With its recent announcement of 30,000 job cuts, Bank of America Corp. has fired the opening shot in an industry-wide move toward deep cost reduction in retail banking. Going into 2012, many other revenue-starved banks likely will slash branch staff as well, given the almost 40% profit decline in retail banking. But aggressive contraction re-introduces an age-old Read More
Before Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III taxied US Airways Flight 1549 to take-off on January 15, 2009, he and his co-pilot took out the pre-flight checklist for the Airbus A320 and went through it meticulously, calling out each step, confirming each item. They did it the same way they had done it hundreds of times before, Read More
Most banks today have solid strategies in place for selling their services and providing high levels of customer service prior to each sale. Some institutions have even taken major initiatives to ensure quality service after a sale during typical customer transactions. There is, however, an evident lack of focus on the quality of service provided when a Read More
At a time when roughly 40% of U.S. branches are financially underwater and new regulations are further curtailing revenues, it is painfully clear that banks can no longer count on “free” products and single-shot promotions to drive customer traffic and sales volume. Branches that formerly were organized to efficiently fulfill marketing-generated product orders now must rise to Read More
