Charles Wendel

Customer meeting

Article

The key to discovering your customers’ digital needs: Asking

Dec 2, 2019

By Charles Wendel
When we recently interviewed ten customers of lending institutions — all business clients from small and middle-market companies — they cut through the noise. They gave direct comments, frankly revealed their experiences, and, yes, sometimes even […]
Consumer Banking / Digital Banking
Customer Service

Article

Free to check in: Should banks build multi-brands like hotel chains do?

Jul 15, 2019

By Charles Wendel
Hotel chains such as Marriott International—with multiple brands under a corporate umbrella—can provide bank marketers for with the ultimate destination for fresh ideas. Here’s why: Hotel chains often have a lock on maintaining customer satisfaction even […]
Consumer Banking / Marketing & Sales
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Article

An environment of change: The positive promise of green banking

Jun 13, 2019

By Charles Wendel
Listen closely: A faint drumbeat builds in intensity and volume. Listen closely: You can hear consumer activists, politicians, commentators from the left and right, and competitors as they highlight what they view as the improper actions […]
Consumer Banking
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Article

Answer these ten questions to win the deposit growth game

May 17, 2019

By Charles Wendel
If a “secret sauce” exists to improve bank performance, it’s likely via capturing and retaining low-cost deposits. Low-cost funds feed a strong net interest margin and allow lenders to maintain a strong discipline and avoid higher […]
Consumer Banking
digital revolution

Article

Where do banks stand in the digital revolution?

Apr 12, 2019

By Charles Wendel
Bureaucratic by nature and subject to an increasingly complex tangle of internal compliance and external regulation, banks approach change cautiously—especially when it impacts how customers interact with them. And with digitization, it’s hardly any different. While […]
Consumer Banking / Digital Banking
digital customer

Article

Put on your rethinking caps: Relationship banking in a digital era

Mar 15, 2019

By Charles Wendel
Generational shifts and the digital revolution have come to the financial services industry, changing how a good number of customers view a banking “relationship.” If nothing else, banks have remained consistent. They continue to prize traditional […]
Consumer Banking / Technology
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Article

The long and winning road: From FinTech diligence to partner confidence

Jun 8, 2017

By Charles Wendel
Financial services organizations are used to increased regulatory requirements for FinTech and other vendors—so accustomed, in fact, that the established due diligence review process to assesses a vendor’s capabilities now reads like a regulation laundry list. […]
Compliance, Regulation & Risk / Technology
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Article

Success factors for fixing the bank

Jul 22, 2016

By Charles Wendel
When channel switching on TV, I always tend to linger on three programs: Kitchen Nightmares with the always-profane Gordon Ramsey, Restaurant: Impossible with Robert Irvine, and Bar Rescue with Jon Taffer. Each host operates as a […]
Consumer Banking / Marketing & Sales / Talent & Workforce Management
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Article

A closer look at alternative lenders

Jun 3, 2016

By Charles Wendel
Over the past year, the alternative lending industry has taken several steps forward and, then, a big leap backward. The most notable step forward centers on the relationship between OnDeck Capital and JPMorgan Chase & Co. […]
Business Banking / Compliance, Regulation & Risk / Consumer Banking / Customer Experience / Marketing & Sales / Technology
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Article

Ten steps to succeed with microbusinesses

May 2, 2016

By Charles Wendel
Microbusinesses, defined as firms with annual revenues of less than $1 million, constitute 90% of all businesses and thus represent a significant opportunity for banks. But given the small size of loans involved in this segment, […]
Business Banking / Consumer Banking / Customer Experience / Marketing & Sales
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Article

Checklist for small business banking success

Apr 14, 2016

By Charles Wendel
“Why should we bother with small businesses? Your own numbers say most banks lose money from small business loans.” – Retail bank head, Northeast “We are much more interested in the middle market than small businesses. […]
Business Banking / Consumer Banking / Marketing & Sales