This lingering recession is a time of change, both for families facing economic pressures and for organizations that support sustainable communities. I believe that to capture this moment and harness it for progress we must address the gaps in access to affordable financial products and services. These gaps contributed to the foreclosure crisis; when banks are absent from a community, non-banks or even predatory lenders may fill the vacuum.  Lack of access is only part of the problem, however – we also need innovative products and services tailored to the needs of currently unbanked or underbanked consumers.

Recent financial market turbulence, aggressive regulation and proposed legislation have consumed the attention of community bankers. When this crisis passes, community banks can emerge with renewed focus on customer service and franchise value. As bankers redial into a more orderly environment, they will face the challenges posed by lending, deposit taking, operations and other core functions, as well as strategic planning. Here, we look at branching law developments that can significantly affect New York banks’ growth plans.

An individual enters a financial institution with the intention of renting a safe deposit box. This person has certain expectations. By the very nature of the term “safe deposit box,” he assumes that he is renting a box in which he can deposit his valuables in a safe place within this facility. Since he is renting from a financial institution, he expects ethical, highly trained personnel who will do their utmost to protect his valuables with dedication, integrity and professionalism. He also should know that, although his box contents are not insured, the financial institution must meet specific state, federal and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency safe deposit regulations, guidelines, and nationally accepted procedures, all designed to safeguard his property.

Today's preteens and teens are tomorrow's customers. How do you reach the kids who grew up with the Internet – the iPhone, YouTube and Facebook generation? Youth culture has been ratcheted up to light speed, but the banking industry is slow to adopt new marketing strategies.
One reason is risk. While early adopters gain a head start against competitors in customer retention and acquisition, the return on investment must be evaluated versus waiting for the technology to mature and become commonplace.
“The financial service industry is up against a ‘commodification’ of products and services,” said Michael Seaton, vice president of Digital Marketing at Thornley Fallis Communications, an agency integrating social media with public relations. “New media – meaning social media tools and platforms – provides a range of choices to directly reach out and humanize the banking experience. Transparency and authenticity are front and center and brands must differentiate themselves around their actions, not slogans.”
“The demographics and psychographics of our customers are dynamic,” said Steve Coen, a consultant in the financial industry and retired CIO of Buffalo-w based M&T Bank. “Product and delivery demands are changing, and we must serve our customers on their terms; how, when and where they demand services.”

Online banking is widely considered to be one of the all-time greatest applications of the Internet, yet many banks are squandering the opportunity to add droves of new online customers because they do not offer customers an alternative to signing paper documents to open an account online.

The rumors of the death of the subprime mortgage market are not exaggerated or even untimely. In fact, it seems as if a plague of sorts has infected the industry, and it started with the dubious and sometimes downright predatory habits of many mortgage bankers and brokers. Cries of irresponsible business practices in the industry and marketing schemes that drove lending guidelines are cropping up all over the media nowadays, but it seems like a little of the hindsight is 20/20 type rhetoric.

Since his appointment as the New York State Banking Department’s 43rd Superintendent in March, Richard H. Neiman has had plenty of weighty issues vying for his attention...

Identity theft is widely and correctly viewed as an insidious crime, wherein a person’s good name and financial standing are tarnished, often through the criminal misuse of credit and debit cards. But many of the programs and insurance policies designed to protect a person against the ravages of identity theft are extremely limited in scope...