Miracles In Sight’s Post

This is a great concept and is much needed in many communities. During previous stages of my career, I’ve run outsourced estate management mandates for two major high street banking networks and been involved in consultancy projects for many of the others. When arriving at a bank branch to undertake a condition survey or rental valuation, the etiquette was that you wait your turn to be seen with everybody else. For this reason, in my time, I’ve stood in many 100s of customer queues in many 100s of bank branches in diverse locations all across the UK. One of the things that I learnt from this was just what an important a part of the local community these retail banks were. I would find local businesses owners with the day’s takings, young people opening their first account, couples buying a house, travellers changing their money, older people managing their pensions and much, much, more. Let's hope that Banking Hubs can fill that gap. #cashaccess #retailbanking #community

Easily the most powerful channel - especially when you have smart people empowered with the right data. So many real-life examples of this in action https://lnkd.in/db2THm6M. For regional building societies who are continuing to invest in the high street, just as others are leaving, this has to be an incredibly powerful tool to maximise results and deliver a 'best in class' customer experience.

I have fond memories of my career at Nationwide Building Society. As Head of CRM, the mediated channels sat in my remit (as well as email, statements, DM, onsite messaging). The challenge: how to arm branch staff with up to date, data driven insights about each member in order to have an informed conversation, rather than just something transactional. Ultimately, how to make every branch (and contact centre) based engagement count. It involved continuous analysis to find member facts, gaps and opportunities, that were presented as on-screen prompts to branch staff upon authenticating a member. Back then, we called them 'ice-breakers' Things like.... - A bond worth £x matured 2 weeks ago and the balance is still in their account - This looks like an insurance renewal date - offer quote - Member should move to this savings account for a better rate - Please validate their email address - Member has been pre-approved for a credit card - Last time this member used the branch was x months ago and use the website, tell them about the app - Member is not yet paperless - Etc etc... A mix of sales and service next best actions that gave branch staff the confidence to have those types of conversations. But crunching the data, running the selections and loading them into the CRM system was one thing. Getting staff to use them was another...and it needed continuous engagement with the network. Regular roadshows and events with branch managers as well as identifying 'champions' in each region that acted as evangelists, carried out training, collected feedback and future ideas from their patches. TOP TIP: If you've got a 'free' channel in your CRM armoury - then maximise it. Especially if it's a channel that you can exploit where the customer is at that very moment 'on your estate'. These types of CRM systems carry a lot of negative baggage and battle scars where projects have cost too much and/or took too long to implement. That need not be the case! Learn about the Engagement Hub from R-cubed here: https://lnkd.in/eriB3pwF #crm #buildingsocieties #branches #contactcentres #website #engagement #insurance

✔ Noteworthy news regarding NatWest Group's acquisition of Sainsbury's Bank. It aligns with their strategic priorities to expand their retail banking business, particularly in the credit card and unsecured personal lending sectors, while it allows Sainsbury's to focus more on their core retail business operations. Will be interesting to see how it unfolds in the coming months. #RetailBanking #Aquisition #Acquisition

I got to speak to Ian Rakhit, Bankwest General Manager Third Party about how he actually talks to brokers on the phone (like Lui Nguyen) to have credit re-examine a deal. Actions like this understandably wins him (and Bankwest) fans on Finance and Coffee. So I took the opportunity to ask him what does he really think of F&C? are we helpful? Onto more serious matters we also spoke about a few things that appear to cause Brokers concern on F&C. Topics covered: o Rest and recharge over the break – Bankwest EAP for brokers o Gold rated commission structure: best clawback model in the market with flexibility after day 14 to pay a new upfront for large drawdowns. o Simple self-employed policy: Simplified document requirements for self-employed customers and improved our policy for customers who pay themselves a salary. o Improvement for investors: Changed serviceability assessments around rental income ‘haircuts’ to increase borrowing power for investors. o New digital tools co-built with brokers: Continued to invest in digital tools such as DocBox, our bespoke tool, designed for you to upload your customer’s documents quickly, easily and securely. o Hints towards what brokers can expect from Bankwest in 2024. Hayley Wheeler thanks for organising! To view the whole interview, if you are a member, jump on: https://lnkd.in/gFKfg4az

MULIT BANK ATMs POP UP IN SUPERMARKETS TO HELP SMALL FIRMS (www.thetimes.co.uk/) Small firms handling cash will be able to deposit their takings in more than 100 machines by the end of the year that will be linked to their accounts at the big high street banks. The first three multi-bank ATMs are working at sites in Atherstone, Warwickshire, Swanage in Dorset, and Heathfield, East Sussex. Seventeen should be open by the end of the month, including in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Bradford, and Billericay, Essex, with several hundred planned in the next few years. They are part of the response by the banks and industry regulators to the gap in cash handling and broader banking services to small businesses left by the rapid closure of high street branches. Some 6,005 branches have closed since 2015, according to the consumer group Which? — more than 60% of the total that were then open. #kentinvictachamber #kentbusiness #smes #ashfordfor #smallbusinessowners #cashmanagement https://lnkd.in/ennnUCPQ

Patricia Hines, Celent's Head of Corporate Banking, dives into a new report from Oliver Wyman, Celent's parent company, and Morgan Stanley Research that looks at two key forces driving change in the #WholesaleBanking industry: 1. The end of lower interest rates. 2. Potentially diverging 3 capital standards between the US and other jurisdictions, benefitting non-banks and banks outside of the US. Explore what this new insight means for the industry > https://lnkd.in/eqtSRM56

My favorite topic was covered this week in Lending! Lending is what we as credit unions do best. Shout out to Coviance and Connor Sorge for sharing knowledge and showcasing that the right fintech partner can and will elevate our game!

Patricia Hines, Celent's Head of Corporate Banking, dives into a new report from Oliver Wyman, Celent's parent company, and Morgan Stanley Research that looks at two key forces driving change in the #WholesaleBanking industry: 1. The end of lower interest rates. 2. Potentially diverging 3 capital standards between the US and other jurisdictions, benefitting non-banks and banks outside of the US. Explore what this new insight means for the industry > https://lnkd.in/eN93-twc

🌟 **Kickstarting the Week:** Excited to share insights from my role at Coronation Merchant Bank. In the dynamic world of banking, well-managed facilities are more than structures; they're strategic assets. How do you believe effective facility management contributes to a bank's success? Let's dive into the conversation! 💼🏦 #FacilityBankingInsights #mondaymotivation