Raddon Report

A year containing a pandemic is, generally speaking, not a great year to have made predictions. In this review of the predictions we made for 2020 in January of last year, we will eat some crow. However, many of the things we thought might happen did, in fact, turn out to be the case. 2020 was a wild and woolly year, but on balance we were surprisingly prescient. However, we did miss clearly on the start and the magnitude of the recession.

Here are the predictions made last year and an assessment of each’s accuracy.

Prediction 1: What we said:

I’ve been using the same satellite TV provider for about 15 years. From that you can safely infer that I’m a loyal customer. But in this case, my loyalty isn’t why I keep my current satellite service. As a matter of fact, I have no more affinity for my current provider than I do for any other cable or streaming service. No, the only reason I stay is because my provider has a relatively exclusive relationship with the NFL, and I’ve been a football fan since I could walk. That’s it.

By Karen Kislin and Jan Trifts, Strategic Advisors

New Year’s Day historically has been a time to reflect on the past year and make promises or resolutions to be better in the new year. Over the past 4,000 years of this tradition, the most common resolutions have consistently focused on health, including exercising more and eating healthier, as well as saving more money to be financially healthier.

While we all hope that 2021 is less interesting than 2020 was, there’s no doubt we’ll continue to grapple with challenges and opportunities resulting from the pandemic. As we look to a new year, I consider these the top three issues financial institutions face.

The pandemic and its accompanying economic slowdown have compressed margins at banks and credit unions, putting pressure on earnings. To mitigate this impact, consider understanding how your accountholders contribute to the bottom line.  Are they bringing the necessary value as consumers of your products and services?

Question: Which credit card offers consumers the best value in terms of travel rewards? Answer: There probably isn’t a “correct” answer, and any answer probably has a lot to do with personal preference. But the question itself is becoming less relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic as travel, in general, and air travel, specifically, has essentially ground to a halt.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hastened trends that already existed in consumer banking, like the move to mobile. A more ominous shift risks the continued existence of smaller financial institutions.

At the typical community-based financial institution, checking account opening volume plummeted more than 200 percent in March and still had not fully recovered by the end of the second quarter of 2020. The slowdown was a reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic putting a pause on many aspects of life in the U.S. As consumers and financial institutions continue to adjust to life during a pandemic, what does “normal” mean for checking accounts in 2020 and beyond?

The pandemic has not been friendly to financial institutions’ bottom lines, and while some sectors of the economy show improvement, a possible second wave of the virus in the cooler months could worsen financial positions.

But the picture is not entirely bleak. COVID-19 has created an opportunity for banks and credit unions to build a part of their business that may have been something of an afterthought until now: wealth management.