Why Banks Can’t Deliver
Next month, I am speaking at a small business banking conference on the topic “Why Banks Can’t Deliver What Small Businesses Want.” The fact is that many small businesses believe…
Why the Heads of Small Business Fail and What to Do about It
Executive Summary: Small Business segment heads, like baseball managers, seem to have relatively short life spans. Better expectation setting, organizational clarity, and greater senior level involvement can improve prospects for…
Growing in a No Growth World
Executive Summary: Despite the slow growth economy, the best banks are increasing the bottom lines of their commercial businesses. Commercial bank management needs to refocus and reenergize its marketing efforts….
Business Banking: What Works and What Does Not
Executive Summary: The key factors in making banks successful in the business space are relatively easy to determine. Executing on them is the hard part. Here are five…
Farewell to Wachovia, Once the Best Bank in America
Executive Summary: There is little sadness for the Wachovia brand that is soon to disappear. However, heritage Wachovia, the bank of 20 years ago, was a great institution. Trying to…
Lending Battle Is Risky Business
Executive Summary: Most banks in the small business and middle market spaces continue to define themselves by their lending focus. That is a losing strategy and one that will be…
Business Banking: It’s a Small World
Executive Summary: To a large and surprising extent, banks focusing on the business banking segment face similar issues whether they are operating in Illinois or India. Many also suffer from…
Banking in a Period of Declining Revenues – Remix
Executive Summary: For the foreseeable future, U.S. banks will be operating in a relatively slow growth economy. That does not mean, however, that your bank is condemned to a slow…
Emphasize Line of Business, Not Geography, to Win in Small Business
Executive Summary: Senior bank managers wanting to grow in small business need to give greater accountability and authority to line of business heads. Geography remains important but should be focused…
Refocusing the Relationship Manager
Executive Summary: Now, more than ever, the role of the relationship manager needs to be redefined. Extraneous and lower value activities should be exorcised from job responsibilities as soon as…