax returns. But while you have them out, there is one more thing you can do with them (other than sending them to your commercial lender, upload here). Have you filed for the Employee Retention Credit? Don’t know what it is? Here is an overview of the program.   The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was created as part of
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Location, location, location. Usually we attribute that phrase to a realtor on a vacation home reality show on TV, but it also has an effect on your business. Where you operate and the local economy affects business operations. Part of our service to our customers is being able to provide some information about the local economies. For example, included below are the trend graphs for unemployment rate in Will and Kankakee Counties. While the rates have improved since the pandemic, both remain slightly
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February 1, 2022 Banks need to send sensitive documents all the time, but secure email is clunky. Greg Ohlendorf of First Community Bank and Trust worked with a partner to make that hassle a thing of the past. By Colleen Morrison, Independent Banker When it comes to innovation, sometimes it’s all about finding the right partner: one who shares community bank values. So believes Greg Ohlendorf, president and CEO of First Community Bank and Trust in Beecher, Ill. “Innovation
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April 30th, 2020 - At First Community Bank and Trust we recognize that being a community bank means going the extra mile for our customers. We also know that this pandemic has been especially hard on small business owners. For those reasons, we are so grateful to have been able to assist many of them through the Paycheck Protection Program. Our relationship with our local businesses is a true partnership, and we want to help in any way we can during this trying time. We are very pleased to
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Tags: business relief, community bank, COVID-19, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, relief fund, small business

Shop Local for National Small Business Week May 3–9 Beecher, IL (May, 2020)—First Community Bank and Trust and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA)® encourage Americans to support their local economies by shopping at small businesses during National Small Business Week, May 3–9. Small businesses create two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. annually. “As a small business ourselves, FCBT values America’s entrepreneurs and is committed
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Tags: community bank, local business, small business, small business owner, Small Business Week