Bank News

First Bank & Trust Company, a diversified financial services firm, today announced an increase in employee pay.  The decision by First Bank & Trust Company is the result of the recent passage of the  $1.5 trillion  tax overhaul reducing the federal corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent.  As an initial step, First Bank & Trust Company is giving back 30 percent of the tax savings to employees by immediately increasing the minimum hourly salary rate to no less than  $15  an hour. William H. Hayter, President & CEO, First Bank & Trust Company "The new corporate tax rate provides us with the opportunity to take care of our employees, who are our most important asset,"  First Bank & Trust Company President and CEO  William H. Hayter  said in a statement.  "By reinvesting in our employees, we are putting money back into the communities we serve and energizing the economy. It's a wi...

Q:   What is a Mortgage Loan? A:   A loan for the purchase or refinance of real property, secured by a lien on the property. Mortgage Loan Uses There are two main uses of a mortgage loan:   to purchase a home or refinance a home.   A purchase is straightforward; you borrow the amount of money requested at application, and then pay it back over time.   The mortgage loan can be used to purchase the following: A primary residence (a home you are going to live in). A second home (a home that you will live in part of the year away from your primary residence) An investment property Refinancing is for borrowers that already own a home who want to change or improve their current mortgage loan.   A person can refinance for the following purposes: To get a lower interest rate and/or shorten the term ( term : the time it takes to pay off the mortgage loan). To take cash out of their home for home improvements To take cash out their home to payo...

Many college grads put off buying a home simply because they face mountains of student debt. The amount people owe on student loans has increased astronomically in the past decade, breaking the $30,000 average per borrower in 2014. While many grads feel they can’t afford a home until they finish repaying these loans, but that isn’t actually always the case. In many instances, individuals and couples who owe student loans can still qualify for a mortgage. Take Stock of Finances & Calculate Your DTI One way lenders calculate whether you can afford a mortgage loan is by looking at how your total debt would compare to your current monthly income. This is known as your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. Most lenders use a DTI threshold of 36%, meaning your payments on your debt, including student loans, credit card debt, and a mortgage, should be less than 36% of your total monthly income. For instance, if your total income each month is $5000 and you make payments of $250 ...

Q:   How important is my credit when applying for a mortgage? A:   VERY! And here is why. What is a Credit Report? According to annualcreditreport.com , it is an organized list of information related to credit activity.   What does this mean? Well, the three credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, receive the information from businesses that lend to you.   These businesses report things like: the date the loan began the original amount of the loan current balance current payment history   This information is reported to one or more of the three credit reporting agencies and is put into an organized list that reflects your borrowing activity. Where does my score come from? The information from your credit report is fed into a mathematical formula that analyzes your information and generates a score.   This score indicates how likely you are to pay your bills in the future.   The mathematical formulas for e...

Whether it’s nestled between mountains, overlooking white sands along the beach or simply out in the middle of nowhere, a vacation home can be a great way to get away from the doldrums of your everyday routine. As with most real estate properties, a mortgage is usually used to finance vacation property purchases. These mortgages function much the same as any other type of real estate financing, though there are a few key points to consider. The nature of investing in a second property can have a tremendous impact on how you go about obtaining financing, and it could be more difficult to qualify for favorable rates. Here, we’ll go over a few of the main factors you’ll need to be aware of when purchasing a vacation home. Debt-to-Income Ratio Among the differences between getting a mortgage for a vacation home and a traditional mortgage is the impact it will have on your debt-to-income ratio. This ratio is, put simply, the amount of debt you have compared to how much income you ma...

One of the biggest advantages that First Bank & Trust has over other banks is the ability to enroll in our comprehensive Mobile Banking program. By enrolling in our Mobile Banking program , you'll be able to download several apps, which will allow you to do much of your banking remotely on your smartphone. Mobile Banking With First Bank & Trust The very first thing to do before you can download our Mobile Banking app to your phone is to enroll in Online Banking . Doing so is as easy as filling out our secure Online Banking form. Once you've done this, you'll be able to do all of your banking online via your computer. If you want to take advantage of our free mobile banking capabilities, sign in to your Online Banking profile via your computer. Then follow these steps to activate mobile banking capabilities: Click on the options tab Click on the mobile settings tab Check "enable mobile access for your mobile device" Choose to rec...

If you've had time to look over some of the advantages of opening up an account with First Bank & Trust, then you've noticed the many perks that we offer. However, you may not be sure if you want to go through the hassle of switching accounts. As everyone knows, changing accounts takes a lot of time and effort - at least, it used to. This is no longer the case with ClickSWITCH . What is ClickSWITCH? ClickSWITCH is a service that was specifically designed to make it easy for people to switch accounts from one financial institution to another. The way it works is simple. You log in to the ClickSWITCH portal; through that portal, you'll then choose any direct deposits going to your old account as well as any automatic payments you have set up at your old account. You can then switch them to your new account. The entire process takes as little as ten minutes to complete. This eliminates the amount of time and effort that it would have taken to in...