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2 min read Q&A

'Plan carefully for economic fluctuations'

Commercial banking managing director Steve Eck gives insights on what construction leaders should be keeping an eye out for.
'Plan carefully for economic fluctuations'
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While it's important to stay up on regional and national trend lines, understanding how they impact enterprises closer to home is crucial, too. Commercial bankers have a unique perspective that allows them to gauge the sentiments and concerns of local business owners and contextualize the issues. We checked in with Steve Eck, managing director of commercial banking at FNBO, to find out what financial issues construction clients in Omaha, recently named the nation's top housing market, are focusing on. -Margot Lester

What's the overall mood of the Omaha business community?
Leading the commercial banking team in our community, I spend a lot of time with companies who are contemplating all stages of growth, expansion and next steps. FNBO is seeing and hearing a lot of positivity and optimism in the business community.

What are you hearing from your construction clients?
While construction businesses do not seem to be planning for recession, they continue to plan carefully for economic fluctuations, which seems to be the new “business as usual.” Balance sheets continue to show strength and backlogs of the work ahead are consistent with what we saw a year ago.

What other issues should construction leaders monitor?
One challenge for this industry, as in many others, is a continuing rise in fraudulent activity. It’s important for customers to discuss fraud trends with their bank and work together, as partners, to mitigate these threats and protect their operating accounts. A great first step would be implementing products such as check and ACH positive pay [which flags suspicious transactions before they are posted to your account]. We are consistently educating our customers on fraud trends and important tactics to protect their businesses.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

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The Level is written by Margot Lester.

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