It’s a tough time for community banks to raise capital–and the regulators aren’t making it any easier.

A changing customer base will require new forms of bank branch networks in the future, with the emphasis on smaller and more specialized facilities.

Consultant Kevin Hoffberg says building a high-performing sales culture in banking requires athletic-like focus and determination.

Effective risk oversight on a national and global scale requires a government-sponsored but non-regulatory organization.

To avoid damaging good customer relationships because of credit issues, financial institutions need to take a more proactive approach to handling delinquencies.

Many banks recoil at the notion of giving up control of their ATM networks, but cost and value considerations make it worth considering.

Post-financial crisis, banks will need to improve their performance in four key areas to restore lost revenue growth.

In the wake of the financial crisis, helping customers in their time of need may be the key to competitive advantage and stability for the future.

As lenders fight for growth through market share gains, the competitive emphasis will tilt from pushing products to cultivating fuller customer relationships.

Although banks have identified small businesses as a priority segment, most have failed to build the online product capability that these customers need.

As consumers fret about the future and seek safety for their funds, banks are actually seeing deposit balances increase even when they lower their interest rates.

Effective customer onboarding requires choreographing all the communication streams that flow towards a new customer, regardless of channel or product line technology.

While the popularity of general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards is growing at a fast clip, banks need to weigh the pros and cons of offering them.

To provide an effective and seamless capture and resolution to customer inquiries and requests, banks need to integrate the front office with the back-office operation through a solution known as inquiry and request management.

An automated customer experience management program enables banks to gather customer feedback in real time – and gives them a chance to keep complaints from turning into defections.

Onboarding is not just for customers; it can also be used to welcome new employees to their jobs and improve their effectiveness.

Recent lender losses have underscored the need to supplement credit bureau reports with alternative data sources.

Post financial crisis, banks have a window of opportunity to reconnect with customers by improving service on their frontline.

At a time when banks want to serve each customer as fully as possible, most don’t yet have a good grasp on priority household financial needs and the value of meeting them.

As the power of social media can no longer be ignored, banks must prepare both offensive and defensive strategies to connect with customers.