Crafting Unique Business Banking Experiences

Jim Marous (00:11):

Welcome to another episode of Banking Transformed, the podcast that dives deep into the trends, innovations, and strategies shaping the future of banking. I'm your host, Jim Marous, owner and CEO of the Digital Banking Report and co-publisher of The Financial Brand.

Jim Marous (00:27):

Mid-size financial institutions face unprecedented challenges. They must compete with a larger bank that have massive technology budgets in nimble fintechs that can quickly deploy innovative solutions. The pressure to deliver sophisticated products in seamless digital experiences while maintaining the personalized service that distinguishes regional banks has never been greater.

Jim Marous (00:53):

Today's guest, Matt Wind, Head of Product Management at Popular Bank, joins the Banking Transformed Podcast. He brings a unique perspective to these challenges, having recently transitioned from a 26-year tenure at Comerica Bank to a leadership role at Popular Bank. The discussion explores critical decisions regarding technology at partnerships, innovation strategies, and the balance between building in-house solutions and partnering with third-party providers.

Jim Marous (01:24):

For mid-sized financial institutions to thrive in today's competitive landscape, they must excel in three core areas, strategic technology modernization that enhances capabilities without overwhelming resources, distinctive product offerings that address specific customer needs, and maintaining the personal service advantage that sets them apart from the larger competitors.

Jim Marous (01:49):

So, Matt, we go back a long way. I think it could be more than two decades, either seeing each other in the halls of Comerica or working together in different organizations. But you joined Popular Bank only two months ago after over 20 years, closer to 25 years at Comerica Bank. What was your mission when you joined Popular, and what unique perspectives has this transition given you about mid-sized banking organizations?

Matt Wind (02:19):

Yeah, Jim, I had a great run at Comerica, and it was a lot of fun there and you're right, I just joined Popular two months ago. Coming in there as the head of product management, they had been without a leader in that space for, gosh, it was about a year, I believe.

Matt Wind (02:36):

And so, really, my initial thought process when I joined was to kind of take stock of what was going on there and where they are. Popular, it's a little bit of similar to Comerica, a mid-major overall, the U.S. arm is a little bit smaller, but it's a smaller subsidiary of Banco Popular who's based in Puerto Rico.

Matt Wind (02:59):

But similar from the standpoint, they're a commercial organization who's really trying to go after the commercial accounts and the commercial customers, and then kind of following with the employees and the executives of those organizations.

Matt Wind (03:14):

But when I got in there, I really wanted to take stock into, "Okay, what are we doing here? What are the target segments that we're going after? What do we have that we're able to do really, really well? What products do we have and those services? What are the people that I have working for me and what are the people that we have out who took stock and what they're having issues with?"

Matt Wind (03:38):

And really now we're trying to devise a go forward plan into really short term into next year in 2025, but also longer term, what does 2026 look like, '27, '28? Because Jim, as you know, at a smaller bank like Popular, you're not going to get to do everything day one. So, we've got to maximize the use of our resources that we have available going into the next year in 2025, and then look as kind of building off that roadmap that makes sense. So, that’s kind of my mission right out of the gate.

Matt Wind (04:12):

I'll tell you, I'm sure we'll cover this, but what I love about being at Popular so far is the culture's great, the people are great, they've got a lot of long-term employees who've been there, who all advocate for their customers, advocate for their colleagues, it's a great organization to be a part of and I'm really happy with my choice so far.

Jim Marous (04:32):

So, it's interesting you mentioned that Popular Bank and Comerica both operate at similar scales, but in different markets. How did their approaches to business banking differ? But more importantly, what challenges do they share?

Matt Wind (04:48):

I mean, they differ from the standpoint of, to be honest with you, who they're targeting. Popular Bank, it's New York Metro, New Jersey, and South Florida in the United States and so those are very unique marketplaces. And I've had a chance to visit both New York and South Florida and they're doing different things while Comerica and Popular are both commercial banking organizations and that's where we're going.

Matt Wind (05:17):

Popular is really looking for, they're big in the healthcare space, they're big in the association banking space, they've got a big mortgage, they're going after mortgages and those types of services.

