Pub. 13 2024 Issue 4

Finding the right price for a customer’s deposits or loans can be a difficult balance. Relationship pricing involves looking at your customer’s entire relationship of loans, deposits, fee income and other products to determine the customer’s overall profitability and using this information to make strategic decisions on pricing for renewals or new products. This pricing strategy can have a significant effect on both customer relationships and your bank’s overall profitability.

As we continue to hear stories of businesses struggling to find and retain talent, it’s becoming clear that this is the new normal. Many long-time employees retired en masse during the pandemic, leaving banks and other businesses struggling to attract new talent to fill those gaps.

Skyline National Bank was seeking a solution to streamline operations across departments without disrupting company culture or overwhelming staff. Their processes were hindered by email chains, paper-heavy workflows, and
systems that created “an endless cycle of email doom.” The goal was to improve efficiency while maintaining the familiar tools and practices central to their culture.

If your goal is to retain and expand relationships, it is important to create a consistent and remarkable experience for your customers, clients and potential clients. If you are not providing a superior experience, your clients might start asking, “Then who will?”

Artificial intelligence has become the buzzword for financial services, but it’s moved beyond just hype. Today, community bankers and their partners are experimenting with AI-like tools in the predictive and generative space to support business objectives, including chatbots to offer 24/7 customer support, monitoring transaction data to spot suspicious activity, underwriting loans and more.

In the world of financial lending, institutions need to have multiple checks and balances in place to protect their assets, their customers and the future of their organization. Sadly, some individuals try to use our fair nature against us for deceptive gain. Efforts to obtain funding through fraudulent means can often be recognized during the initial application review or customer interaction. Outlined here are several methods to support your institution in recognizing fraudulent activities.

Community bankers from across Virginia gathered at Kingsmill Resort in early October for VACB’s 47th Annual Convention & Trade Show. Members enjoyed quality time together while bringing VACB’s proven formula for convention success to life. The VACB annual convention focuses on trends in the banking environment, exposure to the latest solutions provided by our Associate