Most business owners figure fraud is something that happens to other people.
Sarah Hamadalla, a Relationship Manager in Business Banking at Valley Bank, said that’s exactly the problem.
“I think a lot of people, consumer and business clients, don’t think that fraud will happen to them,” she said. “They think it’ll happen to everyone but them.”
Her advice is simple: get protection in place before anything goes wrong. Valley can set alerts that flag unusual transactions so a business owner can approve or decline them before the money leaves the account, Hamadalla said.
“It’s always easier to prevent than correct,” she said.
Her colleague Stephen Kuhnert, a Relationship Manager based in Paramus, deals with a different kind of risk. Some clients are tempted to let their loan rates float and bet that rates will fall. He’s not so sure. Kuhnert said Valley is projecting rate increases over the next year, so he tells business owners to lock in what they can.
“Do you want to run your business like you’re playing the stock market, or do you want to run your business knowing what your costs are?” he asked, then answered. “We can help create certainty.”
Frede Castrovinci, Valley’s New Jersey Regional President for Middle Market Commercial and Business Banking, said the bank tries to hit a sweet spot.
“Valley’s big enough to deliver and small enough to care,” he said.
Valley, the largest bank headquartered in New Jersey, has about 120 branches in the state and roughly 230 nationwide. It turns 100 in 2027.
Here’s more of the conversation, edited for length and clarity.
BINJE: Sarah, let’s start with fraud. What should business owners be thinking about?
SARAH HAMADALLA: I think business owners need to protect their companies and their accounts. Have something in place before fraud happens. It’s always easier to prevent than correct. When we speak to any clients, we try to talk about fraud and how they can protect their account and their assets.
BINJE: When most people think about fraud protection, they think of a cybersecurity firm or a lawyer, not their bank. How can a bank help before something goes wrong?
HAMADALLA: At Valley, we can set different fraud protections on your account that would alert you right away if you have an unusual transaction, where you can approve it or decline it before the money even leaves your account.
BINJE: What’s something people don’t think about that would help them a lot?
HAMADALLA: I think a lot of people, consumer and business, don’t think that fraud will happen to them. It’ll happen to everyone but them. So, just having a layer of security like notifications, alerts, ACH positive pay, check positive pay … just fraud protection, so that they can approve or decline without the money leaving the account.
BINJE: Fraud protection is one piece. What happens when you sit down with a new client?
FRED CASTROVINCI: Sarah, when she meets with clients, performs a comprehensive relationship review, a side-by-side to look at everything they have set up on the lending, for their cash flow management, equipment finance — are we maximizing efficiency with day-to-day banking? And we’ll compare what they have today with what we would set them up for. That happens with every relationship that we’ll touch.
BINJE: Stephen, let’s talk interest rates. What are you hearing from clients?
STEPHEN KUHNERT: We work closely with our clients to determine their goals and needs including how to navigate the current interest rate environment. We offer them the ability to lock in rates with creative products that give their budgets and forecasting certainty.
BINJE: Is that a good bet?
KUHNERT: If you’re running a business, especially a large middle market business, you want to fix as many costs as you can. What we recommend is that if you’re uncomfortable and you think that rates are going to go down, maybe you fix for just a shorter period of time. Let’s say three years as opposed to five years. So, at least you hedge yourself with the interest rate, because a lot of the noise out of the Fed, and even with the last meeting, was that perhaps rates will go up, and we’re projecting that there will be rate increases over the next year. It makes sense to kind of fix as many costs as you can.
BINJE: There’s also an election that could change things in ways nobody can predict. How do you help businesses that want certainty?
KUHNERT: Do you want to run your business like you’re playing the stock market, or do you want to run your business knowing what your costs are? It’s best to create certainty.
BINJE: Sarah, Valley is a Jersey bank. Does that help when you sit down with a Jersey business?
HAMADALLA: It’s easy to say, ‘Yes,’ because we are everywhere in New Jersey. But I think our main focus is our relationship-based, community banking feel. It’s all about being in the community, going out, volunteering. It certainly benefits us to be the largest bank headquartered in New Jersey, but how we leverage that is even more impactful.
BINJE: Stephen, what does being local mean when it comes to getting a loan done?
KUHNERT: We like to emphasize that the key decision makers, especially on the lending side, are based in New Jersey. And for a lot of our other states, Florida, Alabama, we try to put key decision makers locally. So, you’re not have the application going to upstate New York, Ohio or somewhere in the Midwest where there’s an underwriting team. You’re getting the decision makers that know your market. That regional expertise is important.