Matt Wind (05:29):

And then traditional CNI, middle market, commercial lending type things where Comerica in the markets that Comerica operates in, in Michigan, Texas, California, obviously in Michigan, Comerica historically has been a great partner to the auto industry and the suppliers and in Texas, the energy business is in California, the tech business.

Matt Wind (05:49):

So, different segments that these organizations are going after but what they both have is they're both building on relationships. They're going out into the marketplace, it's one-on-one, they've got their relationship managers on the ground, meeting with customers and really building those relationships unlike the big boys out there that have the billions and billions.

Matt Wind (06:14):

The mid-majors and popular, we're trying to differentiate ourselves with service and really trying to build off of that with the human relationships that we can develop. So, that's the things they do great, but it can also be a challenge when you're competing against some of the bigger banks and I think the service angle is the one that really helps Popular stand out amongst their competitors.

Jim Marous (06:38):

It's interesting because we talk about service but service really helps retain customers as opposed to being the best and easiest acquisition tool because service differs from person to person, organization to organization as you said, your calling officers really help differentiate you.

Jim Marous (06:58):

In your experience, what are the key differentiators that allow a mid-size bank to successfully compete with large institutions and fintech competitors that actually smaller, more nimble and things of that nature in the business banking space? And especially as we look to the fact that so many smaller and mid-sized organizations now are trying to double down on the business banking space.

Jim Marous (07:24):

So, you have even more competition now because it's the one area that you can really build, as you said, segment strategies. But what makes it so that Comerica in the past and Popular right now really can compete even in an acquisition mode where service may not be known yet? Because you aren't doing business with them at that point.

Matt Wind (07:50):

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it starts with really going after and knowing who you want to target. In my opinion, the mid-majors, it's going to be a real struggle if you're trying to be everything to everyone.

Matt Wind (08:06):

And I think, what Popular and my former employer Comerica did really well is target the segments and the business lines that you really want and the industries that you really wanted to go after and be really versed in those. So, for example, in Popular Bank, they've got a huge association banking platform. They're very well versed and they know everything there is to know about that business.

Matt Wind (08:32):

So, when they're in South Florida where this is one of their major business lines, they can go out to customers, whether those are target customers or existing customers and really sell and talk to them from an SME, they know everything about that business and so they gain the confidence from the customer or the target upfront.

Matt Wind (09:00):

And then from there, I mean the products and services to some extent, when you start talking about loans and lines of credit and checking accounts, a lot of those are commodity products, everybody's got those, but how are you offering those to their customers? I feel like you've got to do a really good job in this day and age, especially the regional of blending the kind of the digital with the human.

Matt Wind (09:21):

So, you've got the human side that knows everything about your business but now how are we making this really efficient for the customers? So, you got them into the products, now you got to use the digital side to make their banking business more efficient for them, intuitive, simple to use those types of things.

Matt Wind (09:38):

So, you plug your dollars into to really simplifying the digital experience for your customers and I think that's how you can win at as a smaller organization. Try not to be everything for everyone, target the customers you know, be an expert, let everybody know you're an expert, provide them the great service, the great human interaction, and then provide them the digital capabilities that they need to help with their banking business.

Matt Wind (10:05):

The other thing I would just say, Jim to add is, at the end of the day, a lot of these relationships are developed over time, very rarely, especially in the commercial side of the bank do you walk in and day one, you nail the customer, you know what your first presentation, boom, next thing you know, they're sign on the dotted line, where can I apply? This type of thing.

Matt Wind (10:24):

A lot of these relationships are built over time. And so, being in the community, being that expert, being out there is what helps cement those relationships and over the longer term, will bring you more business.

Jim Marous (10:37):

And you've talked a lot about your philosophy and the philosophy of the organization, your workforce, finding those segments that you can really make an impact, as you said, associations, healthcare where there's a lot of competition right now anyway, but you obviously are building relationship that not only deal with the business banking side, but then they roll over into being consumer customers as well.

