In today’s financial landscape, community financial institutions find themselves navigating through a unique set of challenges. The wave of bank failures throughout 2023 put a spotlight on the volatile side of the industry, making it critical for community institutions to remind the world of their resilience.
The banking industry is still facing slower loan demand due to higher interest rates and economic uncertainty while also trying to juggle long-withstanding issues like talent shortages, staffing difficulties, and industry disruptors fighting for market share. However, slowed loan demand presents an ideal opportunity for community institutions to evaluate processes and optimize operational efficiencies.
Banks are not just competing with other banks anymore. It is hard to even know who our competitors are when the landscape is rapidly changing, and customer expectations are being based on experiences from other industries – Amazon, Spotify, Walmart, and Chick-fil-A to name a few.