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For community banks, marketing often points to finding ways to educate, support and grow community, as well as customer knowledge and awareness.

True relationships withstand the test of time, and such is the case with the community bank/customer connection. It’s not unusual to hear about a community bank having served a family or a business for generations, and that’s a testament to the strength of the relationship.

As we consider marketing in this month’s issue, I took time to reflect on exactly what differentiates the community banker and how marketing can help in growing and retaining business. I kept coming back to the fact that for community banks, marketing often points to finding ways to educate, support and grow community, as well as customer knowledge and awareness. By extension, these promotional efforts assume a natural role in a community bank’s journey, just enhancing what are already mission-critical initiatives.

Where I’ll be this month

I’ll be connecting with community bankers from around the country at ICBA LIVE in Honolulu, Hawaii, from March 12–16. I hope to see you there!

For example, consider ICBA chairman Brad Bolton’s Community Spirit Bank in Red Bay, Ala., and its work to share tips for financial resolutions in the local paper. Offering that information to the community helps individuals strengthen their financial savvy and supports a broader story of community bank leadership.

Or look to ICBA past chairman Bob Fisher’s bank, Tioga State Bank in Spencer, N.Y., and how it teams up with local television stations to support cause-related activities, like the No Shave November Cure the Blue 5K. Not only does this event help raise funds for an important program, it also demonstrates the bank’s commitment to its community.

These examples offer only a snapshot of what community banks all over the country do to support their communities from a mission-based approach. In many cases, the added promotion these efforts deliver is a side benefit to serving the community.

That’s precisely why these efforts are successful: They garner attention because they are the right things to do. These stories create a value proposition around why banking with a community bank is so vital, and the differentiation from megabanks and credit unions happens by leading with the community bank relationship model front and center.

So, as you think about your bank’s planned storytelling this year, know that ICBA is standing by to help. In fact, stay tuned for a very exciting announcement that we’ll be making during ICBA LIVE, which will shine a light on what differentiates community banking. And our work won’t stop there. We invite to you join us as we continue to tell the community banking story.

Because beyond marketing, what you do matters to the customers and communities you serve. You are and will remain a partner through your customers’ lives and financial journeys. From a marketing perspective, that’s an ideal place to be.

Rebeca Romero Rainey
President and CEO, ICBA
Connect with Rebeca @romerorainey

Photo by Ismail Rajo/iStock

The time has come for the long-awaited FedNow launch. As community banks navigate this process, there are plenty of resources available to answer questions and provide guidance.

By Colleen Morrison

Between May and July of this year, non-pilot instant payment transactions will be live on FedNow, the first new Federal Reserve payment rail in more than 40 years. After much strategy, planning and discussion, the implementation phase has arrived.

“As we near launch, I’m reminded of where we started,” says Nick Stanescu, senior vice president and business executive of the FedNow Service. “The decision to build the FedNow Service was the result of a multiyear initiative of collaborating with the industry to explore ways to modernize the U.S. payment system.”

He notes that the launch of FedNow will represent a major landmark in modernizing and improving the U.S. payment system. “Importantly, this will level the playing field by allowing financial institutions of every size to benefit from safe and efficient instant payments,” he adds.

Three sources of information on FedNow

As community banks look to take advantage of this new opportunity, they seek resources to help them navigate the journey. With that in mind, industry experts agree there are three key sources of information to support banks in honing their instant payments plans.

1. FedNow Explorer

The Federal Reserve launched the FedNow Explorer to help financial institutions establish their individual evaluation and implementation needs. Offering a guided journey, a self-explore option and a quick link to resources, this site incorporates the latest news and information from the Fed about FedNow. In particular, the Service Readiness Guide and the Service Provider Showcase provide insights into preparation requirements and available solutions.

“You have to educate yourself; you have to educate your employees and your management team. So, starting off with the FedNow Explorer has a lot of great resources,” says Sherri Reagin, chief financial officer at FedNow pilot participant North Salem State Bank, a $590 million-asset community bank in North Salem, Ind. “We even showed one of the videos at our annual training to all of our employees. They’ve heard me talking about FedNow for a couple of years now, but they didn’t fully understand it until there was a visual. There are so many great resources on that website where people can really get started.”

2. Your Federal Reserve account executive

The Federal Reserve account executive stands as a valuable resource for asking bank-specific questions about the FedNow Service and can benefit community banks that want to be early adopters. For example, Stanescu points out that there are four core capabilities of instant payments readiness that a community bank’s Federal Reserve account representative can help evaluate:

• Connectivity to FedNow
• Real-time posting and immediate funds availability
• Settlement through either a Fed master account or a correspondent’s
• Send and receive functionality

Each area creates important decisions for the bank, and the Fed account executive can help financial institutions navigate the pros and cons.

“Your Fed account executives are great places to start, as well as your technology solution providers, based on the product lines you think are going to use FedNow,” says Kari Mitchum, vice president of payments policy at ICBA.

3. Core and third-party providers

To that point, solution providers will play a crucial role in implementation from the core system to downstream customer-facing applications. Community banks will need to decide their required functionality in receive-only or a send-and-receive scenarios and work with their providers accordingly. For most, that process starts with talking to their cores.

