Kenneth Cline

As managing editor of BAI Banking Strategies, Kenneth has the unique role in providing key insights to the financial industry. Kenneth had a long background in financial services journalism as banking reporter for the Atlanta Business Chronicle, bureau chief for American Banker and editor of Southern Banker magazine before joining BAI in 1996. He previously did general assignment reporting for newspapers in Indiana, Massachusetts and South Carolina.

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Editor’s note: A look back at two decades of BAI Banking Strategies

Jul 7, 2016

By Kenneth Cline
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as managing editor of BAI Banking Strategies for the last two decades. During that time, we’ve witnessed some tremendous change in the financial services industry, from […]
Consumer Banking

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Robert Herjavec of Shark Tank on funding innovation

Oct 11, 2015

By Kenneth Cline
As banks look ahead to 2016, they face a challenging environment of low interest rates continuing to suppress net interest margins and an increasing regulatory burden that raises compliance costs and restricts fee income. Even so, […]
Fraud Prevention / Technology

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Cam Marston on banking the Millennials

Oct 5, 2015

By Kenneth Cline
Bankers well understand the importance of the Millennials (born 1980 to 2000) to their future business. They are, after all, the next generation coming through the pipeline, following Generation X (1965-1979) and the Baby Boomers (1946-1964). […]
Consumer Banking / Digital Banking / Marketing & Sales / Technology

Article

New and renew for continuous innovation

Sep 28, 2015

By Kenneth Cline
Even as banks across the globe accelerate their innovation in mobile, big data and social channels, they also face the need to renew the legacy system infrastructures that often prevent them from taking full advantage of […]
Technology

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Barbara Corcoran on funding innovation

Sep 8, 2015

By Kenneth Cline
Most bank executives, at some point in their career, need to go before their boss to pitch an idea for a new project and, presumably, ask for money to accomplish that objective. Sounds a bit like […]
Technology
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Real time payments on the UK model

Feb 6, 2015

By Kenneth Cline
Can real-time payments make it in the U.S.? The Federal Reserve certainly seems to believe so and has been pushing the idea since 2013, when it released an influential white paper on the topic. In response, […]
Payments

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New and Renew for Banking Innovation

Nov 5, 2014

By Kenneth Cline
What’s it going to take for retail banks to survive in this post-financial crisis, increasingly digital world? “The dual strategy of ‘New and Renew’ will be critical,” says Michael Reh, senior vice president and global head […]
Technology

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Managing Through Changing Consumer Behavior

Oct 21, 2014

By Kenneth Cline
What do banking and golf have in common? Without torturing the analogy too much, we can cite one clear similarity: a struggle to win the allegiance of the younger generation. Just as banks ponder how to […]
Customer Experience / Marketing & Sales

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Taking Innovation to the Next Level

Oct 14, 2014

By Kenneth Cline
What does it mean to be an innovator in today’s global banking industry? It’s no longer just about digital but more about connecting customers with their banks in a seamless, omnichannel fashion in order to solve […]
Technology

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Reducing Distance between Bank and Customer

Oct 10, 2014

By Kenneth Cline
As one of the most prominent women executives in banking, Sallie L. Krawcheck has long been something of a pioneer. As chair of Ellevate, a global women’s professional network, her latest venture is to create the […]
Consumer Banking / Customer Experience

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Getting Back to Banking’s Higher Purpose

Oct 3, 2014

By Kenneth Cline
What banker wouldn’t love to have the enthusiastic and friendly employees typically found at Whole Foods Market? Building such a committed service and sales culture can be done but it certainly doesn’t happen overnight, according to […]
Talent & Workforce Management / Technology

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Going All In with Social Media Marketing

Sep 26, 2014

By Kenneth Cline
Go all in: that’s how bankers should manage their social media efforts, according to Gary Vaynerchuk, who knows something about using social media as a marketing tool. From 2006 to 2011, Vaynerchuk utilized his daily web […]
Marketing & Sales / Technology

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First Take on Apple Pay

Sep 16, 2014

By Kenneth Cline
The long awaited announcement of Apple Pay, on September 9, promises to scramble the existing payments system in the same way that Apple’s Macintosh, ipod, iphone and ipad products upended the computing, music and telecommunications industries. […]
Technology
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Expanding the Boundaries of Retail Banking

Oct 15, 2013

By Kenneth Cline
For the 12 institutions named as finalists in the 2013 BAI-Finacle Global Banking Innovation Awards, innovation means expanding the boundaries of traditional products and services in retail banking to improve the customer experience. Below are short […]
Consumer Banking / Technology
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Targeting the ‘Unhappily’ Banked

Oct 11, 2013

By Kenneth Cline
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has long been one of the country’s most successful retailers, is increasingly moving into the financial services arena, a venture initiated during the tenure of former CEO H. Lee Scott Jr. (2000-2009). Scott […]
Consumer Banking / Customer Experience / Digital Banking

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Innovation for the Customer Experience

Sep 13, 2013

By Kenneth Cline
With the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 mostly in the rear view mirror, banks around the globe can focus more on the future, which means improving the customer experience through innovation, particularly in the delivery of […]
Technology
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Disciplined Process for Innovation

Nov 5, 2012

By Kenneth Cline
Innovation requires focus and a disciplined process. That’s the message from the winners of the 2012 BAI-Finacle Global Banking Innovation Awards, which were awarded at BAI Retail Delivery 2012 on October 9 in Washington, D.C. Each […]
Technology
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Bite-Sized Lessons from Apple

Aug 21, 2012

By Kenneth Cline
The death of Apple Inc. founder and CEO Steve Jobs reminded us all of how one individual can have a huge impact on a particular company – and on the national and global economy as well. […]
Digital Banking / Technology
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Banking on Digital Strategy

Aug 10, 2012

By Kenneth Cline
Do banks “get it right” when it comes to digital strategy? We recently posed that question to somebody eminently qualified to provide an answer: Aaron Dignan, CEO and founding partner of New York City-based Undercurrent, a […]
Consumer Banking / Digital Banking

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Innovation and Momentum

Jul 25, 2012

By Kenneth Cline
Banking is a cyclical industry and right now appears to be heading into another period of difficulty with the financial crisis in Europe and controversies over derivatives trading and the so-called “Liborgate” scandal. An opportune time […]
Technology

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Aligning Brand with the Customer Experience

Jun 26, 2012

By Kenneth Cline
Brand promise is typically easy to articulate but hard to implement. In today’s large banking organizations, the task of aligning brand promise with the customer experience as it’s perceived on the front lines typically falls to […]
Customer Experience / Marketing & Sales