Pandemic: No Problem. And Messages From Our Financial Services Providers

Here is what my family is doing to reduce the risk of contracting or spreading coronavirus:

1. Washing hands with greater discipline for 20 seconds per wash. Which is difficult. I'm singing the "Baby Shark" song.

2. Daily disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces such as phones, keyboards, handles, etc.

3. Coughing and sneezing into our elbows.

4. Trying desperately to not touch our faces. Do you know how hard this is?

5. Following CDC guidelines and state recommendations to reduce risk, such as not attending large gatherings. The NHL made that difficult Flyers-Wild game decision for me. Hoping to get tickets for another game.

6. Towelette wipe down of seating area when I fly.

7. Sign up for my health plan's virtual doctor visit portal. In case we need it.

Here is what we are doing to support local businesses:

1.  Keep going to them.

2.  Order online, as most restaurants will either deliver or prepare for pickup.

3.  Highlight brands that are supporting their hourly employees even in lieu of significantly declining revenues.

4.  Highlight charities and wealthier individuals that are supporting the same, such as Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers donating $100,000 to support arena workers.

5.  Not sniping at politicians because I disagree with them.

6. Not hoarding.

Here are some messages that I have received from various financial firms regarding coronavirus preparedness. Perhaps your pandemic response team would be interested.

Stay safe out there and don't panic!

Genworth

Dear Valued Policyholder:

As COVID 19 (the coronavirus) dominates the news and the stock markets have large movements from day to day, we at Genworth want to reassure you that our associates are well positioned to continue our long tradition of being there for our policyholders regardless of social and economic conditions.

We have proactively taken steps to make sure that our associates are safe, our call centers staffed, and our processing teams are able to function. We have implemented employee travel restrictions, provided associates with tools and technology and have encouraged them to work from home, conducted a deep cleaning of all Genworth facilities and revised our time off and FMLA policy. These changes provide our associates with the flexibility to adapt their schedules to meet our business obligations and limit any service interruptions.
 
Genworth’s high commitment to serving you includes a robust self-service opportunity MyGenworth available 24/7. To sign up, click: https://www.genworth.com/login.html. With MyGenworth, you can obtain current policy status and perform routine policy updates such as address changes and beneficiary updates. Additionally, we encourage you to consider signing up for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for your on-going premium payments as well as policy benefit payments you receive from us on a routine basis. You will find the necessary authorization information under the “Billing and Payments” section on MyGenworth. 

To help you stay healthy and take care of yourself we are sharing some useful third-party resources.

https://www.nahc.org/resources-services/coronavirus-resources/
 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
 
We realize times like these can be unsettling, rest assured we are ready to serve you and value your business.
 
Sincerely,

David O’Leary
CEO, President, U.S. life insurance division

MassMutual

Market Volatility and Your Workplace Retirement Savings     Recent volatility within U.S. and global markets brought on by global health concerns has been historic and unsettling. You're not alone if you have concerns or questions about your retirement savings and investments during current market conditions.           MassMutual is committed to providing you with the power of perspective to help you navigate through these uncertain times.           Things to consider       •   Keep calm. It's not easy, but keep in mind that after downturns, history has shown that markets have recovered and delivered gains in the long-term.           •   Revisit your goals and stick to your plan. Be sure to review your goals and keep your individual needs, risk tolerance and time horizons in mind before making changes to your investment strategy.           •   Stay informed. For up-to-date economic insights and analysis, see MassMutual's regular market commentary.           During market swings, it can be helpful to remember that a diversified and balanced portfolio may be a good defense for downturns and can help position you for potential market recoveries. We're here to help you – so be sure to check out our resources and tools to learn more. Please consider your goals, needs, risk tolerance, and time horizon before making any investment decisions – and consult with your financial adviser if needed.

© 2020 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual®), 1295 State Street, Springfield, MA 01111-0001. All rights reserved. www.MassMutual.com.   We hope you found this message useful. However, if you'd rather not receive future marketing emails from MassMutual, please unsubscribe. Replies to this address are not monitored.

BB&T/Truist

You're a valued member of the Truist family, and nothing is more important to us than your health and safety.