Jim Marous (11:00):

In your years and you're probably one of the people that I've known the longest that have been in product development and channel development longer than anybody, what lessons have you learned over the years that you really have been able to resonate with business customers, but also look for that growth? Because right now growth is so difficult to achieve, especially as organizations and consumers are expanding the realm of who they work with.

Jim Marous (11:31):

I related to almost building your own open banking platform where you're saying, "In my case, I have my personal, my business bank, but I also have the people that are involved with my payments, some people that are involved with automatic savings. I'm building more relationships around that," because it's really changed quite a bit. How has the product development role evolved over the years?

Matt Wind (11:57):

It's really developed a lot over the years and Jim, you're dating me clearly because you said we go back so long, so clearly, I've been around, so feeling my age a little bit these days. But you're right, I think, back when I started in the product management area back around 2000, just the things the industry was going through at that point in time and you think back and you go down the consumer side, free checking, and then you had the whole deposit, liquidity, overdraft era of banking.

Matt Wind (12:31):

And obviously things have evolved but I think in this day and age, obviously, the biggest thing all banks are looking for is primacy, you want to be top of wallet, you want to be the number one bank, you want to have the transaction account. And so, I'll start on the commercial side.

Matt Wind (12:49):

Clearly on the commercial side, you want to have the loans, you want to have the lines of credit, you want to have the treasury management services, the operating account and those types of things for the business.

Matt Wind (13:00):

But then at Popular Bank and at my former employer, Comerica, we always wanted to bank the owners or the executives from a consumer perspective, we wanted to have their business. And so, we really worked hard to ensure that we had products or a suite of services and products that worked for them.

Matt Wind (13:19):

And then from there, we wanted to bank their employees because in both organizations, we are not on every street corner. We are not going to be the branch that you're going to see on every street corner, in every town across this country.

Matt Wind (13:35):

So, you're really focusing on the businesses that you're banking, the employees of those businesses, and really the consumers around the branches that you operate in. So, that's kind of as you're thinking about how you're going after customers, those are the ones you're really targeting. Then as I said, you want to be their primary bank. So, you want to get their operating account on the consumer side because that's where everybody's transacting through.

Matt Wind (14:01):

And you can have all these other payment services and everything but a large majority of the situations, they're all coming back to the operating account or for a consumer, the old traditional checking account. That's what you want to have and kind of build off there, provide them digital services that help them access their money.

Matt Wind (14:20):

Because in this day and age, what's everybody want? Well, they want access when, where, and how they want it, 24 by 7, 365. Those are the types of things everybody kind of expects when they go to the bank or when they're choosing a bank.

Matt Wind (14:35):

And then also provide them ancillary services that really can meet their needs, whether that's a savings account, money market, traditional CDs, availability to get to investment products or on the business side, treasury products and those types of things.

Matt Wind (14:53):

I also think you got to understand a little bit in and this is a little bit of my opinion, it's okay if your customers have banking services elsewhere. You know what, there's always going to be the chance that they're going to see that really great rate at some direct bank and they want to park some dollars there, that’s great.

Matt Wind (15:12):

As long as you have the operating accountant, they're going to come back to you because what we've seen over the years is rates attract dollars, but unless you're the primary bank, as soon as that rate changes or drops, as we're seeing a little bit right now with what the fed's doing, you know what, those dollars start to leave you. So, you want to make sure the primary account is key and it's really the key to everything and really augment that with simplified digital services that really meet the needs of their customers.

Matt Wind (15:44):

So, I kind of feel like over the 25 plus years I've been here, we went from kind of paper-based accounting and everything and overdrafts and those types of things to now we're in an era where, you know what, primary count and digital services and really ensuring that people, when it's all said and done, they're always coming back to your organization.

Jim Marous (16:05):

You talk about over the years, one of the things that really has changed, as you said from paper to digital, but the availability to access information. You had never been able to ask your team, "Tell me about the flow of funds that are going on with your commercial client, where's money flowing in and out of, in other words, who else is in this mix of organizations they work with?"