“My advice: Build a plan, understand what partners must be involved and do a lot of exploring with vendors,” says Debra Matthews, chief of deposit operations at $2.1 billion-asset Texas First Bank in Texas City, Texas, a FedNow pilot participant. “Explore what your core has available and plans to do in the future and determine if any additional third parties are needed for implementation.”

Reagin agrees, emphasizing the enhanced role that core providers will play to accommodate FedNow. “Everything we do, all the fintechs that we use—if you’re going to settle a payment, it has to go through your core provider to get through your system,” she says. “So, they’re going to have to be involved, regardless of who you use to interface between the Federal Reserve and your financial institution.”

Instant payments will soon be table stakes

While the FedNow Service will launch in just a few months, the wide-scale rollout will take some time, and customer adoption will follow suit. However, if market history bears any indication, instant payments will be a critical part of payment processes in the future.

“Keep in mind Apple Pay has been out for almost 14 years, and QR codes were created in 1994. FedNow coming out is not going to be some overnight change,” Mitchum says. “There’s that story from [FedEx founder] Fred Smith that he had the idea for FedEx in the 1960s, and the paper got a ‘C’ on it. They said, ‘Nobody wants stuff next day; there’s no need for this.’

“Now we’re in the time of Amazon same-day delivery, two-hour delivery. But that doesn’t mean that we got rid of USPS. It doesn’t mean we got rid of two-day shipping. There are multiple choices for moving goods; there’s going to be multiple choices for moving money.”

But with the rate of change in today’s digital space and this immediate gratification environment, it won’t take long for demand for instant payments to accelerate.

“I think FedNow is going to transform the way that we do business, and the way that businesses operate in the future.”
—Sherri Reagin, North Salem State Bank

Use cases like early wage access, P2P payments and insurance disbursement have already emerged, and others will continue to develop. Community banks that don’t begin exploring instant payments may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage more quickly than they might think.

“Financial institutions need to really learn the benefits of FedNow to be able to accelerate the services that we can offer to our customers. I think FedNow is going to transform the way that we do business, and the way that businesses operate in the future,” Reagin says. “The sooner we can get our customers and our employees acclimated to it, it’s just going to skyrocket.”

Colleen Morrison is a writer in Maryland.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as chairman. I will continue to advocate for community banking, and for the rest of my career, stand side by side with you to fight our future battles.

Serving as ICBA chairman has been one of the highest honors of my life. It’s hard to put into words how special this experience is. The work you’re doing every day puts real faces and names to the communities we’re fighting for, and it has been a privilege to be your representative at the national level.

Yet, it takes the voices of many to make a true impact. That’s why I’ve asked community bankers to sacrifice a few minutes every day to advocate for our industry. We are what stands between our customers and an overreaching federal government and regulatory system. We hold the line for Main Street America, which needs us.

My top three

Reflections on community banking:

1. Never take our community bank mission for granted; advocate for it.
2. Keep innovating and implementing new technologies for your customers.
3. Someone at your bank wants to lead it for the next generation. Let them.

In today’s environment, that vigilance is critical to staying ahead of emerging threats. Each day brings forward new concerns, and we have to stay focused on who we are and who we represent. So, keep pressing forward in defending this great industry we get the opportunity to serve.

For example, every community banker has a primary focus on how they can better serve their customers. It isn’t about making more money, but how we respond to community needs. We should also remind policymakers that community bankers are small business owners, too. And even though we have fiduciary and regulatory responsibilities to remain profitable and provide a return to our shareholders, our focus always comes back to how we can serve our customers better. In maintaining that focus on our relationship-centric mission, we will continue to thrive.

That’s why it’s vital for community banks to remain independent, and a big theme for me has been encouraging bank executives to identify their next generation of leaders. There are those within your institution who share your vision and passion. Support their development and groom them to take the reins. Without your bank, your communities are at risk. So, make a succession plan to ensure your bank remains the lifeblood of the community.

With that in mind, I implore you to keep fighting for Main Street. Keep raising your voices to advocate for your customers. Keep engaging with innovative companies to grow, evolve and better serve. Keep identifying future leaders to ensure the longevity of your institution, because your communities need you in their corner.

I want to close by saying I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as chairman. I will continue to advocate for community banking, and for the rest of my career, stand side by side with you to fight our future battles. With that passion leading, I’m confident we’ll witness the continued growth and success of our beloved industry.

Brad Bolton, Chairman, ICBA
Brad Bolton is president and CEO of Community Spirit Bank in Red Bay, Ala.
Connect with Brad @BradMBolton

BankOnBuffalo president Michael Noah says the bank’s mobile branch will provide service to those who don’t have easy access to banks. Photos by Luke Copping Photography

BankOnBuffalo has hit the road with its new mobile bank, BankOnWheels, to meet the needs of underserved communities.

By William Atkinson

This past November, BankOnBuffalo, a division of $5.5 billion-asset CNB Bank headquartered in Clearfield, Penn., added a new branch to its preexisting lineup of 12 branches and offices in or around Buffalo, N.Y.

