June 30, 2025 • 9 mins
Scoot McComb, board member of Heartland Bank, a division of German American Bank has some great banking tips to help you stay secure in your banking and investments
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On a legacy retirement group dot com phone line. Let's
check in with our favorite banker. It's Scott McCom Heartland Bank. Scott, Buddy,
how you bet man?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hey Mike, how you doing doing well? Good?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Good? Good to hear your voice. Uh, I wanted to
check in with you a couple of things, and uh
your reaction when you know, last week when the FED
had their meetings and they held rate steady not a
huge surprise, but you know, as a banker, what you know,
what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah? Well, but you know I was, you know, Governor
Pal's uh Chairman Palace, trying to keep things in a
wait and see kind of approach, and uh as as
there's a massive change going on between administrations. So I
don't think anybody can argue the fact that there's been
a big change between last year and this year, you
know in America, and a lot of things happening, uh,
(00:46):
the the tariff discussions with all our our friends around
the globe are happening, and and of course, you know,
no one really knows how that's gonna unfold. Obviously, the
you know, when people start and betting against the president, however,
they tend to lose here. So it's it's he's he's
making these uh these deals and and it looks like,
you know that the trade thing is gonna end up
(01:09):
being probably a positive thing. I don't know how I can.
He's probably not going to make a worse deal than
we already have, so what what's the hurt and trying
to make a better deal. So I think he's, you know,
sitting on the sidelines, trying to wait and see what
happens there. They're monitoring. Obviously, their mandate is for for
you know, the monetary policy and and full employment and
(01:30):
uh and and trying to keep hold of the capital markets.
But you know, the the betting markets are saying now
that there's probably gonna be a couple of cuts yet
this year and then uh and then maybe next year
they'll have another couple of cuts, bringing that nominal rate
into the three and a half uh uh percent range.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Scott, It's it's funny you brought up tariffs because I
over the weekend I saw I saw two different stories
and I'm surprised there were even too. And one of
them was on CBS News. It said Trump tariffs not
causing you prices to Spike as previously thought. The other
story was involving a guy from Apollo Global Management, a
Torsten Slok. He's a he was a Trump critic, he
(02:10):
was critical of tariffs. He actually came out and said,
is Trump a genius? Did he know something about the
US economy that none of us could figure out? And
it ties back to tariffs that they're not that you know,
this big boogeyman that's under the bed. And you know,
these are stories that you're not going to hear in
the mainstream media. I'm surprised CBS actually even did a
(02:31):
story on that. But you know, to your point, you
know where these happened in what was it, what did
he call it? Liberation Day? Early August, and you know
the market, you know, took a little bump there. Your
four oh one k became a three to zero one K.
But we're we're back up into positive territory.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
We are.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah, So I mean, if anybody you know, you can't
watch the mainstream media, the mainstream media actually starting to
report the real news because they've been called out on
the fake news, and so they're actually happening to do that.
And you know, like I said, with the tariffs. I
think we're going to land on our feet there. I mean,
what what what's the worst case scenarios? We stayed the
way we are and so doing nothing is not a solution.
(03:12):
And then you're right, like this stock market has come back.
So those that stuck it out and did their thing,
and and and and did the wait and see approach,
maybe similar to the FED with their four oh one
k or whatever, now are up. Well it's maybe two
or three percent, you know, on the year, and we're
just a few probably fifteen hundred points off the all
time high. So you know, so I think things are
(03:34):
are are coming around. The uh, the stock market is
coming around. You know, things are going to start settling
down after all this turbulence. You know. The fact of the
matter is, I think the president is trying to get
all the dirty work done in the first eight months
or nine months, ten months of his term first term,
before the midterms, and then then they can have you know,
ten months to talk about the winds they had and
(03:57):
see how that, you know, affects the overall economy when
they go to the midterm elections.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So you know, we're we're halfway through the year. Scott
I know you're not a financial planner per se, but
you know, people are looking maybe at their four to
one K for the first time since that dip in April.
