Are we entering an era of data-ism? David Brooks in the New York Times brought the term into wide circulation in 2013. Yuval Harari, in his book Homo Deus, depicts a data-ist future in which humans become subservient to data, eroding what we consider free will. In the Financial Times, Harari writes, “If you don’t like this, and you want to stay beyond the reach of the algorithms, there is probably just one piece of advice to give you, the oldest in the book: Know thyself.”
Interchange makes up nearly half of all non-interest income for institutions in Raddon analyses, but P2P and other payments disruptors threaten that revenue stream. Andrew Vahrenkamp, Senior Research Analyst at Raddon, asks why most banks do not have a strategy to meet this threat.
Small business optimism has remained elevated in 2018 as business owners look to capitalize on improved economic and market conditions. This optimism is welcome news for financial institutions that are in a position to assist these businesses in meeting their growth goals.
The financial press has been fairly outspoken about rising rates. Given the Fed’s persistence in raising the Fed Funds rate, we should expect this level of reporting, but has that concept filtered down to the American public?
Social media is a staple of everyday life, and most financial institutions are spending time, money and effort to build their profile on social media. In that light, Raddon explores the influence of social media on consumers’ financial decision process in our recent study, Payments Insights: Rise of the Digital Pioneers.
The Federal Reserve has raised the Fed Funds rates multiple times over the past two years. Banks and credit unions have so far resisted raising their deposit rates to match, but are consumers eagerly paying attention, waiting for those rates to shoot up?
Every successful leader knows that sales growth becomes possible when the organization’s vision drives the culture. Many financial institutions misinterpret the drive to achieve sales growth as the organization’s vision. When this happens, selling becomes the vision and service becomes lost. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in either. If your organization does not clearly focus its vision on service, no amount of effort and expense at creating a dynamic, results-based sales culture will bring long-lasting growth or success.
Recent years have seen an explosion in new digital payment methods and delivery channels. But are these new mechanisms replacing or merely supporting existing consumer behavior and preferences?
In Raddon’s recent study, Payments Insights: Rise of the Digital Pioneers, we find that consumers are increasingly engaged in payments technology, and more importantly, technology is driving some consumers to look away from traditional banking players.
Don’t wait for the day your deposit dollars walk out the door to figure out how to stop them from leaving or how to get them back. Otherwise, you will lose valuable momentum in the wake of heightened deposit competition.
Early in 2017 we compiled our predictions for the upcoming year. These were a mix of economic and industry predictions. How accurate were these predictions? As it turns out, we were mostly on the mark in our predictions, at least in terms of direction if not always in magnitude. Here is a review of our 2017 predictions and an assessment of the accuracy of each.
Declining overdraft income makes lower income households challenging to serve profitably. Andrew Vahrenkamp, Senior Research Analyst at Raddon, gives some ideas on how to serve these consumers effectively and efficiently.
In December, Raddon held its quarterly seminars for participants in the Performance Analytics program. This program provides financial institutions with comprehensive analytics and peer benchmarks that measure performance across all areas of the organization and helps guide strategic initiatives. The workshops facilitate a review of the latest research findings and offer a platform for discussing how financial institutions can respond to the challenges they face today.
Last week we published an article warning about pending changes in home equity lending due to the recently passed tax legislation. In this article we wrote:
Recent changes to the US tax code will affect homeowners with mortgage and home equity products in a number of ways. In this Raddon Report, we look at what has changed, who will be affected, the impact of the change on homeowners, and what institutions can do to market their mortgage and equity products in this new environment.
2017 proved to be a good year for the U.S. from an economic perspective and for the financial industry as well, with new record highs achieved in the stock market, much stronger GDP growth - especially in the second and third quarters, and continued improvement in real estate sales and values. The industry showed continued improvement in earnings and also continued strong loan growth.
Every marketing textbook will tell you how important a strong brand is for generating market share, but measuring that brand can be a tricky proposition. A financial institution has long been able to understand its levels of awareness and favorability in its local market, but was a particular level good? Bad? Indifferent? Relative to their peers, how strong should their brand be?
Anticipated loan demand is finally increasing after steadily falling since the financial crisis of 2007/2008. Raddon’s 2017 national research indicates 28% of consumers anticipate opening a loan in the next 12 months. This demand for loans has increased significantly from a low of 19% in 2015 and just 21% last year. Home equities are among the products showing increasing demand. The increase in demand is being fueled by rising home prices (up by one-third since 2009) and lower inventories of houses on the market.
Fabio Biasella, Raddon's VP of Strategic Thought Leadership discusses the importance of mobile banking and how to leverage this investment to grow relationships within your customer-base.
For the last decade, marketers have been obsessed with trying to reach the elusive millennial consumer. The quest is not unwarranted, as the Millennial generation continues to make its presence felt on the financial services sector with each passing year. But with the leading edge of Millennials now in their late thirties, this group is no longer the new kid on the block.
Raddon held its first-ever national research conference in Chicago November 6-8. The three day event was attended by over 250 C-level and marketing professionals from banks and credit unions across the United States, and the content featured Raddon’s own proprietary national consumer and small business research as well as several very informative keynote speakers and panelists.
Earlier this year, the Fed implemented two rate increases and appears poised for another increase at the end of this year. With rising rates and improved loan to deposit ratios that have more institutions looking for funds, it’s fair to say that deposits are squarely back on the radar. At Raddon, we’ve been talking with our clients about the implications of the changing environment and how to prepare for the coming challenges. The first and most obvious takeaway is that:
