Research Finds Wealth of Information in Municipal Activity (WI Bankers Foundation)

Wisconsin Bankers Foundation Research Provides Valuable Insights in Municipal & Real Estate Activity

Wisconsin Bankers Foundation (WBF) Research Project (Sept. – Dec. 2017)

In August 2017, the Wisconsin Bankers Foundation formed a partnership with Curate - an Artificial Intelligence (AI) software company based in Madison, WI, for the purpose of studying municipal and business customer information from publicly obtained sources in the areas of real estate and finance.

The project allowed WBF to receive reports derived from the Agendas and Minutes of municipal meetings and other public records (County, City, Village, Town, School Board). The reports provides actionable market intelligence by scanning local government meeting minutes and agendas.

  • Over 70 Banks had some type of business with municipalities that was listed in public documents.
  • The information could be used to build long-term prospect lists
  • Matching the information against current customers yielded the most positive results
  • Municipalities place a great deal of descriptive information in meeting minutes - for example:

"Berry has spoken to XXX BANK to purchase a new/used Haul Truck. He received the following loan estimates based on $30,000 (+): (3) year at 2.5%, 5 year at 2.7%, 7 year at 2.9% and 9 year at 3.19%. Berry will continue to look around for trucks and is to contact XXXX and XXXXX for possible options."

The information in the reports include:

• Date the document is from (although it was posted recently, this date may vary).

• Location type (city, county, school board, etc.)

• Keyword found

• Short context (what the artificial intelligence identified around the keyword as relevant)

• Project tag (a tag on each project so upi can follow it) - for construction

• Address (if available) - for construction

• Architect/Engineer working on the project - for construction

• Simple details about type of project, size if available.

• Any relevant notes found when doing a final review of the data hits

 • And most importantly, a link back to the document


Excerpt from Weekly Report (November, 2017)


Keyword
Count
Associated Bank
1
Bank Mutual
1
blighted
2
BMO
1
bond
9
Capitol Bank
1
credit union
2
debt service
11
dilapidated
1
First Bank Financial Centre
1
foreclosure
3
Jackson County Bank
2
letter of credit
2
line of credit
10
Mayville Savings Bank
1
offering
1
Oostburg State Bank
1
Peoples Bank
1
PremierBank
2
refinance
1
residential development
2
River Bank
1
Starion Financial
1
State Bank
2
State Bank of Cross Plains
2


11.14.17 Bank Information

Sussex and Verona, Wisconsin both had 6 hits in the 11/14/17 data. The Middleton-Cross Plains area also had several hits. As a result, Dane county had the most hits at 15. Ozaukee and Waukesha combined for 15 hits. Consequently, the southcentral and southeastern were the two regions with the most hits. The three keywords with the most hits in the data set were “debt service,” “line of credit,” and “bond.”

11.14.17 Real Estate Information

Mequon, Wisconsin was the hottest spot for potential new development in the 11/14/17 data. Other cities that had several potential new real estate developments were Oak Creek and Verona. Dane and Milwaukee were the two counties with the most potential new developments, each with nine. Other counties with four or more potential developments were Ozaukee, Racine, and Waukesha. These high tallies in the Milwaukee area led to the southeast region of the state having the most potential new developments, followed by the southcentral region. The most popular project type was industrial. Other popular project types for potential new developments included multi-family, restaurant, manufacturing, retail, and office. Most of the hits in the data came in the middle of the month of November, as 32 of the 53 hits came on just the 13th and 14th and November.

"Approval of Treasurer's Monthly Report: The Treasurer's report was read by Treasurer Matuszak showing balances as of December 31, 2017 of $87,244.83 in XXXXXX BANK Checking Account, $801,907.71 in the XXXXX Bank Tax Account and $664,060.73 in XXXXXXXX BANK Investment Insured Cash Sweep Account. MOTION (Lewis/Van Asten/PASSED) to approve the Treasurer's report as presented."


What is Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning?

Artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust to new inputs and perform human-like tasks. 

AI automates repetitive learning and discovery through data. But AI is different from hardware-driven, robotic automation. Instead of automating manual tasks, AI performs frequent, high-volume, computerized tasks reliably and without fatigue. For this type of automation, human inquiry is still essential to set up the system and ask the right questions. Using these technologies, computers can be trained to accomplish specific tasks by processing large amounts of data and recognizing patterns in the data.


Interested in learning more, please contact Mike Semmann about attending a small round table on February 23, 2018 - (608) 441-1206 or msemmann@wisbank.com. 


www.curatesolutions.com


  • All new agendas & minutes from cities, counties, and school boards are gathered.
  • Artificial intelligence scans through documents to pull out relevant keywords.
  • Upcoming opportunities are tagged, filtered, and processed for additional detail.
  • Relevant opportunities and market intelligence is delivered in a weekly report.