Where is this newest office located? Well, it depends on the day of the week. The $1.1 billion-asset community bank division based out of Buffalo built and outfitted a “rolling branch,” called BankOnWheels, an innovative banking experience that makes full-service banking accessible to more consumers and small businesses, particularly those in underserved communities, according to BankOnBuffalo president Michael Noah.

“We are providing banking options in areas that have been known as ‘bank deserts,’ which is very important to us as a community bank.”
—Michael Noah, BankOnBuffalo

The first of its kind among financial institutions in western New York, BankOnWheels is a full-service bank branch within a 34-foot recreational vehicle. It enables the community bank to deliver essential banking services to communities that previously had little to no access to them. “We are providing banking options in areas that have been known as ‘bank deserts,’ which is very important to us as a community bank,” Noah says.

All the bells and whistles

The mobile branch has all the essentials to fill that void. BankOnWheels includes a walk-up ATM and two exterior teller windows where transactions can be performed and a platform desk is located for customers to speak with a bank associate.

“Anything you can do in one of our branch locations, you can do in the BankOnWheels.”
—Michael Noah, BankOnBuffalo

Inside, it has most of the features of a traditional bank: a lobby, teller window and an office for private conversations with a BankOnBuffalo associate.

“We saw the need, and we were eager to get the BankOnWheels rolling across our community,” says Noah. “Even with the rapid rise of technology allowing so much banking to be done remotely, research told us that consumers and business owners still greatly value branches where they can have face-to-face conversations with bankers, get answers to their questions and receive the assistance they need with transactions, loan applications and account openings.”

BankOnWheels has all the technology and services that the community bank’s brick-and-mortar locations do, including wire transfers, an ATM, a teller cash recycler and an instant-issue debit card machine. “Anything you can do in one of our branch locations, you can do in the BankOnWheels,” Noah says.

BankOnWheels evolved over several years as bank executives spoke with and listened to community leaders.

“People didn’t ask for another bank location that the community couldn’t get to,” Noah says. “They wanted a way to bring the bank to the people and make it more accessible for the community. That really was the evolution of BankOnWheels: listening to and responding to the community.”

Building a branch

The planning process took more than two years. “We were involved in a ground-up planning process, similar to opening a new branch,” says Noah. “The project evolved over time, because we had to make sure that BankOnWheels had all the necessary capabilities of one of our branches.”

BankOnBuffalo worked with local vendors to build and outfit the inside of the RV. A firm called Mobile Facilities LLC built the mobile banking unit, and multiple vendors were engaged in wrapping and servicing BankOnWheels. “This was an extensive process undertaken to bring the final product to the community,” says Noah.

The community bank uses its existing branch staff to operate BankOnWheels, with four to five employees working on rotation, two at a time. “This creates a consistent client experience from a very well-trained and versatile team,” Noah says.

As for security, BankOnBuffalo vetted and selected a third-party security firm, based on the firm’s ability to manage the complete security process and protect the community bank’s employees.

“They work closely with local law enforcement and our corporate security team,” Noah explains. In addition, a professional security team from the security firm drives the RV and provides comprehensive security for BankOnWheels and its staff when they’re on the road.

Expanding its footprint

When the branch first became operational, it began serving three communities through its deployment in Niagara Falls and Buffalo.

Within weeks of opening, BankOnBuffalo gained new customers in these areas and began opening new accounts. Based on the results and additional input from the communities, the bank plans to add other sites to the list in the future and keep this show on the road.

William Atkinson is a writer in Illinois.

By Lindsay LaNore, ICBA

The theme for ICBA LIVE 2023 is “Light the Fire. Light the Way.” As leaders, that’s a huge part of what we do: spark enthusiasm, encourage creativity and guide our teams on the paths to success. But inspiration doesn’t always happen spontaneously, or even daily, so it’s incumbent upon us to develop strategies and create environments that inspire and motivate our teams, all while making sure we stay inspired ourselves.

Here are some great tools for cultivating inspiration.

1. Remove limitations. Sometimes a project or task seems, on its face, to have restrictions. But we can often remove those perceived limitations, be experimental and think outside the box. Yes, this could result in a few errors, but it might also generate successful new ideas or strategies. Let your team know that it’s OK to fail.
2. Don’t forget to dream. This idea is inspired by the book The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly, and it’s a powerful message to share with your team. Encourage everyone to start a dream book, to write down their dreams (both professional and personal), and to dream without limits. The book can serve as a resource to remind us of the dreams (big or small) that we have, and that reminder can jump-start the enthusiasm needed to begin or continue a task.
3. Focus on strengths. Lean into your employees’ strengths and talents, and they’ll feel naturally more authentic and empowered. Cultivating a strengths-based environment increases creativity and productivity.
4. Focus on team bonding. On average, a full-time employee spends 40 hours a week working with the same people. Don’t underestimate the value of team-building exercises to bring them together. If they’re in the thick of a project, invite them to take a break, pose a fun question to the group or play a quick game. Fostering camaraderie cultivates a stronger team. Colleagues who are invested in each other will look forward to working together.
5. Make motivation a topic. Adopt “Motivation Monday” and ask the team to talk about what motivates them. Ask them how they find inspiration personally. This can give leaders and fellow colleagues a beneficial understanding of what each employee values.
6. Let people do their jobs. No one wants to be micromanaged. Allow for autonomy where possible and be clear in your words so that employees know they are empowered to do their job. It shows a level of trust and respect, which generally leads to higher job satisfaction and greater productivity.
7. Show appreciation. We’ve said this before, but leaders must show appreciation for the work their team is doing. It goes a long way.