Jim Marous (16:33):

Secondly, based on data that's readily available now, what is their primary financial institution relationship? It used to be for many customers as a deposit account, but for retailers, a lot of times it was the payment services, what you could do sometimes even on being able to deliver the devices to a restaurant or to a small retailer. The primary has really changed, but the availability of information to look at flow of funds and such really becomes the key is understanding your customer.

Jim Marous (17:07):

Now, we've always talked about that, but the availability of doing that, the ability to diversify and democratize the data and insight to your calling officers really provides you a really good asset going forward. One of the other things that's happened especially at smaller organizations is it used to be that you could never keep up with the big guys. They were always buying all the new stuff; you can never get the technology or the wherewithal to really build the best products.

Jim Marous (17:38):

However, that's changed dramatically over the last five to seven years. Can you walk us through a little bit about your framework or your foundation for the build versus buy decisions that you have to go through almost every day with regard to technology or new services?

Matt Wind (17:56):

Yeah, absolutely. And from a partnership perspective, in my former life at Comerica, we had that a lot and obviously at Popular Bank and I think, one, it comes down to resources. In mid-major banks, there's just not an unlimited budget for building.

Matt Wind (18:20):

And then the kicker to building is in a lot of institutions and in both places, I've worked, there's always the chance that we could build it and build it perfectly, but really the key to the whole thing is then maintaining it on a go forward basis. And a lot of times, the cost of maintaining it outweighs the initial cost to build. So, really, that’s one of the big things we’ve looked at.

Matt Wind (18:47):

Now, I've always looked at first and foremost with partnerships, is I want organizations that have the same mentality, the same view on customers, the same way they kind of treat their employees as we do in our organization because that says a lot about the company you're working for or working with.

Matt Wind (19:06):

You want to work with a customer who kind of has the same mentality you do, customer first approach, willing to go partner with you and go to bat, it's partners that come in and it's their way or the highway, really, that kind doesn't really work in my world, or at least with me. So, I had a lot of great relationships with a lot of great partners over the years.

Matt Wind (19:30):

And as you're looking and then as you're evaluating these companies that you are evaluating, “Okay, what's it going to be cost to maintain once I build versus, okay, I'm going to buy this program or buy this service from X, Y, Z and then how am I going to get those updates and what's the cost of getting that?”

Matt Wind (19:50):

In a lot of situations, especially in mid-majors, that's really the big differential. And one of the things I learned over the years is we don't always want to buy something. I'll rephrase that, Jim. A lot of times you're buying something to replace what you had. And one of the things, sometimes the path people go down in that situation is they loved what they had and they want exactly what they had, they just want to rebuild it somewhere else.

Matt Wind (20:17):

And that can get you into trouble, you got to be forward thinking and just because what you had worked doesn't mean going forward, it's going to be the best option for you. So, I mean, biggest advice on a lot of situations, take it out of the box, take what's there, it's going to work 95% of the time for you and all those little one-offs that you want to add are going to cost you a lot of time and resources going forward.

Matt Wind (20:46):

Because taking something out of the box from a partner when they start going to version 2.0 and 3.0 and 4.0, those upgrades are easy when you don't have customizations. As soon as you start having those customizations, it becomes costly and all of a sudden it takes a lot of time and resources to get to 2.0 or 3.0.

Matt Wind (21:06):

So, now that's probably one of my biggest pieces of advice for people out there, is don't overthink it in a lot of situations that cuts or that out of the box product's going to work for you 90, 95% of the time and it's going to work great for you. But like I said, relationships are key and most of the partners I've had over the years had great long-term relationships and have been with my organizations for years, so that's key as well too.

Jim Marous (21:34):

Well, it's interesting you mentioned two major points there. One, you are now looking for those solutions that are resilient, that are going to serve you today, but also are going to be in a position to serve you tomorrow and that's a different way of looking at things than what we used to do.

Jim Marous (21:48):

Because we used to say, "I'm playing catch up." So, you felt pretty good about getting to the point where you're at least up to date, but now with things changing, things that you can't even imagine changing, anything from interest rates to the economic environment, to the needs of your customers, to the needs of your segments, even more importantly and you look and you go, "I need something that's going to be resilient."

