Increasing Revenue: The One Thing Senior Management Should Do
This is an unsettled economic environment for banks. Generating growth on the bottom line is tougher than ever; ironically, senior management seems to have too many, rather than too few,…
Reengineering: It’s Back . . . And This Time It’s Better
Bank reengineering was a major business fad during much of the 1990s. As originally described by Michael Hammer and James Champy in their 1993 book Reengineering the Corporation, it involved…
The Road Ahead in 2006
Here is what some industry observers and bankers are saying about the outlook for banks in 2006: “65% of bankers surveyed nationwide say they are pessimistic or neutral on the…
Where Are the Profits in 2006?
The New Year brings with it the end of the era of easy money in banking. By this we mean that some of the foundations of revenue growth and profitability…
Resolving Account Misalignment
Our last newsletter discussed a phenomenon that we see impacting commercial banking, wealth management, and other areas within banks: account misalignment. Account misalignment occurs when bankers spend significant time managing…
Account Misalignment Destroys Bank Growth and Profitability
In past months, we have worked with banks, large and small, in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa. When we assess our clients’ portfolios, no matter their geography or size,…
Is Your Organization Passive Aggressive?
October’s Harvard Business Review highlights an organizational issue that impacts a number of our clients. The article, an outgrowth of a Booz Allen Hamilton survey of 30,000 individuals, states…
The Increasing Competition for Commercial Loans, Part 2
In our last newsletter, we discussed some of the key messages arising from the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation’s State of the Industry Report and its potential implications for the…
Commercial Lending: The Competitive Environment Remains
For the past several years, FIC has worked with the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation (ELFF) to prepare its annual State of the Industry Report. Based on surveys of more…
The Continued Destructiveness of Silos Within Banks
Organizational and cultural silos continue to exist within most financial services players. Silos sap energy and distract employees from serving customers and combating competitors; instead, they lead to a focus…