Florida Banking December 2022/January 2023

BANCSERV ENDORSED PARTNER: ICI CONSULTING

BANKS: THE PATH TO SERVICE QUALITY AND MANAGING COSTS FOR THE FUTURE F L O R I D A B A N K E R S A S S O C I A T I O N

BY BRYAN T. DI LELLA, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AT ICI CONSULTING

In our efforts to continue to offer the very highest quality products, services and solutions to our member banks, the Florida Bankers Association is extremely pleased to announce our most recent endorsement, ICI Consulting, providing core and ancillary solutions. ICI Consulting has demonstrated a commitment to our industry, our association and our member banks. BancServ, Inc. is very proud to endorse ICI Consulting, a Florida-based business, and we sincerely hope you will not hesitate to consider them should the need arise.

M eet your customers where they are. I recently visited my local bank branch to conduct a routine transaction that could not be performed digitally or at the ATM.While speaking with the teller, I learned about a new product to consider. On the way out, the branch manager greeted me and held the door as I exited. We had a quick chat. She asked if all my banking needs were being met. There was even a handshake farewell. Imagine that! I left the branch feeling good about my banking relationship. As the effects of the pandemic continue to abate, the economy is faced with a new set of challenges not completely unrelated to the global health shock. Inflation at levels not seen in 40 years, slowing growth, and rising interest rates, among other conditions, are top concerns for citizens and the banking industry that serves them. In the FDIC’s Quarterly Banking Profile for the second quarter of 2022, the agency reported the following among 4,771 financial institutions over the course of one year: an increase in net interest margin, loan growth and favorable credit quality, along with a decline in net income (due to provision expense) and a moderate decline in deposits (for the first time since second quarter 2018). While the economy and thus the banking sector adjusts to these current challenges, there is one area that has not changed — delivering superior customer service. It is hard work to delight customers, but when you do, the results are great and lead to growth and enhanced profitability. In our advisory work at ICI Consulting for banks nationwide on technology solutions, we find that when vendors fail to deliver functional products with great service and support, banks often leave in favor of a vendor that will.

Of course, there is more than one way to deliver superior customer service. Before and certainly through the course of the pandemic, we have seen the increased demand for access to banking services through digital channels. The rapid adoption of Digital Banking has exacerbated the need for banks to have responsive and innovative digital and mobile offerings. Indeed, the pandemic accelerated the use of such channels among a rising set of customers who may not have interacted with their financial institution in this manner before. For banks that are really tuned into their customer base, it is obvious that effective digital channels, and even in-branch customer service, must be a part of current and future strategy. This is the contemporary path to service quality for those banks and they are prepared to invest in it. Notably, service quality is mostly the result of the management and philosophy of the bank. As with most any business, customers want to see that their bank cares: that it values the relationship and understands the customers’ needs regardless of where and when interaction takes place. If banks embrace this intense customer focus, they will forge new paths to service quality. One ICI Consulting client that kept its branches open and operational boldly stated: “We never had to ask our customers to make an appointment to visit a branch.” In part, service will only be as good as the software tools banks use to implement Digital Banking. Therefore, a comprehensive survey of the institution’s requirements and a rigorous evaluation of current offerings is demanding the attention of bank executives to be competitive in the market, responsive to existing customers and in a position to attract new ones. Banks must look ahead to a time when the economy stabilizes,

14 — FLORIDA BANKING THE VOICE OF FLORIDA BANKING