September 30, 2026 - Economic Insider

Manja Horner: The Leadership Fix That Protects Company Profits When the Market Shifts

Economic Insider Staff on September 30, 2026

By: Ethan Rogers

Tariffs on concrete, softwood, aluminum, and steel are raising material costs on both sides of the US-Canada border. Contractors locked into previously bid contracts are absorbing those cost increases directly into their margins, with no easy way to pass them on. At the same time, higher interest rates and taxation have stalled new residential starts and large project investments, forcing crews to pivot away from new-build work in many locations and toward repair and renovation. Two market shifts are hitting at once, and most companies are trying to survive them with the same leadership approach that got them through more predictable years.

That approach won’t hold through this stretch of market uncertainty. According to Manja Horner, the fix that actually protects profit through this kind of disruption is leadership.

Stopping Margin Leakage: Rework and Mistakes

When material costs spike mid-contract, the immediate instinct is to look for savings in labor, execution, or overhead. That instinct is correct, but finding those efficiencies requires identifying where time and money are actually being lost on a job site. Hidden costs are lurking in everyday operations.

Contractors can save significant percentages on their margin simply by eliminating rework and preventable mistakes. When workers lack clear direction or proper training, errors happen, work has to be done twice, and materials are wasted. Giving crews clear instruction and job-specific training upfront ensures work is done correctly the first time, keeping profit margins intact.

Training Supervisors to Lead, Not Just Execute

The biggest operational gap on most job sites is frontline leadership. Foremen and site supervisors are the ones who can spot inefficiencies, plan daily execution, and manage resources to keep projects on track. Yet many supervisors were never trained to think this way.

Most frontline leaders were promoted because they were great on the tools, not because they knew how to manage people or projects. They may have been trained to execute linear, new-build work, not to problem-solve their way through unpredictable conditions or communicate effectively under pressure. To protect margins, supervisors need formal training in core leadership skills: how to communicate clearly, manage performance, give constructive feedback, and delegate properly.

Building a Speak-Up Culture for Safety and Efficiency

Preventing costly surprises on site requires a workplace culture where all crew members feel safe raising concerns, young and old, men and women. Unplanned site shutdowns, safety violations, and inefficient work habits eat away at project profits rapidly.

Contractors must build an environment where everyone, especially younger hires and apprentices, are actively encouraged to speak up. When a worker feels safe asking a question when they are unsure or pointing out an unsafe or wasteful process, the company avoids expensive mistakes before they happen. Safety and operational efficiency go hand in hand.

Protecting the Owner’s Time

Company owners and senior executives represent the most expensive labor on the payroll. For a business to stay profitable, leadership time must be spent on high-value tasks that drive revenue and long-term growth.

Every time a business owner gets pulled onto a job site to put out operational fires or do manual work, margin is lost. When frontline supervisors are properly trained to run sites independently, owners can step back from troubleshooting and focus entirely on securing new business, building strategy, and keeping the company profitable.

The Real Advantage in a Compressed Market

Every leader in this market is dealing with the same tariffs, high interest rates, and shifting project demands. The companies that protect their margins will not be the ones hunting for minor supplier discounts. They will be the ones that equip their supervisors to run tight job sites, build strong team communication, and protect the owner’s time.

It is a leadership fix, and it is the one competitive advantage that cannot be easily copied.

Bank of America Adds AI Analytics to Corporate Treasury

Economic Insider Staff 2 on September 30, 2026

Bank of America has introduced Payments Insights, an AI-powered feature for corporate treasury teams using its CashPro platform. The tool analyzes payment activity, cross-border transactions and working-capital performance, giving businesses data-based insights into financial operations and payment efficiency through the bank’s corporate banking technology.

Key Takeaways

Bank of America launched Payments Insights within its CashPro Data Intelligence platform.
The AI-powered tool analyzes payment efficiency, cross-border activity and working-capital performance.
Corporate clients can compare payment performance against industry benchmarks.
CashPro processed 213 million payments during the first half of 2026, according to Bank of America.
The capability adds another AI-based tool to Bank of America’s treasury technology offerings.

Bank of America Introduces Payments Insights for Corporate Treasurers

The new Payments Insights capability gives corporate treasury teams access to AI-powered analysis of payment activity through Bank of America’s CashPro platform. The feature is designed to examine payment information and provide businesses with data related to payment efficiency, cross-border activity and working capital.

Payments Insights is part of CashPro Data Intelligence, the bank’s platform for corporate financial data and analytics. The new capability places payment information within an analytical tool that can help treasury teams examine their payment operations.

The feature covers payment activity across corporate accounts and provides information that can be used to assess financial operations. Its scope includes payment efficiency, cross-border transactions and working-capital performance.

Bank of America has positioned the tool for corporate and commercial treasury users. These teams manage payment flows and other financial activities that require access to transaction information and operational analysis.

The introduction adds an AI-powered analytical function to the CashPro platform rather than creating a separate treasury product. Clients using CashPro can access Payments Insights as part of the platform’s broader data and analytics capabilities.

The development also comes as banks place greater emphasis on AI cybersecurity risks while integrating advanced artificial intelligence into financial operations.

AI Analytics Expands Across the CashPro Platform

Payments Insights joins other AI-based capabilities available through Bank of America’s CashPro technology. The platform has incorporated tools covering areas such as cash forecasting, capital-markets insights, security analytics and search.