You know, do you hear a lot of people making
a lot of people making changes this time of year,
the mid year, making some kind of adjustments before the
end of.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
The year, Well, for sure, for sure, you know, halftime
is a great time to take a look at your
whole financial picture. You know, I always like to fill
out a personal financial statement at least twice a year,
go over with my significant other and and make sure
that we're both on the same page. You know, she
kind of knows where all the skeletons are buried and
how to get it, where the keys are, you know,
that kind of thing. At the same time, you know,
(04:43):
it's a good time to reset. So you know, right
now rates are high, we're expecting we're not high, they're
they're they're elevated, and we're expecting them to come down. Well,
the right thing to do might be to go a
little bit longer or invest in some CDs or some
fixed income things before rates go down. So that's a
po big thing to look at now. And then of
course you know the uncertainty here with a big, beautiful bill.
(05:04):
I think that's going to pass, and if it doesn't,
there's really going to be some major negative effects the
economy because of the whole tax brackets will continue to
increase on businesses and consumers. But there's things in there
that you should be aware of. You know, your tax strategy.
If it doesn't pass, real estate and housing, the retirement
(05:28):
for seniors, a state planning becomes even more urgent because
of wills, trusts and tax on your estate. So you
really need to be looking at the at the if
there is a possibility that that does not pass, and
certain things will come back into fruition as far as
the higher tax rates, you need to be planning for that.
And this is the perfect time just to look at
the different scenarios and be prepared.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Speaking with Scott McComb, president of Heartland Bank and is
talking some general finance and banking tips on the ground level,
and I like how you referenced you need to check
in with the boss before you make any major changes.
That's you're a smart You're a smart man, Scott, You're
a smart Rode.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
We all know you. I've been married this year will
be thirty five years. Amy and I have been married,
and I know the first rule is when I come home,
I'm wrong and the and the second rule is that
I we want to keep good communication with one another.
So we all are on the page.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Yes, sir, uh, I got a note from you said
that the check fraud and wire frauds still a big
issues with banks. What what kind of scams are you seeing?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Well, you know obviously all the old scams there, the
romance scams, the elder abuse, the the the washing of
checks and that kind of thing. You know, the big
thing that's really upsetting is postmasters are being held up
for their keys to the mailbox and then the criminals
just go into the box pull out checks. They usually
(06:50):
do it in business parks and they and they wash
those checks and make them out to you know, other entities,
and then and then they're cashing those checks and getting
into people's accounts before they can stop the fraud. So
we are encouraging all of our folks to not write
checks any longer. You know, there's plenty of other ways
to do your stuff electronically that's secure where you have
(07:14):
you know, really can there's more controls over things versus
using paper checks, and so we especially businesses, we are
encouraging them to use positive pay so they can send
a file to the bank and say, hey, here's the
payments that I did put out in checks, and if
they come into the bank to be cleared, we know
who they're made out to, the amount, the check number,
(07:34):
all that kind of stuff, and can verify that information
so that fraud can't be performed on those accounts. But
check fraud and wire fraud are still a major issue
here in the country. And because banks, you know, like
Heartland have been able to voice our opinions to Center
Reno and some other people in the financial services sector,
you know, we're starting to get some traction with the
(07:55):
FEDS as well.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Good Yeah, And there's just so many people that are still, like,
you know, technology adverse. They don't want to pay digitally,
they don't want to do online banking because they think
that that's not safe. And maybe there was a time
that it was a little questionable, Scott, but now it
is extremely safe. And it's funny that we've come, you know,
kind of one eighty that now writing a paper check
is more you know, rife for fraud and scams than
(08:18):
digital banking.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Mike, My first my first job in banking was to
launch an internet banking platform here at Hertlin back in
nineteen ninety nine. Okay, so that's eight years before the iPhone.
Think about that, Kay, And we had to pay people
to write an electronic check. We had a product called
bill pay that pays you. So we gave people a
dollar they could use against other products and services at
(08:42):
the bank if they paid their bills online, just to
get them to do it online, because at that point
people were still very suspect of the Internet in general.
