Scale and the Community Bank

October 21, 2024Posted inStrategy
A perennial topic at our forums in recent years has been M&A activities. Of course, every attendee is expected to be the acquirer, not the acquired. All mentioned scale is a critical competitive advantage in a consolidating industry where compliance and technology demands grow exponentially. In the distant past, the definition of “scale” was simple: whatever size you’re at, doubling it within 3-5 years will provide the scale you needed, whether you’re $100MM in assets…

THE WEALTH BUSINESS – PART TWO

September 29, 2024Posted inWealth Management
Part One of this article highlighted the opportunities embedded in the Wealth business to generate coveted fee income and increase franchise value for your bank. The grim reality, though, is that many banks with a Wealth vertical found the business lacking in terms of overall contribution to the entire enterprise, either in profitability or in deposits. This part will tackle some of the underlying causes for the disappointments many CEOs have expressed with the business,…

THE WEALTH BUSINESS – PART ONE

September 11, 2024Posted inUncategorized, Wealth Management
Last week, our forum season started with the CFO group. One topic that was of interest to all was the wealth business. It’s a fee-income business with outstanding customer loyalty (average attrition is only 5%, and many enjoy a 2-3% attrition). It is subject to market vagaries, which is unfortunate, but overall, it can be very attractive. Unfortunately, the business has a few major problems: ·                     Most strong wealth advisors are poor salespeople, so organic growth…