As the spread of coronavirus, known as COVID-19, continues to be a growing concern across the country, we’re taking extra precautions to protect you, our teammates and the communities we serve. Our Executive Leadership and business readiness teams are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to ensure we’re acting on the latest guidance and information.

We’re Here To Help

If you're negatively affected by the coronavirus situation, we’re here to help. Our branch bankers, relationship managers and contact center teammates are all committed to working with our clients to reduce financial stress during this challenging and uncertain time.

Contact Information:

BBT.com

Find up-to-date branch hours and other information to manage your accounts

800.BANK.BBT | 800-226-5228

Account information is available through our automated phone system 24/7.

As we assist clients and businesses who may be affected by the coronavirus situation, we're also listening and learning from those conversations to help us evaluate and possibly implement additional client relief measures as they emerge.

We invite you to use our convenient digital banking channels and phone banking options to conduct your banking transactions, and when in doubt, always feel free to contact your relationship manager or local branch.

What Our Company Is Doing To Help

• Increasing our focus on disinfecting surfaces including ATMs, teller line areas, elevator touchpads, door handles and other high-touch areas • Increasing the number of hand sanitizing stations available in our branches and offices • Asking teammates who are sick to stay home until they are well • Asking teammates who have recently returned from any high-risk country on the CDC’s Coronavirus Disease Travel Information website, or who live with someone who has recently traveled to one of those identified regions, to self-report to their manager and work from home for at least 14 days • Suspending international air business travel and limiting nonessential domestic business air travel for our teammates • Conducting group meetings by phone or other digital means

Keeping You Informed

We’re committed to keeping you informed through this rapidly changing situation. As it evolves, you can always find the latest information here on Truist.com. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance with any of your banking needs.

For the latest information about COVID-19, please visit cdc.gov or your local health department website.

Navy Federal Credit Union

An Update for Our Members

The spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has all of our attention. I wanted to let you know your Navy Federal Credit Union family is doing everything possible to keep our employees and you, our members, safe while delivering the best member experience possible. What We’re Doing We’re monitoring and following all guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), including taking the steps necessary to reduce the threat of COVID-19 exposure to employees and members. Our branches remain open to serve you. We have an extensive cleaning procedure in place and can conduct additional cleanings if needed. Some locations have had their hours adjusted as a result of local conditions. For the latest updates on branch hours, you can visit our Branch Closures & Updates page on our website. Our team members are also being reminded to ensure their hands are regularly washed or sanitized. Steps You Can Take Our commitment to world-class, 24/7 member service remains fundamental to our mission. Our digital banking tools are designed to be easy to use. Whether you’re paying a bill through the Navy Federal website, depositing a check, checking an account balance or transferring money using our mobile app, our goal remains empowering you to conduct your business quickly and easily. If you need to access cash, we have more than 700 Navy Federal ATMs around the world, and you have free access to another 30,000 ATMs in the CO-OP Network®. You can find your nearest ATM here. Our Mission Despite the threat posed by COVID-19, your Navy Federal team remains committed to serving you and your families. You are our members, part of our family, and together we will get through this situation. Sincerely, Mary McDuffie President/CEO Navy Federal Credit Union

Radius Bank

A message from Radius Bank on COVID19  

Like you, the team at Radius Bank is monitoring the latest news about the Coronavirus. As a valued client, we understand your concerns and the uncertainty you may be feeling at a time like this.

We wanted to remind you that Radius is a leading-edge digital bank prepared to handle situations such as this, and as a Radius client, you can handle all your banking needs at anytime, anywhere from your computer or mobile device. Our convenient digital tools give you 24/7 access to your accounts.

Once signed in, you'll be able to:

• View transactions and check balances
• Make payments
• Make a mobile deposit (from the mobile app only)
• Transfer funds
• Update your contact information
• See your account and routing number
• Find an ATM
• Send us a secure message

Make sure you have the correct website address bookmarked and the most updated version of our mobile app by following the links below:

Personal Account Clients

• Enroll in Personal Online Banking
• Download the Radius Mobile app

Business Account Clients

• Contact us to enroll in Business Online Banking
• Download the Radius Business app

We're Here to Help!

Questions?

