Timing doesn’t just affect leverage.

It can cost — or save — shareholders seven figures without changing a single deal term.

In this episode, Kurt Knutson introduces the Golden Window — a specific, measurable 18-month cycle where regulatory timing and core contract structure align to dramatically increase leverage.

This episode builds directly on the Strategic Window and shows how tactical timing decisions quietly determine outcomes long before any strategic conversation begins.

What You’ll Learn

• What the Golden Window is — and why it’s different from the Strategic Window
• How exam timing and core contracts quietly control leverage
• The million-dollar math behind contract termination timing
• Why ancillary addendums can silently extend contracts
• How to manage all of this without triggering speculation or alarm

What Defines the Golden Window

The Golden Window occurs when:

• Major Safety & Soundness, BSA, and IT exams are complete
• Core contracts are 18–24 months from expiration

When these align, leverage increases — quietly and materially.

The Million-Dollar Difference

Same bank.
Same buyer.
Same valuation.

Only timing changes.

A core contract with 60 months remaining can cost over $1.6 million to exit.
With 12 months remaining, that cost can drop to roughly $324,000.

That difference comes from timing — not negotiation.

How to Protect Leverage Without Alarm

• Make core contract and addendum review part of routine vendor management
• Bring termination and exit considerations to the board annually
• Treat it as governance, not preparation

This one habit alone preserves leverage most CEOs never realize they lost.

Key Takeaway

The Strategic Window is long-term positioning.
The Golden Window is tactical execution.

When the two align, you don’t rush decisions —
you command them.

Resource Mentioned

📊 Community Bank Value™ Strategic Readiness Score
A brief, eight-question diagnostic designed to help you assess how positioned your bank is today — discreet and obligation-free.
👉 Linked in the show notes

What’s Next

Timing creates leverage.
But valuation determines how that leverage gets used.

Next episode:
Episode 006 — “Bank Valuation Myths: Why Multiples Mislead CEOs”

Because the CEO who understands all five valuation approaches controls the conversation.

About the Show

The Community Bank Value™ Playbook is a weekly video and audio series for community bank CEOs who want to understand their strategic position before anyone asks the question out loud.

About Kurt Knutson

Kurt Knutson is a founder, former CEO, and chairman of a community bank. He brings lived experience — not theory — to help CEOs lead with clarity, confidence, and control.