But above all, remember that employees are individuals. What inspires or motivates one may not be as powerful for another. So, tailor your tactics to suit both your team and the individuals within it.

Lindsay LaNore (lindsay.lanore@icba.org) is ICBA’s group executive vice president and chief learning and experience officer

Valley Bank offers financial literacy education to women through Hoving Home.

Valley Bank is working side by side with Walter Hoving Home, a place of refuge for women struggling with addiction and other personal challenges, to offer residents financial empowerment.

By Roshan McArthur

For Valley Bank in Wayne, N.J., success brings with it an obligation to help others succeed, too. The near century-old, $57 billion-asset community bank believes deeply in financial empowerment, not just for its customers but for the most vulnerable community members, too.

For more than five years, Valley Bank has worked with Walter Hoving Home, a community nonprofit organization in Oxford, N.J. Hoving Home is a faith-based facility that helps mostly low-income women recover from issues like drug addiction, alcoholism, abuse, prostitution and human trafficking. In the 56 years since it was founded, the nonprofit has grown from one home in Garrison, N.Y., to six branches throughout the U.S., helping more than a quarter of a million women find their feet again.

“Hoving Home has provided them a safe place to recover from these situations, to reestablish themselves so they can reenter society, gain custody of their children and be productive,” says Karen Austin, Valley Bank’s VP and market manager. Austin initiated the relationship in 2018 after a chance encounter with one of Hoving Home’s team members during a conference at a local university.

“Valley was able to enter into this relationship by providing financial empowerment to the women who are residents of Hoving Home,” she explains. Over the years, that empowerment has taken the form of grants, donations of equipment and volunteer hours. In June 2022, for example, the community bank’s team members took part in a beautification day with shovels, rakes and “a lot of sweat equity,” preparing for the nonprofit’s annual graduation ceremony at its Oxford site. Valley Bank also provided laptops and printers for a new computer lab, and its property management group donated desks and cubicles from branches and departments that were being renovated to a new learning center.

“Our opportunity is to reach those who need it the most and provide a service so that, when they are able to regain their lives, they’re going to be able to make informed decisions and know there’s advocacy available to them.”
—Karen Austin, Valley Bank

“Having a local impact is something that’s very important for us,” says Bernadette Mueller, Valley Bank’s EVP for corporate social responsibility. “We want to be viewed as partners in our local communities, serving not only the people who live there but the people who work there, our whole constituency in that area, whether that be community groups or households.”

Creating a path forward

In addition to donations and volunteer hours, Valley Bank also provides financial literacy education as part of Hoving Home’s Career Readiness Program. Using a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau curriculum called “Your Money, Your Goals,” Austin teaches nine one-hour sessions to the women, covering saving, spending, budgeting, credit, debt management, managing financial setbacks and more. She also makes a point of keeping her students informed about current events that illustrate why financial literacy is so important.

These days, she is reaching more women than ever. “I used to do the sessions in person in Oxford, N.J.,” she recalls, “so I would drive on a weekly basis from an office in the Wayne area, an hour and a half up to Oxford, and then back another hour and a half home to my house. When COVID hit, that changed everything. And I became a little bit more effective at using Zoom. So, I conducted Zoom classes for the individuals in Oxford.”

At the beginning of 2022, the director of Hoving Home asked her if she could conduct classes for its other facilities as well: two in Garrison, N.Y., one in Pasadena, Calif., and another in Las Vegas. By teaching virtually, Austin has expanded Valley Bank’s reach nationwide.

“I feel that we as Valley have to support our local community, wherever and whoever that might be,” says Austin. “And our opportunity is to reach those who need it the most and provide a service so that, when they are able to regain their lives, they’re going to be able to make informed decisions and know there’s advocacy available to them. I feel Valley has played an extraordinary part in that, and I’m grateful to be part of that work.”

That gratitude runs deep, says Mueller. “Our people, across the board—from the facilities and the property management people loading desks, to the tech people setting up laptops—have been feeling the same way, just feeling so good about what they’re doing,” she says. “We’re getting much more than we’re giving.”

Roshan McArthur is a writer in California.

From left: Coastal Heritage Bank staff Pat Driscoll, Sondra Krieg, Lisa Levy, Janet Joyce, Diane Calabro and Scott Ambroceo. Photo by Mike Ritter

Spurred by social distancing and shutdowns during the pandemic, many community banks turned to virtual financial advisory services, and these new practices are expected to stick around.

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert

The pandemic shutdowns expedited community banks’ digital transformation journeys—including the adoption of virtual financial advisory services. More and more community banks offering wealth management now provide these services, not as a substitute for in-person meetings, but rather as a supplement.

They are following a trend across the wealth management sector. While most financial advisors still prefer in-person meetings with clients, a 2021 survey by SmartAsset Advisors LLC found that the pandemic spurred most to offer video calls, and more than a third said they expected to continue the practice post-pandemic, in addition to sending emails and texts to clients.