• Visit our FAQ page
• Start a live chat on our website
• Give us a call at 1.800.242.0272 – you can activate your debit card or reset your PIN, check your balances, hear recent transaction history, and transfer funds all from our automated system, as well as speak with a representative
• For our business/commercial banking and lending customers, you may also contact your portfolio or relationship manager

As always, the health and well-being of our customers and team members is our top priority. We will continue to monitor this situation and will be available to assist our clients as needed.

Please visit radiusbank.com/readiness as the situation evolves for the latest updates.

For additional information about COVID-19, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at CDC.GOV.

PNC Cares Far More About the Penguins Than the Flyers

Reporters occasionally call for my opinion. And I have them. Oh I have them.

Last week an American Banker reporter called for my opinion on WSFS Bank's strategy to deploy much of the cost savings from its recent Beneficial Bank merger into technology. Read the resulting article here. 

The reporter e-mailed his questions. And I responded back. The article carried two quotes from me. But I assure you I was far more loquacious. Here are the reporter's questions followed by my responses with only slight modifications for clarity and grammar. I have to keep Sister Ann Eulaine happy. :)

Q: WSFS is using the synergies from their Beneficial merger to improve their technology. What do you think of that strategy?

A: I am a firm believer in making strategic investments to propel a bank's growth. It is a cultural change for banks, that typically take the synergies from an acquisition and drop them to the bottom line. Many banks make strategic investments only if they can recoup the costs quickly. Such as hiring lending teams. In today's environment, banks need to try, and yes fail, at implementing many technologies to learn what their customers want and to identify what will drive future growth. So, the long-winded answer, I like the strategy of taking resources and investing for the long-term future of the bank.

Q: Where is WSFS' greatest need for a technology upgrade?

A: I can't speak specifically to WSFS. When talking technology, we often talk about customer facing technology. And that's not necessarily the case. Do you know the resources banks put into reconciling accounts, researching customer deaths, and reviewing mobile deposit capture images, etc.? These processes drain resources from more promising investments such as small business loan decisioning, integrated cash management, and retail customer marketing solutions. Sometimes the tech stack shortfall is in the engine.

Q: How can WSFS compete in Philly when some of the country's largest banks that spend billions on tech are there?

A: A very small bank CEO once told me he compared his mobile app to Wells Fargo's and found only minor differences. Banks will figure out how to "keep up". But keeping up or exceeding big banks on tech is a tough strategy and tough sell. The community bank advantage is that most of their deposits will be deployed in their markets. Profits generated here contribute to the charitable works in time and treasure here. In WSFS' case, it's the Philly/ Wilmington market area. Loan and policy exception decisions that impact customers are made here. Not in Charlotte, New York, or Pittsburgh. Wells Fargo can't say that. Neither can PNC. PNC cares far more about the Penguins than the Flyers. 😊

Q: On tech, how much of a spend is necessary to "keep up with the Jones'"?

A: Data processing expense in 2018 for Beneficial was $6.2 million, and $7.8 million for WSFS according to their respective Call Reports. That doesn't include personnel in tech areas of the banks. They should have plenty of opportunity to innovate. You may hear that JPMorgan brags about spending $11 billion on tech. But we don't know how much of that is to keep the lights on. There are so many firms in the Fintech ecosystem to leverage off of to implement solutions important to running the bank and to the bank customers. The critical piece is to build a culture to try many things, even if that means failing in a few of them and missing your budget, and knowing who your strategically important customers are so you can determine the financial solutions important to them. If you do that, the $14 million combined tech spend should be sufficient.

~ Jeff

Conference Watch: How To Be Successful in a Changing Industry

How many consultants go to banking conferences and attend the sessions? At least one!

I may have been accused of being arrogant once or twice, which inspires me to continuously elevate my abilities so the perception of arrogance is seen for what it is; confidence. And the only ones accusing me of arrogance are those that elevate themselves by sniping at others.

As a bank consultant, I attend many conferences. Many, many conferences. So many that I wake up in hotels wondering... where am I? Or pulling up to conference venues thinking... when was I here last?

So was the case at the ABA Conference for Community Bankers. A well-run operation where I get to know the folks at ABA better, meetup with clients and "conference buddies" (other service providers that we see at many other conferences), and learn. Because most conference presenters, although obviously trying to expand their client base, deliver deep knowledge and great insights.

