By Al Dominick, CEO of DirectorCorps — parent co. to Bank Director & FinXTech
Quickly
- Key takeaways from one of my favorite summer banking events, Crowe Horwath’s Bank Leadership and Profitability Improvement Conference.
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This morning, on the first of my two flights from Washington National to Monterey, California, I learned that Walmart customers might soon be able to get installment loans for big-ticket items through Affirm, a San Francisco-based FinTech I first wrote about in 2014 (For Banks, the Sky IS Falling). Per the Wall Street Journal, the companies reportedly are nearing an agreement on a pilot program. This potential partnership caught my eye as I prepared for today and tomorrow’s conference. Indeed, relationships like these make clear that when it comes to growth and efficiency, the digital distribution of financial goods and services is a significant issue for the banking industry.
This idea took further shape when I walked into the conference center at the Inn at Spanish Bay. Immediately upon entering the room, I found John Epperson, a partner at Crowe and Jay Tuli, senior vice president retail banking and residential lending at Leader Bank, sharing their opinions on partnership strategies involving banks and FinTechs. From the stage, they touched on increasing net interest margins via improved pricing strategies on commercial loans, approaches to streamline mortgage application processes, ideas to reduce staff counts for loan administration processes and how to improve customer experiences through online rent payment solutions.
Their perspectives lined up with those we recently shared on BankDirector.com. To wit, “many banks have realized advantages of bank-FinTech partnerships, including access to assets and customers. Since most community banks serve discreet markets, even a relatively simple loan purchase arrangement can unlock new customer relationships and diversify geographic concentrations of credit. Further, a FinTech partnership can help a bank serve its legacy customers; for instance, by enabling the bank to offer small dollar loans to commercial customers that the bank might not otherwise be able to efficiently originate on its own.”
Of all the difficult issues that bank leadership must deal with, I am inclined to place technology at the top of the list. Banks have long been reliant on technology to run their operations, but in recent years, technology has become a primary driver of retail and small business banking strategy. John and Jay simply reinforced this belief.
In addition to their thoughts on collaboration, this afternoon’s sessions focused on ‘Liquidity and Balance Sheet Management,’ ‘Fiscal Policy During Regulatory Uncertainty’ and ‘Managing Your Brand in a Digital World.’ While I took note of a number of issues, three points really stood out:
- Yes, banks can make money while managing decreasing margins and a flat yield curve.
- Asset growth without earnings growth is a concern for many because of loan pricing.
- How a CFO sets a target(s) for interest rate risk may start with an “it depends” type response — but gets nuanced quickly thereafter.
Finally, I’m not holding my breath on the industry receiving regulatory relief any time soon. I get the sense many here aren’t either. But it would be nice to see some business people brought in to run various agencies and I’m looking forward to the perspectives of tomorrow’s first guest speaker, Congressman John Ratcliffe.
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My thanks to Crowe Horwath, Stifel, Keefe Bruyette & Woods + Luse Gorman for putting together this year’s Bank Leadership and Profitability Improvement Conference at The Inn at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach, California. I’ll check in with additional takeaways based on tomorrow’s presentations.
About That Ratio 