By offering virtual advisory services, community banks have the potential to significantly reduce the amount of time required from, and friction for, customers, says Ashish Garg, cofounder and CEO of Eltropy Inc. in Milpitas, Calif., a fintech that provides a digital communications platform for community financial institutions.

“Traditionally, customers preferred going to a branch for financial advisory services, because they were discussing large sums of money,” Garg says. “With the rise of virtual and video banking technologies, however, customers still have the reassurance of talking to someone face to face, but they can do so from the comfort of their home, their car or wherever they may be.”

Like telehealth and healthcare, virtual options make financial advisory services more accessible for many people—especially if the level of service online is on par with what they would experience in person, he says.

Going digital

Coastal Heritage Bank in Weymouth, Mass., recently adopted Eltropy’s digital communications platform and plans to roll out virtual capabilities across the institution, including for its wealth management arm, says Scott Ambroceo, senior vice president at the $910 million-asset community bank.

“While the bank is starting slow in its deployment to develop internal subject matter experts on the platform,” he says, “it can see opportunities in the near term to expand on what it’s doing today, in order to assist in attracting and retaining relationships through a secure and convenient digital banking platform.”

The virtual capabilities are built on the success of Coastal Heritage Bank’s earlier digital transformation moves, in part due to customer preferences during the pandemic, he says.

“As we were seeing high adoption rates of our digital platform by our customers, we were also seeing significant success in managing our business, many times remotely, through internal web-based collaboration software, due to the ongoing pandemic,” Ambroceo says. “Naturally, we began focusing on our options to expand our digital banking platform to include a face-to-face experience from the comfort of the customer’s home, business or wherever life placed them at the moment they needed their bank.”

Via an interactive widget on Coastal Heritage Bank’s website, customers will be able to initiate video calls to staff, aided by technology to authenticate the customer’s identity, he says. Joint-account owners can join the calls from two different areas of the world, if needed.

Moreover, staff will be able to help customers complete forms through video calls using eSign, Ambroceo says. eSign documents can be presented for signature and retained as part of the bank’s permanent records, eliminating the need for single or joint account owners from having to provide wet signatures either in-branch or through the mail.

In addition, customers can use the digital platform for 24/7 chatbox conversations with automated responses to more than 100 common questions received by the bank, as well as text-only conversations for quick questions and audio-only conversations depending on customers’ preferences, he says.

To be more user-friendly, digital communication platforms need to offer all these capabilities in addition to video calls, Garg says.

“The fact that consumers have become used to so many different channels of communication—and prefer different kinds of communication for different situations—creates a challenge for community banks,” he says. “They need to offer the full suite of communications options that their consumers may want.”

Other needs for virtual advisory services

Integrations are another important consideration for community banks, because they navigate so many IT systems—a lending system, a CRM, and an e-signature system like DocuSign, among others, Garg says. Institutions need a solution that can automate the flow of information from one system to another.

Data security is also critical—digital communication platforms need to encrypt both stored data and data that is captured during a voice call, he says.

Offering virtual advisory services not only supplements in-person meetings; it can also help ensure that staffing levels are maintained—something particularly important in this era of the Great Resignation, Garg says.

“With ongoing labor shortages, this is a big challenge for community financial institutions, especially as they expand into new markets,” he says. “This kind of technology ensures that banks can address the concerns of customers no matter where they live.”

Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a writer in California.

Derek Williams, president and CEO of Century Bank & Trust in Milledgeville, Ga., wanted to be a financier before finding his way to community banking. Photo by Harold Daniels

Derek Williams, president and CEO of Century Bank & Trust in Georgia, is bringing his passion for community banking to his term as ICBA chairman for 2023/24.

By Roshan McArthur

Derek Williams is, he says, excited, honored and humbled to make his debut as ICBA chairman at ICBA LIVE. A banking stalwart described by outgoing chairman Brad Bolton as “a passionate community leader and a staunch leader of our industry,” Williams has built a career by immersing himself in the community banking world. He has also served on ICBA’s executive committee for many years, including a term as treasurer from 2016 to 2018.

He has served as president and CEO of $365 million-asset Century Bank & Trust in Milledgeville, Ga., for eight years. But, unlike many in the industry, this profession wasn’t in his blood. Asked if there is a history of banking in his family, he laughs—something he does often.

“That’s an interesting story,” he says. “It’s kind of an anti-banking history!”

Williams grew up in Barnesville, Ga., at the time a small town of about 5,000 residents. It was something of a humble start, he says. He was raised by a mother who stayed home with her four kids and a father who built houses.

“He was a craftsman by nature,” Williams says of his father. “So the most experience I had with banking growing up was him as a bank customer. I knew the bankers in town because my dad knew them, and I learned a lot just from being around them and watching how dad dealt with them. He had a great relationship with banks and bankers, and that attracted me, just from the standpoint of what they did to help my dad.”

That said, Williams left the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, in 1984 with a BBA in finance, determined to get out of Barnesville and become “the next great corporate financier.” But the world had other plans. He graduated into a recession, one of two that would have a profound influence on his career. During that time, at an interview for a job as a stockbroker, he asked one of the brokers how well his office performed. The response he received reshaped his career. “I don’t have any idea what the office does,” the broker told him. “I only worry about what I do.”