If they're offering, I'm accepting.

The flip side to service providers delivering knowledge, are paid speakers for hire. At the #ABACCB, one paid speaker was Ben Sherwood, former head of ABC News.

Cue In Ben Sherwood

A little of Ben's bio for background: a Rhodes Scholar, he came up the ranks at ABC News and NBC News in the late 80's and 90's. He was named executive producer of ABC's "Good Morning America" in 2004. He left the show in 2006 but returned as president of ABC News in 2010. On his watch, "GMA" rose in the ratings to top its a.m. arch rival "Today" in 2012 for the first time in 16 years. Sherwood attributed the flip to "Today" foibles and "GMA" trying new things, such as five hosts, to change the dynamic. He headed Disney/ABC TV Group from 2015-18, when he left the network.

In his talk, he spoke of four keys to being successful in a changing industry. I think it's obvious that TV has been changing at a rapid pace. Faster than banking, I dare say. So I was interested in what he had to say. Below are the four keys and my opinions on how they apply to banking.

How To Be Successful in a Changing Industry

1.  Fighting a stronger opponent by unconventional means yields victory two-thirds of the time.

Ben gave some facts on this, although I can't recall them. I'm not a huge fan of comparing military endeavors to business. But there are lessons here. Think how Afghanistan frustrated the Soviets. And how the North Vietnamese overcame us. Both were victories for a hugely inferior force. This is why Sun Tzu's "Art of War" is such a digestible business book. According to him, 

"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected."

~ Sun Tzu

Don't fight PNC at PNC Park, playing their brand of ball. 

2. In ideas, quantity matters. 

I remember at this same conference a few years ago, Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix, said the idea to waive late fees which set the wheels in motion to unseat Blockbuster was one of several they tried to grow subscribers. And he didn't even think it was a good idea. But they were trying something, anything! And boom! Look at Netflix now. All because of a weird idea that would reduce Netflix revenues in the short term. Yet they were willing to try it to rule the world. And rule the world they did. Ask Blockbuster. 

Banks have cultural challenges to implementing this success strategy. Failure is a dirty word. There will be recriminations, heads rolling, bonuses slashed. Sure, you can implement ideas that fail, but don't miss your budget. Better to make slight modifications to business as usual, right? Think about your culture. Is it conducive to implementing several ideas, with most of them failing?

"Failure is success in progress." 

~ Albert Einstein

3. Believe in your magic.

Nothing like a nod to Disney in a former Disney executive's speech. But as my "conference buddy" Tim Pannell from Financial Marketing Solutions points out, what company do you think of when somebody says "magic" or "magical"? What a word to associate with your brand! At any rate, I digress. Back to banking.

I believe in strategic alignment. If your vision is to "elevate our customers' self worth by increasing their net worth", then everything you do should be designed to deliver that "magic". Think in practical terms. Does your branch manager know how to use your personal financial management tool and sit down with a retail customer to set it up and make recommendations? Will your commercial lender help the local bike shop obtain inventory financing even though it might be "small potatoes"? Yet I hear some of the "help customers" platitudes like the vision above with little "hands dirty" work behind it.

Believe in your magic, and deliver on it. It requires work, both in talent management and cultural change.

4. Quit talking and begin doing.

Don't suffer from analysis paralysis. That drives back to your culture, and fear of failure. I'm not saying don't make informed decisions, but more data has declining value and is more difficult to gather. Would your bank ever make the decision to forego late fees, a significant revenue source for Netflix, in that situation? 

Do you have friends that you view as do'ers? May not be the sharpest, or the most well-read. They just do. We need more of them in our banks. Because in a changing industry, we need to be bent toward action.

Those are Ben Sherwood's four approaches to be successful in a changing industry. 

Take an inventory of your bank and culture. How do you stack up?

~ Jeff

Not a Session at Acquire or Be Acquired: Culture

I attended Bank Director's Acquire or Be Acquired conference two weeks ago. The buzzword of the show: Culture.

When Raphael Reznek, CIO of Mascoma Bank, spoke about the biggest challenge to launch online account opening: "our internal culture". When Mike Butler, CEO of Radius Bank, spoke of technology experimentation and implementation: "you have to change the culture in the company". And in a session titled Advice and Counsel for First Time Acquirers, Bob Monroe of Stinson LLP said: "Being able to fit your culture in with the seller's culture is extremely important, because you'll have a flat tire running down the road."