Every's going to have my information. Oh, I'll get hacked,
I'll get well. Look today, I mean people were readily
giving all their information anybody on the Internet. It's a
truly come full circle. Just didn't you know quick twenty
six years
On a legacy retirement group dot com phone line. Let's
check in with our favorite banker. It's Scott McCom Heartland Bank. Scott, Buddy,
how you bet man?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Hey Mike, how you doing doing well? Good?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Good? Good to hear your voice. Uh, I wanted to
check in with you a couple of things, and uh
your reaction when you know, last week when the FED
had their meetings and they held rate steady not a
huge surprise, but you know, as a banker, what you know,
what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah? Well, but you know I was, you know, Governor
Pal's uh Chairman Palace, trying to keep things in a
wait and see kind of approach, and uh as as
there's a massive change going on between administrations. So I
don't think anybody can argue the fact that there's been
a big change between last year and this year, you
know in America, and a lot of things happening, uh,
(00:46):
the the tariff discussions with all our our friends around
the globe are happening, and and of course, you know,
no one really knows how that's gonna unfold. Obviously, the
you know, when people start and betting against the president, however,
they tend to lose here. So it's it's he's he's
making these uh these deals and and it looks like,
you know that the trade thing is gonna end up
(01:09):
being probably a positive thing. I don't know how I can.
He's probably not going to make a worse deal than
we already have, so what what's the hurt and trying
to make a better deal. So I think he's, you know,
sitting on the sidelines, trying to wait and see what
happens there. They're monitoring. Obviously, their mandate is for for
you know, the monetary policy and and full employment and
(01:30):
uh and and trying to keep hold of the capital markets.
But you know, the the betting markets are saying now
that there's probably gonna be a couple of cuts yet
this year and then uh and then maybe next year
they'll have another couple of cuts, bringing that nominal rate
into the three and a half uh uh percent range.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Scott, It's it's funny you brought up tariffs because I
over the weekend I saw I saw two different stories
and I'm surprised there were even too. And one of
them was on CBS News. It said Trump tariffs not
causing you prices to Spike as previously thought. The other
story was involving a guy from Apollo Global Management, a
Torsten Slok. He's a he was a Trump critic, he
(02:10):
was critical of tariffs. He actually came out and said,
is Trump a genius? Did he know something about the
US economy that none of us could figure out? And
it ties back to tariffs that they're not that you know,
this big boogeyman that's under the bed. And you know,
these are stories that you're not going to hear in
the mainstream media. I'm surprised CBS actually even did a
(02:31):
story on that. But you know, to your point, you
know where these happened in what was it, what did
he call it? Liberation Day? Early August, and you know
the market, you know, took a little bump there. Your
four oh one k became a three to zero one K.
But we're we're back up into positive territory.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
We are.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah, So I mean, if anybody you know, you can't
watch the mainstream media, the mainstream media actually starting to
report the real news because they've been called out on
the fake news, and so they're actually happening to do that.
And you know, like I said, with the tariffs. I
think we're going to land on our feet there. I mean,
what what what's the worst case scenarios? We stayed the
way we are and so doing nothing is not a solution.
(03:12):
And then you're right, like this stock market has come back.
So those that stuck it out and did their thing,
and and and and did the wait and see approach,
maybe similar to the FED with their four oh one
k or whatever, now are up. Well it's maybe two
or three percent, you know, on the year, and we're
just a few probably fifteen hundred points off the all
time high. So you know, so I think things are
(03:34):
are are coming around. The uh, the stock market is
coming around. You know, things are going to start settling
down after all this turbulence. You know. The fact of the
matter is, I think the president is trying to get
all the dirty work done in the first eight months
or nine months, ten months of his term first term,
before the midterms, and then then they can have you know,
ten months to talk about the winds they had and
(03:57):
see how that, you know, affects the overall economy when
they go to the midterm elections.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
So you know, we're we're halfway through the year. Scott
I know you're not a financial planner per se, but
you know, people are looking maybe at their four to
one K for the first time since that dip in April.