The implication was simple: The broker didn’t care about anybody he worked with, which was anathema to Williams. “So many of the jobs that I looked at in the corporate finance world, and certainly the stockbroker world, were very much like that,” he recalls. “I was used to family, I was used to teamwork, and I need that. I needed camaraderie.”

So, he joined a training program at what was then Citizens & Southern National Bank, once the largest bank in the southeastern U.S., now part of Bank of America, before moving to Griffin, Ga., in 1987. “I went to work for a community bank, kind of by accident, and found the job love of my life,” he says. “I got a job with First National Bank of Griffin, and I’ve been a community banker ever since.”

That love of community has defined his career. “One thing about community banking that I love is we get paid to be active in the community; that’s part of what we do,” he explains. “We’re committed to the community, not just from the standpoint of its financial health, but community banks, especially in small towns, are really their financial centers. They’re where everybody gathers, where people come in the morning.

“I like that, and I like the idea of being able to be active in the chamber and active on the local boards. This was a job that not only allowed me to do that but encouraged me to do it.”

Williams has a passion for relationship building, whether it’s sitting on the boards of local museums or fundraising for Relay for Life, and he admits he’s always the first person to stand up and take on those roles as a way of getting to know the neighborhood he’s working in.

A rapid ascent

Williams set himself a goal of becoming CEO of a bank by the age of 40. He achieved it at 34 years old at First Peoples Bank in Pine Mountain, Ga., where he stayed for 15 years, from 1998 to 2013. During that time, he took the community bank through the Great Recession of 2008–09.

“That’s when the bottom fell out, and Georgia was markedly hit,” he reflects on the tumultuous period. “We lost 90-plus banks to failure in between 2008 and 2013. So, it was a very, very difficult time.”

What drives Williams—and what got him through that time—is “an absolute belief in and a love for the model of community banking.” As chairman of the Community Bankers Association of Georgia during that recession, he would remind others of the importance of their roles.

“I told them, ‘Guys, what we do matters, what we do works and the model works,’” he recalls. “‘And yes, we’re having some exceptionally tough economic times right now, but there’s always going to be a place for local banks to take deposits from people they know, live with and work with, people they understand, and loan that money to people that they know and understand—local community.’”

It’s a belief he still holds. “There’s always going to be place for it, no matter how big the big banks get, no matter how automated they get, no matter how much things change. There’s always going to be a place for that model.”

We use the word ‘family’ a lot. We’re serious about it at Century. We believe in it. We believe in each other.”
—Derek Williams

Williams believes there is great potential for a resurgence in community banking, thanks to shifting demographics. He describes acquaintances in their twenties and thirties choosing local coffee shops over big names like Starbucks, local hardware stores over Lowe’s or Home Depot—so why not, he suggests, choose a community bank over a national bank?

He recalls serving on FDIC’s Community Bank Advisory Committee years ago and being introduced to a group of millennials who worked there. All but one of them had the same checking account they had opened in high school. When asked what they wanted from a bank, they told him, “If you’ll give us the technology, if you’ll give us the ability to bank on our phones … but assure us that Ms. Sally who we used to talk to at the bank is still there if we need to talk to somebody, then you’ve got us for life.”

This approach is key to Century Bank & Trust’s success. “If we can get them in the door, we can keep them,” he says, “because we can blow them away with the service that we provide.”

And that means putting ethics front and center. “We use the word ‘family’ a lot. We’re serious about it at Century. We believe in it. We believe in each other,” he says. “I had an HR attorney tell me one time, ‘Derek, I want you to remember something. Just because something is legal, doesn’t mean it’s right or ethical.’ So, I always think about that. When we have situations, I know [my team is] going to respond with what’s best for the people who work at the bank and what’s best for our customers.”

Community banks have a great reputation with legislators and regulators because of our track record of safe and sound performance and our support of consumers and small businesses.”
—Derek Williams

It’s his confidence in Century’s culture and in his team that has allowed him the freedom to work closely with ICBA. As CEO, he says, his job is “to create a culture and to encourage and to motivate and to live at the 30,000-foot level, trying to make sure that everybody else has an opportunity to do their job as effectively as possible.”

Keeping the flame burning

Williams foresees a challenging year ahead, with issues from inflation and interest rates to the ripple effects of the pandemic, but he plans to spend his year as chairman lending support to ICBA president Rebeca Romero Rainey and her team, as well as reminding bankers that the community banking model works and to take pride in what they do every day.

He believes ICBA’s advocacy work in Washington D.C., is critical to shaping the industry and affects all community bankers in profound ways. “Community banks,” says Williams, “have a great reputation with legislators and regulators because of our track record of safe and sound performance and our support of consumers and small businesses. We just want that track record to be acknowledged and considered so that regulations can be tiered to fit the risk profile of the institutions.”

He believes passionately in the ThinkTECH Accelerator, saying it’s at the forefront of bringing technology to community banks and is making it possible for those millennials he met, plus the Gen Zers coming up behind them, to bank locally.