Jim Marous (22:11):

I also, in most cases, am buying something that is already provided to me in some way from my core provider. So, I almost have to find a way to how do I get this approved when it kind of overlaps things we've had in the past, but not really, again, from a resilient, from a leadership perspective.

Jim Marous (22:32):

The other element you mentioned is about the employees and not building just a faster version of what you've had in the past. As a leader in the product area that actually hits upon a county, hits upon operations, hits so many areas of financial institution, how do you as a leader position new solutions in a way that is not threatening to an employee that's been with you maybe as long as you have?

Matt Wind (23:06):

That's a great question because a lot of times, you're looking at different things where it may be a more of efficient way to do something, a different products and service that no longer needs all of the infrastructure that you once needed in-house to do it, you're outsourcing it. And so, yeah, some people can look at that and be like, "Gosh, what are they doing here? Are they going to get rid of my job?" And that type of thing.

Matt Wind (23:33):

But I think I would say as an organization, this kind of goes beyond banking, to be honest with you Jim, I think as a good organization, you got to look to always expand the talent and the experience and expertise of your team and in a lot of situations you can train and upskill people into different roles.

Matt Wind (23:54):

So, you might've had somebody who was working, it was back office and working on a lot of the homegrown cores that a lot of these banks had and now you're outsourcing some of this, you're going to FIS, you're doing other things like that, that make sense but you can talk to those people in a lot of situations, talk to them about the new roles you're going to need.

Matt Wind (24:16):

Because in a lot of situations, you're still going to need the same number of people or maybe a few less, but you need them in different ways. So, who's willing to change and who's willing to transform. And I think the cliche word is transformation right now in the industry. I think every bank's got a transformation program going on and that type of thing but a lot of that has to do with employees as well too.

Matt Wind (24:38):

How are you transforming your employees? How are you upskilling your employees into new roles so that they're still valuable contributors to the organization? A lot of great people at both organizations, I've worked both at Comerica and Popular, great people but the people are evolving.

Matt Wind (24:55):

A lot of times the role you start in is clearly not the role you're going to finish in and if you're willing to accept change and be a part of the transformation, there's more than likely going to be a role for you in the organization. So, I think that goes a long way to helping people through the anxiety of change that's going to go on and that type of as you're providing systems and services and everything that are more efficient.

Jim Marous (25:25):

So, the consumer, your business banking customer and the consumer that's part of that organization, they're in a point of change also. A lot of organizations, we're continually innovate from the digital perspective, we try to bring as much as we can on the mobile device or on the computer where it used to be paper-based and personal relationships.

Jim Marous (25:47):

How do you as a product manager today, balance a need for digital innovation to match those leaders that are doing this on every friend from Uber to Amazon to Google and maintaining still the personal relationship that really differentiates a mid-size organization. How do you deal with the balancing act and how do you maybe provide the most on both without just overwhelming yourself with costs?

Matt Wind (26:20):

Another big topic that's going on in the industry, and I mean, if you start with digitization, I mean obviously that's key. Everybody's got web and mobile and as I had previously stated, I put it this way, I have a college student right now Jim, if you ask him what a checking account is, he doesn't know what a checking account is. You know what he wants, he's got his phone, he wants access to his money-

Jim Marous (26:43):

Got Venmo, that's all he has.

Matt Wind (26:46):

Venmo, or Zelle. I'm trying to get him on Zelle, I am a banker here, but he wants his access when, where and how he wants it. So, whether he's got to send 10 bucks to the fraternity or $20 to a roommate, that's the access and things that they want.

Matt Wind (27:02):

So, the basic digitization and movement of money I think, it's just baseline for what is needed as you start looking at that type of thing. But the key point you said is how do you stay close to your customers? Because let's be honest, these customers aren't walking into your branches every single day like they did 25, 30 years ago, they're only going when they have to.

Matt Wind (27:25):

So, that's why you got to pair that with the ability to message and communicate with them in ways that they want to, so yeah, you're always going to have the branches, but the outbound calling efforts of yesteryear, a lot of times they fall on deaf ears because I don't know about you, but you get a number that's coming through your phone, you don't know it, it's swiped them to cancel it.