If I asked you to write your definition of culture in the comments, would yours match others? Because when I hear the term, I don't know what people are talking about.

I do recognize that whoever talks of culture, generally thinks their culture is superior to yours. Except Raphael, who at least was reflective about it. I should note that Raphael has not been at his bank very long, and he is not from the banking industry. So it was easier for him to objectively assess the weaknesses in his bank's culture and address them. It is not lost on me that their CEO is also from outside of the industry and relatively new to the bank. 

Mike Butler of Radius, although a lifelong banker, came from outside of the region and implemented a business model and cultural change at his bank with new management and a "fast fail" innovation culture. Mike is from Cleveland. And surprisingly a Yankees fan. In Boston. #resilience

There I go. Culture, culture, culture. What the heck do I mean?

Culture Defined

Merriam Webster defines culture as:

1.  The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Also, the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time. Such as popular culture. Or Southern culture.

2. The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. Such as a corporate culture focused on the bottom line.

3.  The set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic. Such as studying the effect of computers on print culture, or changing the culture of materialism over time...

4.  The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.

Did you know that "Culture" was Merriam-Webster's 2014 word of the year? Because it was the most searched for term. Meaning so many of you, like me, had to look it up because we had no idea what people meant when they talked culture. In this 2014 New Yorker piece, editor Joshua Rothman wrote: "institutions that drone on about their 'culture of transparency' or 'culture of accountability' often have neither."

Poster Child For Cultural Disconnect

Look no further than Wells Fargo. Their "toxic sales culture" started with Norwest, the actual buyer of Wells Fargo even though they adopted the iconic name when they executed their "merger of equals" in 1998. I have a lot of air quotes in this post. 

In this 2000 CNN Money piece, which I'm confident long-standing Wells execs would wish you didn't click on, Wells is said to have a "flourishing and decidedly 'functional' corporate culture". Driven by Norwest's and the resulting Wells' CEO Dick Kovacevich, who was "obsessed with cross-selling". At the time of the article, Wells averaged 3.4 products per household, and Kovacevich wanted to drive it to eight.

Boom! Fake accounts. 

Do I think Wells' executives wanted the culture that emerged? No. But read the practices that resulted from Kovacevich's obsession. This culture, and the practices that emerged from it, got John Stumpf and Tim Sloan fired. 

Culture Defined Part II

Culture, as I would define it, are the unwritten boundaries that your bank operates under that drives decision making, even when executives or supervisors are not the ones deciding. Meaning that when a branch manager, or a teller, makes a judgment decision, they do so in the context of your bank's culture. 

I think your aspirational culture can be written. And we often see this in strategic plan values statements. But a written description of the culture you are trying to create is meaningless if your leaders don't consistently practice it, hold people (including themselves) accountable to it, and align policies, procedures, and incentives to be consistent with it. Having daily coaching sessions on products sold would be inconsistent with a culture of doing what's right for the customer, right? I'm not smart enough to be the only person that would recognize this.

In kicking off strategy sessions, my firm reviews some inconsistencies we often see between bank practices and strategy. Below is one of my favorite slides.

In 2015 I wrote a post about creating a positive accountability culture. So I am guilty of throwing the term out there. I have never heard a bank state or write that they wanted a culture where employees hated coming to work, or cringed when their boss called them into their office. Yet so often when the boss gives employees feedback, it's negative. In the Navy, we said "one awe sh*t wipes out ten atta boys." That is how a spoken or written cultural aspiration is disconnected from everyday practice.

Psychology weighs in on negative feedback. The Positive Coaching Alliance taught me that in order to fill the emotional tank of players, you should provide at least five positive feedback interactions to one negative feedback to get maximum performance. They called it the magic ratio. 

I grew up in an environment where that ratio was upside down. And I witness it often in banking.

Note that the above slide is meant to highlight what not to do. And, perhaps, with my newfound appreciation for the term "culture", I should change the subheading to Providing Incentives That Are Contrary to Your Culture.

Because your aspirational culture must transcend words. Or it will never be attained.


What is your definition of culture?


~ Jeff