“There are some brilliant, brilliant people who are doing some really cool things with not only advocacy on the hill but from an education standpoint and also from an innovation standpoint,” Williams says. “ICBA is cutting edge on that. They’re working with technology firms to come in and not try to take our business away from us but help us do it better and more efficiently. Community banks can now provide technology that’s just as slick, mobile apps and all the technology that the big banks have, but we back it up with personal service.”

March will be a busy month. Century Bank is celebrating 125 years in business, and he kicks off his term as chairman with a speech in front of a large crowd of bankers at ICBA LIVE in Honolulu.

But that’s not fazing him in the slightest. He recalls a conversation with Aleis Stokes, ICBA’s senior vice president of communications, at last year’s convention, when she warned him that she would need the first draft of his speech by November.

He laughs, “I said, ‘Aleis, that speech has been written for 10 years! This is something I’ve always wanted to do.’”

So, while community banking may not be in Derek Williams’ blood, it’s clearly a job he was born to do.

Roshan McArthur is a writer in California.

Photo by Courtney K/iStock

 
By Charles Potts, ICBA

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: In today’s landscape, data reigns supreme. Working hand in hand with digital transformation, data provides a powerful tool for community banks. Its accessibility, readability and applicability in today’s digital-first environment has enhanced community banks’ ability to serve their customers, creating a heightened experience.

But beyond its analysis to help you in your product journey, data can help transform your marketing efforts, offering insights into customer interests and behaviors to better align your offerings with their expectations. In fact, 73% of consumers believe companies should understand their unique needs and expectations, and 56% think offers should always be personalized.

Fortunately, your community bank does have the information necessary to do just that. Data analysis and performance marketing do not have to be in-house skillsets. Working with trusted third-party providers to mine your data for opportunities will help you not only grow your business but better serve your customers in the process.

For example, ThinkTECH Accelerator alum FI Works, a data-driven sales and marketing software platform, partnered with a community bank to deepen customer engagement. Through statistical and machine learning techniques, the FI Works platform estimated the probability that a customer would want a specific product. The bank then used that data to create a personalized marketing piece, providing individualized offers based on customers’ predicted preferences. The results? Following the eight-week campaign, the bank captured $25 million in new deposits.

Or consider how another Accelerator participant, KlariVis, saved one bank up to 400 hours per month of ad hoc reporting by consolidating and aggregating data from the core and ancillary systems. With data dispersed in multiple places due to acquisitions, this consolidation yielded not only increased bank efficiency but also a way to deliver more targeted product offerings to existing clients.

Another ThinkTECH alumni company, Fintel Connect, worked with a bank to extend its brand marketing via third-party publishers. By brokering an affiliate partner program with 25 publishers whose digital footprints matched bank targets, Fintel Connect was able to help the bank achieve tangible results, including opened deposit accounts. This approach resulted in the bank’s highest-performing marketing initiative to date—with costs significantly less than its previous pay-per-click campaigns.

All three of these initiatives achieved impressive outcomes, yet the examples only scratch the surface of performance marketing’s potential. So, as you look to what’s next for your marketing plan, contemplate how partnering with a fintech can help you achieve business objectives. With the strong results we’ve seen, it bears repeating: In marketing, data reigns supreme.

Charles Potts (charles.potts@icba.org) is ICBA executive vice president and chief innovation officer

Illustration by The Laundry Room/Stocksy

Customer data fuels efficient and effective marketing these days. Community banks own an enviable amount of data, but not all are leveraging it to its fullest extent.

By Mindy Charski

People share important data about themselves with their community bank in myriad ways. It happens every time they open a checking account, apply for a mortgage, make a direct deposit, log into a bank’s website or chat with a banker, and more. From these actions, community banks receive data on their income, home address, email address, credit card debt, employer and financial products they want to learn more about.

It all forms what is referred to as first-party data, or information that organizations own and collect themselves, and it’s generally considered more valuable and accurate than information that outside providers collect, or third-party data.

“When we have first-party data, we can target much more precisely and can obviously reach those individuals one-to-one.”
—Andrew Catalano, Austin Williams

While most community banks aren’t yet using first-party data for marketing purposes to grow revenue and retain customers, experts say those willing to invest in the effort can reap big rewards.

“To be able to get access to first-party data and use it strategically is probably the next big opportunity for banks,” says Eric Cook, chief digital strategist at digital marketing agency WSI Digital in Prudenville, Mich.

First-party data for targeted marketing campaigns

Community banks can use their first-party data to upsell and cross-sell to existing customers with highly relevant messages. “When we have first-party data, we can target much more precisely and can obviously reach those individuals one-to-one,” says Andrew Catalano, chief innovation officer of digital marketing agency Austin Williams in Long Island, N.Y.

For example, instead of sending 20,000 mailers about a home equity line of credit to everyone within a certain radius of a branch, a bank could focus the campaign on only customers in its database who it deems may be in-market for one. “We can look at people who got a new mortgage within the last one to two years and make over X amount of dollars in income and meet whatever other qualifications,” Catalano says.

In addition to direct outreach efforts, first-party data can be used for advertising campaigns across a variety of media, including streaming services and social media. “We can take that data and we can reach that person online,” Catalano says. “If we have an export of phone numbers or email addresses from our client, we can take that to Facebook, and Facebook can match those phone numbers and emails to user accounts and serve ads to those people specifically.”