The addition of payment analytics gives treasury users another category of financial information to analyze through CashPro. Payment data can include information associated with transaction activity, payment methods and cross-border flows.

Bank of America reported that CashPro processed 213 million payments during the first half of 2026. That figure provides the operating scale of the platform through which Bank of America is introducing its additional analytics capabilities.

Payments Insights is focused specifically on information derived from payment activity. Its inclusion within CashPro Data Intelligence connects payment analysis with the broader financial information available through the corporate banking platform.

The tool also gives treasury teams access to information about working-capital performance. Working capital is directly connected to the timing and management of business cash flows, making payment activity one component of the information finance teams monitor.

The platform’s analytical functions are intended to reduce the amount of manual work involved in reviewing payment information. Payments Insights instead provides a structured way for corporate users to examine payment-related data through CashPro.

The introduction also fits within a broader shift toward real-time payment systems, which is increasing the importance of faster transaction data, automation and analytics across banking operations.

Payments Insights Analyzes Transactions and Working Capital

Payments Insights analyzes several categories of information relevant to corporate treasury operations. Payment efficiency is one of the areas covered by the tool, allowing clients to examine information related to how payments are processed.

Cross-border transactions are another focus. Companies operating across multiple markets can have payment activity involving different countries and transaction flows. Payments Insights provides analytical information on those activities within the CashPro environment.

The capability also examines working-capital performance. This gives treasury teams another financial measure to review alongside payment activity and transaction information.

Bank of America said the tool can help clients identify patterns involving payment methods, currencies, cross-border transactions and working capital. The analysis is presented through the bank’s corporate financial technology rather than requiring treasury teams to assemble the information separately.

Payments Insights also uses dynamic visualizations to present payment-related information. The format gives corporate users a way to examine data through visual representations rather than relying solely on individual transaction records.

The tool is therefore structured around analysis of existing payment information. Its purpose is to provide corporate treasury users with a consolidated view of payment-related data and associated performance measures.

The addition of payment analytics also gives treasury teams information that can be used when reviewing operational processes. Payment efficiency and working-capital performance are both areas in which finance teams track financial activity and assess business operations.

Corporate Clients Gain Payment Performance Benchmarks

Payments Insights includes benchmarking capabilities that allow corporate clients to compare payment performance against industry standards. The comparison provides a reference point for businesses reviewing their payment activity.

Benchmarking is presented through dynamic visualizations within the platform. Clients can use the information to examine payment performance in relation to relevant industry benchmarks.

The benchmarking function adds an external reference to the analysis of a company’s payment activity. Instead of viewing payment information only at the individual company level, treasury users can also compare performance against industry standards available through the platform.

The feature covers payment efficiency and other payment-related measures. This gives treasury teams additional information when reviewing transaction operations and financial processes.

Cross-border activity is also included in the analysis. Businesses with international payment operations can examine information about those transactions alongside other payment data within CashPro.

The combination of payment analysis and benchmarking places operational information and comparative data within the same corporate treasury tool. Users can examine payment activity while also accessing industry-based performance references.

Bank of America has also linked the tool to working-capital analysis. This gives treasury teams access to payment and financial-performance information through the same CashPro Data Intelligence environment.

The availability of these functions within one platform reduces the need to treat payment activity and related financial measures as separate analytical subjects. Payments Insights brings those categories together within CashPro for corporate users.

Bank of America Expands AI-Based Treasury Capabilities

The Payments Insights launch adds another AI-based capability to Bank of America’s corporate treasury technology. CashPro already includes tools for cash forecasting, capital-markets insights, security analytics and search, while the new feature adds payment-performance analysis.

The platform’s payment volume provides context for the new capability. Bank of America reported 213 million payments processed through CashPro during the first half of 2026, representing the activity handled through the corporate banking platform.

Payments Insights focuses on turning payment activity into information that corporate treasury teams can analyze. Its functions cover payment efficiency, cross-border transactions, working capital and industry benchmarking.

The feature also extends the use of AI analytics into specific treasury operations. Rather than focusing only on general financial information, the tool is designed around payment data and the performance measures associated with corporate transactions.

For treasury teams, the available information covers several operational areas within one CashPro capability. Users can examine payment activity, review cross-border transactions, assess working-capital performance and compare payment results with industry benchmarks.

Bank of America’s introduction of Payments Insights therefore adds payment analytics to the existing set of data and AI capabilities available through CashPro. The feature is designed for corporate and commercial users managing payment and treasury operations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Bank of America Payments Insights?

Payments Insights is an AI-powered capability within Bank of America’s CashPro Data Intelligence platform. It analyzes corporate payment activity, cross-border transactions, working-capital performance and payment efficiency.

How does Payments Insights support corporate treasury teams?

The tool gives treasury teams analytical information about payment operations through CashPro. It also provides industry benchmarks that clients can use to compare payment performance.

What financial data does Payments Insights analyze?

Payments Insights analyzes payment activity, including information related to payment efficiency and cross-border transactions. It also provides analysis of working-capital performance.

Is Payments Insights part of Bank of America CashPro?

Yes. Payments Insights is part of CashPro Data Intelligence, Bank of America’s corporate financial data and analytics platform.

How many payments did CashPro process in the first half of 2026?

Bank of America reported that CashPro processed 213 million payments during the first half of 2026.