Matt Wind (27:50):

But if you can provide them messaging via whether that's SMS, text or to some extent through email whereas a lot of banks are doing now through social media, and I think it's taken banks, it's interesting to watch banks, five pre pandemic, let's say 2018, 2019, and you start talking about Instagram and TikTok and these types, even LinkedIn as a way to hire people, banks were really shied away from that. Now everybody’s got that.

Matt Wind (28:20):

Every single bank's out there on Instagram, they're doing different things and definitely big on LinkedIn and promoting the organization but those are different ways to communicate with your customers.

Matt Wind (28:31):

And in situations, whether it's text or email where you're directly communicating with them or through social media where you're getting your customers to follow you, whether it's on Instagram or the other ones and then you're able to provide information about your organization or different things you're doing.

Matt Wind (28:49):

Not always having to be advertising products or services but community events, great things you're doing out in the environment or the communities you serve, those are all things that help build brand, that help build loyalty to your customer base.

Matt Wind (29:03):

And so, I think a great … working with your chief marketing officer or your chief experience officer, which is pretty much the catchphrase these days, and building that kind of all in communication plan, not only directly to your customers, but to the communities you serve is the best way to stay on top or in top or the top of their mind in this day and age.

Jim Marous (29:26):

Matt, great. So, let's take a short break here and recognize the sponsors.

Jim Marous (29:34):

Welcome back to Banking Transformed, today, Matt Wind, Head of Product Management at Popular Bank joins me. We've been discussing how mid-sized financial institutions can find a niche between the largest national banks and the smaller fintech firms.

Jim Marous (29:49):

So, Matt, you've been talking about your career in product management and in distribution in every area within two different organizations. How do you stay on top of what's going on? Because you can't live in the banking world right now without having to involve yourself in what's going on around you on a regular basis. That learning process, if you're not doing it, it can be the death note to your career and to your job at the time. So, how do you stay on top of what's going on?

Matt Wind (30:20):

And I would tell you that's probably one of the biggest keys to success in this industry is really having your network out there. And one of the things that's really benefited me over time is my partnerships, my liaisons in the industry.

Matt Wind (30:34):

One of the biggest things that I did, I've spent a lot of time with the Consumer Bankers Association over the years. I led their deposits and payments committee for a couple years while I was working with them and just built a lot of relationships with a lot of people in the product management world and kind of in the segments that I was working on and I have all those relationships to this day.

Matt Wind (30:58):

And so, you build those and so at any one point in time, you can send an email, a text message, make a quick phone call, and just kind of talk through at a high level what are you seeing? This is what we're seeing, type thing and kind of be involved in what's going on there.

Matt Wind (31:13):

And CBA and ABA and those types of things are great organizations that help the industry as a whole and can provide great information to people out there about a variety of topics and things that are going on so I would recommend partnerships with them on a regular basis.

Matt Wind (31:31):

The other thing is, obviously on the other partnerships, the vendor partnerships that all these organizations have, they're all coming with different avenues and different takes on things. And so, in a lot of situations you have your core provider or you're working with other organizations that are coming in with certain products and services, and they have information about what they're seeing in the marketplace because they're working with other banks as well too and so you're kind of bringing that all in.

Matt Wind (31:57):

And I've never been one Jim through my whole career to say that I know everything. I'm always out there eagerly ready to learn and willing to listen to whoever wants to chat and talk about. And then finally I would say, going through what I went through, transitioning from Comerica to Popular Bank, I spent a lot of time through LinkedIn reconnecting with people and getting to know others that way, and got introduced to people that weren't within my network and actually made a lot of connections that way as well too.

Matt Wind (32:30):

So, I think you've really got to put yourself out there, but what social media does in this day and age, and I'd be the first one to admit, I'm not a huge social media person in general, but what it does is it makes connections very easy in this day and age and those are the things that are critical not only to the banking industry, but to most industries that people work in.