Banks can also employ first-party data to build predictive models that can inform their marketing efforts. These models could predict which products individual customers will need next, for example, and which customers are likely to leave the bank and should be put in retention programs, says Ryan Wilson, vice president of client relationships at Aunalytics. The South Bend, Ind.-based company can tap into bank databases, including the core processing system, to generate advanced analytics and insights.

Data about existing customers can even help community banks improve their efforts to find new customers. “The key is to understand the profiles of the best and [more challenging] customers, which can then impact who you target for solicitation,” says Stephenie Williams, vice president, financial institution marketing product and strategy at marketing solutions company Vericast in San Antonio.

Enhance the customer experience with first-party data

Community banks pride themselves on offering excellent customer service and anticipating the needs of clients. They can supercharge those efforts with first-party data.

Take online banking, for example. Community banks can welcome customers by name when they log in. In addition, banks can send a message to specific customers that congratulates them on being a candidate for a loan, Cook says. The message could include a link to a local lender’s calendar to set up a conversation. “Just make it easy for people to take the next step in that discovery process,” he says.

Likewise, customer service associates who have data at their fingertips can play their own marketing role. “When [customers] call in, if [associates] knew that their next best product could be a CD, they can have that conversation and more intimate relationship,” Wilson says. “We know that community banks want that white glove service in the community.”

How to activate first-party data

Though financial institutions own a treasure trove of data, some marketing teams might not be able to determine key information like which customers are small-business owners, who uses online banking and who is unprofitable for the bank. A big reason is because those valuable insights are often siloed away in a core system that marketers can’t access.

In addition, many marketers don’t have tools for capturing customer information themselves. They may not have customer relationship management (CRM) software, which can store customer data and handle tasks like segmenting customers and tracking leads. Or, they may lack a marketing automation system, which can help banks manage their emails and send automated messages based on how recipients engage with content.

There could be other factors at play beyond the technical. Cook, who was once a community banker himself, says many senior managers think, “‘We don’t want to be intrusive, we don’t want to freak our customers out, we don’t want to seem greedy, we don’t want to overstep our bounds.’”

Making the investment

On top of that, he says many balk at the cost of the technologies. “Marketing for a lot of folks still is a necessary evil,” Cook says. “It’s not seen as an asset, income-producing activity.”

Successfully leveraging first-party data does come with a high price tag because of the required additional tools and resources necessary to own, understand and capitalize on such data.

“These are projects in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, ultimately, if you do it all right,” says Crystal Steinbach, digital and marketing automation manager at Mills Marketing in Storm Lake, Iowa. “But that doesn’t mean you’re taking on all of that cost at one time.” These efforts often will roll out incrementally over time, according to Steinbach.

Extracting marketing value from first-party data can be a long, complicated and expensive endeavor. Yet, Catalano says doing so can be a strategic advantage for banks. He adds, “Even if they’re not using [first-party data] right away, but if they’re starting to collect it and starting to get proper opt-ins, those folks are at a major advantage.”

Mindy Charski is a writer in Texas.

When we assemble at LIVE, it’s about coming together to ignite the passion for community banking on behalf of our communities in a way that moves the industry forward.

The Hawaiian word for family is ‘ohana, and as we prepare to head to Honolulu for ICBA LIVE next month, I’m struck by how much that word describes this community. We are a family of community bankers, supporting one another and our communities through our shared mission, vision and values.

In many cases, we’re not only a chosen family; we’re related by blood as well. Many of us are fourth- or fifth-generation community bankers, embodying a long family tradition of caring for community. We’re passing that ethos down, too. In fact, we have more children attending LIVE this year than we have in the past, and I can’t help but think of the rising community bank leaders that may be right in front of us and all they will bring to the industry.

Where I’ll be this month

I’ll be sharing the community bank perspective and speaking at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Back to the Future: 2023 Banking Outlook Conference.

So, it’s fitting that this year’s theme for ICBA LIVE is “Light the Fire. Light the Way.” Not only are we looking at the next generation of leaders among us; we’re also focusing on what we can do today to preserve and grow community banks’ impact. It’s never been more important to keep that flame of community banking spreading throughout the country.

Our communities need our continued support through these complicated economic times. They need us to remain advocates for their needs. They need us to continue to serve them as people, not as transactions. So, when we assemble at LIVE, it’s about coming together to ignite the passion for community banking on behalf of our communities in a way that moves the industry forward.

As we look at the continued pace of change, we are met with our fair share of challenges but also great opportunities. When we come together, the energy that arises helps us collectively identify the path forward. Then, we lift our heads up and address the technical and nuanced aspects of what we do with a focus on the long-term future of the industry. We create progress and momentum.

But possibly the most rewarding part of LIVE is the opportunity to meet fellow community bankers from around the country. Those hallway conversations where we share anecdotes and make new connections exemplify who we are as community bankers. That sense of ‘ohana shines through, because in community banking we’re more than just business leaders. We are a family, and I hope to see you at LIVE to help us build the relationships that will shape the future of the industry.

Rebeca Romero Rainey
President and CEO, ICBA
Connect with Rebeca @romerorainey