Banks across the nation continue to robustly target the small business customer as a prime source of revenue and differentiation although the going has been tough lately.

Before Captain Chesley B.

Many industry analysts and practitioners clearly believe the future of retail banking requires a dramatic reduction in the absolute numbers of bank branches across the U.

Mired in a long-term revenue drought, the retail banking industry now must deal with the reality that the current branch banking model is unsustainable.

Let’s face it, consumers are not rational in their purchase and use of checking accounts.

As banks struggle with the current environment of weak revenue growth, effective cost-control returns to the fore.

Legislative and regulatory changes have reduced and are threatening to reduce further a substantial portion of fee income from retail banking activities, affecting what drives the profitability of a consumer checking relationship.

It’s certainly counter-intuitive, given the 2008-2009 financial crisis, but U.

Channel management is arguably one of the most important functions in today’s banking industry as institutions are caught between the eroding viability of traditional branches and the need to accommodate emerging channels such as mobile.

It probably won’t come as a shock to you to learn that a lot of people working in the financial services industry aren’t happy and that they’re not feeling particularly loyal to their institutions.

Most banks today have solid strategies in place for selling their services and providing high levels of customer service prior to each sale.

Retail banking is facing an unprecedented “revenue drought” under the twin pressures of regulatory reform and a sustained low-rate environment.

While employment, manufacturing and retail indicators appear to point to an economic recovery, there remains a disturbing trend amongst America’s small business owners.

Conventional wisdom holds that technology is changing the way a bank branch operates.

Last month, I was standing in the TSA security line at Boston’s Logan airport for the “polite” pat down and body scan.

Mobile banking alerts are becoming more popular as banks put more muscle behind marketing and expanded offerings.

At a time when roughly 40% of U.