Breaking the Internal Roadblocks
More than ever, a significant portion of FIC’s work centers on issues related to internal bank conflicts and barriers to change. Instead of looking outward to define new market segments…
Thirteen Things To Do In 2013
A New Year with new starts for all. What should banks be doing? In no particular order: 1. Remember Shakespeare. He famously wrote, “First, let’s kill all the lawyers.”…
2013: A Review
As you recall, 2012 turned out to be a better year for many banks than had been expected. In many cases additional lowering of provisions due to continually improving credits,…
Generals and Bankers
A colleague, one who served both in the Vietnam and the banking industry emailed the following: “A friend of mine who reads lots of military history observes that the officers…
The State of Small Business Banking? Miserable.
At most banks the state of the small business banking they offer, that is, their ability and willingness to serve the needs of small companies, is at its nadir. Despite…
Is Compliance Killing Innovation?
Next month, shortly after the election, I will be attending a lunch at which Chris Dodd, best known as the co-author of the famous (or infamous) Dodd-Frank law will speak…
The Generational Chasm
Banks are intensely focused on managing internal compliance requirements and external regulatory demands. Buffeted by the still largely unknown impact of Dodd-Frank and the earnings drain resulting from the Durbin…
Why Loan Sales Productivity is So Bad
Imagine if day-after-day and year-after year you threw out 40 percent or more of the food you had worked hard to buy. You have carried that food home, unpacked it,…
Back from Summer
While summers are definitely more intense from a work perspective than they were 15-20 years ago, there is no doubt that post-Labor Day marks the time when banks and their…
Rethink the Budgeting Emphasis
At some of our client banks, the budgeting process has already begun or will begin over the next few weeks. Budgeting can be a big productivity killer; we have seen…