Bank strategies need to be reviewed and revised regularly as markets, competition, and opportunities change. But many bank executives seem to view strategy like the proverbial can of worms that they want to avoid opening.
A thorough strategic review requires considering issues including the current segments served, the bank’s optimal organizational structure, and compensation, among other factors. Rather than assessing these and related areas, too often it seems easier simply to offer some more product or sales training to bankers and hope for the best. Of course, this approach has minimal impact. Strategies need to be based on a company’s strengths and philosophy rather being viewed as launching the bank off into some new world that is foreign to it. As the link to the attached BAI Banking Strategies article stresses, a bank’s best starting place for strategic thought begins with a frank and independent assessment of its greatest strengths, those characteristics that have distinguished it in the past and can provide a road for future growth.