Oh, Autumn. The changing of the leaves, the crispness of the morning air... and the crunching of numbers?
Yep. We're bankers. It's what we do. And fall, it's the perfect time for some of our favorite - and most crucial - banking activities.
Here are the 3 game-changing activities Plansmith recommends starting as early as possible in the fall:
Most of us hate planning. So why would I want to start now, when I could wait until the usual time next year?
Actually, there are two great reasons to plan early and often:
For almost 50 years, Plansmith has helped financial institutions remove the stress from budgeting and interest rate risk.
As customer preferences and regulatory challenges progress, we create new solutions to complement our core in-house budgeting and IRR solutions.
Are you familiar with all of the ways Plansmith helps financial institutions like yours?
As a company passionate about the value of planning, we have our own strategic plan. Like most, we would gather for a few days every year to review our mission and vision, discuss our market opportunities, develop objectives, determine action plans, and assign responsibilities. But, I am ashamed to admit, just like many companies we never really executed as well as we should for a number of reasons.
I have been in the banking industry since 1979, and on March 22, 2018 I received a copy of something that I never thought I would see that made me say out loud, “It’s about time!”
It was a letter to Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. The content of that letter was to express strong support for bill S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act. What surprised me was that it was signed by the presidents and CEOs of 4 financial trade associations, comprised of both banks and credit unions.
The saddest thing I see with banks and credit unions is probably not what you'd think.
It's not a lack of passion for people, or even a disparate set of products that fail to match up with customer needs. In fact, banks and credit unions excel at both of these and they play a big role in creating a unique customer experience.
I could continue to list things, but you still wouldn't guess. Why? Because it's something we don't even think about it's so foreign to us.
Garry Kasparov. You might only know him as a former world chess champion; perhaps the greatest of all time.
Why does strategic planning matter? Jim Fugitte, Director of Strategic Advisory Services, explains that banks with a strategy outperform their peers – when they execute the plan.
Don't let your bank fall victim to outdated preconceptions of strategy. Traditionally, strategy has been made out to be a big, scary word. It sounds daunting, dark, and almost threatening. Or, at the very least, kind of boring. But what you're thinking of is the strategic planning of the past.
Make strategic planning a priority that your team will take ownership of in a positive way. Here's how to put a fresh twist on your institution's strategy.
With so many different community banks offering so many different products, banks often ask us how they can better compete on product offerings. If a bank is offering two checking accounts with no monthly fee, three with rewards, and one with insurance, what should a competitive bank offer in response?