Jim Marous (32:50):

You know what, it is great you shared that because I don't think I've ever gone through a time in the last year specifically where so many people have been displaced, for lack of a better term, in their minds unexpectedly and that sucks. I mean, bottom line is if you're not ready for it, it's never a good time, even if you're ready for it in your own mind change just overall, isn't a good feeling.

Jim Marous (33:21):

And I don't think I've ever gone through a time in my career when so many people were unexpectedly let go and I think you brought up a very good point, the continuous networking. I mean, you were always very involved in the ABA, the BAI and the CBA and that made it so that your networking kept you on top of what was going on in the marketplace.

Jim Marous (33:49):

Because you always would associate yourself with the leaders as opposed to the followers. You don't want to hold yourself back, but you want to keep on digging because you don't want to be at the table and be the person that doesn't understand where things are going and especially now when things are changing so quickly.

Jim Marous (34:06):

And you mentioned also social media. I think people underestimate the need to continually ask for recommendations and references on LinkedIn because it's a living resume. I have over a hundred recommendations and references since the beginning of my career from different people figuring that if I ever need it, I can at least refer back to the fact that I'm not starting from scratch.

Jim Marous (34:30):

And even for you, it's interesting, this podcast came about because of your job announcement on LinkedIn. So, the reason why I knew you were changing positions or had changed positions was through a LinkedIn profile. So, we never know where that will lead and there's never been an easier time to learn because of the digitalization, because of the social media networks, because of LinkedIn.

Jim Marous (34:55):

Because you can always associate yourself with who you find to be the leaders in the industry relatively easily, because people still humanly want to help others. And so, if you're in need, and it's best to do this before it's an urgent thing, before it'd say, "Oh, my gosh, I found out today I got two weeks left. I only have six months of lead time that they're giving me severance and I've got to do this all quickly."

Jim Marous (35:23):

As we know, interviewing always is best when you don't need the job or when you're completely prepared for getting the job and you have something to offer. So, when you look ahead, we talk about the emerging technologies and everything that's going on.

Jim Marous (35:38):

When you're looking ahead and you look at your role as a product management person and a distribution management person, what emerging technologies and trends do you believe will have the most significant impact on the way that popular bank does banking and the ability to compete in the banking space? What excites you?

Matt Wind (36:00):

I think what excites me about banking in general right now is I think we're going to be coming into a time and we're probably already starting to get there where the open banking concept is kind of there. And I think previously over the years I've been in the industry, you had your core system, you built everything into your core system and it was very kind of closed into your own organization.

Matt Wind (36:27):

And I think what open banking has allowed, allowing a lot of banks to do, and especially if you exclude the top maybe, 5 to 10 banks in the country and you get down to the middle, the regionals and below, open banking allow them to compete in a lot of avenues that they probably couldn't. And it's going to allow for being able to offer a variety of products and services and technologies that would be available to, whether it's commercial clients, small businesses or consumers and so, I think that’s going to be critical.

Matt Wind (37:00):

I think one of the things a lot of banks are going through and you know, is gosh, with these older core systems, how do we replace them? And I'm not necessarily convinced and by the way Jim, I am not a technical expert here, so I'm just kind of speaking from a-

Matt Wind (37:19):

Yeah, I'm just speaking from the business side. But how do you make your course so that it's available to consume these APIs that on a very easy basis so that when you're working with these partners and whether they're fintechs or known partners in the industry, it's easy connections in, it's not these huge drawn out technical projects that take two and three years to get there, how do you make it easy to consume so that you're out there and can kind of stick with and stay with the fintechs?

Matt Wind (37:48):

And I think that that's going to be critical to success, but I also think it's a huge opportunity for the industry and to go forward to be a part of that. So, I just think the sky's the limit and I think money movement will become easier.

Matt Wind (38:03):

Now, at the end of the day, I think what will be critical for the industry to do, and it's already here and we see it day in, day out, is how do we minimize or really, I don't think the word prevents not going to work, but from a fraud perspective, how do you make sure you have all the safeguards in place to protect your customers?