You know, do you hear a lot of people making
a lot of people making changes this time of year,
the mid year, making some kind of adjustments before the
end of.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
The year, Well, for sure, for sure, you know, halftime
is a great time to take a look at your
whole financial picture. You know, I always like to fill
out a personal financial statement at least twice a year,
go over with my significant other and and make sure
that we're both on the same page. You know, she
kind of knows where all the skeletons are buried and
how to get it, where the keys are, you know,
that kind of thing. At the same time, you know,
(04:43):
it's a good time to reset. So you know, right
now rates are high, we're expecting we're not high, they're
they're they're elevated, and we're expecting them to come down. Well,
the right thing to do might be to go a
little bit longer or invest in some CDs or some
fixed income things before rates go down. So that's a
po big thing to look at now. And then of
course you know the uncertainty here with a big, beautiful bill.
(05:04):
I think that's going to pass, and if it doesn't,
there's really going to be some major negative effects the
economy because of the whole tax brackets will continue to
increase on businesses and consumers. But there's things in there
that you should be aware of. You know, your tax strategy.
If it doesn't pass, real estate and housing, the retirement
(05:28):
for seniors, a state planning becomes even more urgent because
of wills, trusts and tax on your estate. So you
really need to be looking at the at the if
there is a possibility that that does not pass, and
certain things will come back into fruition as far as
the higher tax rates, you need to be planning for that.
And this is the perfect time just to look at
the different scenarios and be prepared.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Speaking with Scott McComb, president of Heartland Bank and is
talking some general finance and banking tips on the ground level,
and I like how you referenced you need to check
in with the boss before you make any major changes.
That's you're a smart You're a smart man, Scott, You're
a smart Rode.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
We all know you. I've been married this year will
be thirty five years. Amy and I have been married,
and I know the first rule is when I come home,
I'm wrong and the and the second rule is that
I we want to keep good communication with one another.
So we all are on the page.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Yes, sir, uh, I got a note from you said
that the check fraud and wire frauds still a big
issues with banks. What what kind of scams are you seeing?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Well, you know obviously all the old scams there, the
romance scams, the elder abuse, the the the washing of
checks and that kind of thing. You know, the big
thing that's really upsetting is postmasters are being held up
for their keys to the mailbox and then the criminals
just go into the box pull out checks. They usually
(06:50):
do it in business parks and they and they wash
those checks and make them out to you know, other entities,
and then and then they're cashing those checks and getting
into people's accounts before they can stop the fraud. So
we are encouraging all of our folks to not write
checks any longer. You know, there's plenty of other ways
to do your stuff electronically that's secure where you have
(07:14):
you know, really can there's more controls over things versus
using paper checks, and so we especially businesses, we are
encouraging them to use positive pay so they can send
a file to the bank and say, hey, here's the
payments that I did put out in checks, and if
they come into the bank to be cleared, we know
who they're made out to, the amount, the check number,
(07:34):
all that kind of stuff, and can verify that information
so that fraud can't be performed on those accounts. But
check fraud and wire fraud are still a major issue
here in the country. And because banks, you know, like
Heartland have been able to voice our opinions to Center
Reno and some other people in the financial services sector,
you know, we're starting to get some traction with the
(07:55):
FEDS as well.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Good Yeah, And there's just so many people that are still, like,
you know, technology adverse. They don't want to pay digitally,
they don't want to do online banking because they think
that that's not safe. And maybe there was a time
that it was a little questionable, Scott, but now it
is extremely safe. And it's funny that we've come, you know,
kind of one eighty that now writing a paper check
is more you know, rife for fraud and scams than
(08:18):
digital banking.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Mike, My first my first job in banking was to
launch an internet banking platform here at Hertlin back in
nineteen ninety nine. Okay, so that's eight years before the iPhone.
Think about that, Kay, And we had to pay people
to write an electronic check. We had a product called
bill pay that pays you. So we gave people a
dollar they could use against other products and services at
(08:42):
the bank if they paid their bills online, just to
get them to do it online, because at that point
people were still very suspect of the Internet in general.
Every's going to have my information. Oh, I'll get hacked,
I'll get well. Look today, I mean people were readily
giving all their information anybody on the Internet. It's a
truly come full circle. Just didn't you know quick twenty
six years
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