Matt Wind (38:22):

Because while making things a lot easier and cooler and slicker, what it does is it allows potentially a lot of bad guys to enter into the system as well too, so you got to make sure you’re protecting your customers. Because ultimately, that's one of the most important things that we do on a day in, day out basis, is provide a really protective environment for people's financial assets.

Matt Wind (38:45):

So, I think with an eye on open banking and making it easy, more consumable for customers, but also in the backside for really protecting the back of the house so that your customers have full confidence that they can transact and their money is going to be there for them the next day.

Jim Marous (39:02):

You talk about not being the technical expert and it's the whole security issue. We put out of our mind because it's not things that we deal with on the front facing side of business, but we know it's there. And when you look at AI, when you look at technology and everything else, we always hope the guys in the back office have it together. Because everything that we do as we try to generate new relationships, goes away in an instant if that trust is lost because we've done something wrong from a security and risk perspective.

Jim Marous (39:34):

So, it's a very interesting dynamic, and as you said, the whole core transformation, the whole core updating process, how do we go about doing that? Do we replace the entire core? Do we take components of it and take a composable solution that takes care of one part of the core or do you build a sidecar that basically replicates and works beside your current core?

Jim Marous (39:55):

These are major decisions, but going back to the beginning of our conversation, at the end of the day, what we're trying to achieve is resilience. How are we going to be ready for whatever happens next? As opposed to saying we're going to be in a static atmosphere where we just have to build for today.

Jim Marous (40:13):

Because as we both know, digital transformation is not an endpoint, it's an ongoing process that's very hard to keep up with, let alone get ahead of. So, finally, based on your experience that both the institutions you've spent years at now, what advice would you give other mid-size organizations looking to enhance or solidify their competitive position in the business banking and banking overall space?

Matt Wind (40:41):

That's a loaded question, Jim. And I would say first and foremost, be open to change. I think the industry is evolving and I think all organizations have to be open to change and transforming what they're doing. Just because you've always done it one way or you've always targeted one segment, doesn't mean that you can't evolve and look for something else and I think that's going to be even more critical for the mid-majors as we move forward.

Matt Wind (41:09):

The space is highly competitive as you and I both know everybody day in and day out are going after these. So, as you're looking in, you're trying to evaluate your businesses, I would say from my perspective and the role I am, we're not going to be everything for everyone on every street corner. So, we're really going to focus in on the customer segment, on the commercial, consumer, wealth side that we want to target.

Matt Wind (41:37):

Who are those customers? We're going to know them intimately, and then we're going to be able to provide and target products and services and functionality that really meets their needs and then we're going to educate the heck out of our front lines so that when they're talking to them, they know exactly what they're going to say.

Matt Wind (41:53):

We're going to try to provide the data for these our frontline people to have so that when they're talking to the customers, they know as much as they can about the customer so that they can provide them with the best possible options and solutions.

Matt Wind (42:06):

And Jim, I would leave you with, I think data is probably the biggest key to the industry because when you look at the Walmarts of the world or the Amazons of the world who've historically wanted to get into banking or are tiptoeing into banking, what's the reason they want to get into banking?

Matt Wind (42:26):

It's not necessarily because they want to have transaction accounts Jim, you know what they want, they want the data. They want to know where Jim is spending his money day in and day out, and so that they can then provide products and services.

Matt Wind (42:38):

And when you think about Amazon, gosh, if Jim's buying something from one of their competitors, Amazon wants to be able to provide Jim that product and service so they can keep them there. So, I think banks really understanding the data they have, being able to cultivate it and use it to help not only grow the existing customers they have, but go out in the marketplace and attract new, is going to be critical in a go forward basis.

Jim Marous (43:00):

It's interesting, Matt, as we look back over our careers, it used to be whenever we wanted data insight, we'd have to go to the IT department, we'd have to wait forever to get it and it would simply be to measure what we had done months ago when we have done three more programs since that time and we're all catching up to ourselves.

Jim Marous (43:19):

Now we have the ability to have data in an instant, it is not held by one department, a good progressive organization is going to distribute that data insight to every one of your workers that are in direct contact with their customers because the customer expects their contact manager to know them, understand them, and reward them.

Jim Marous (43:39):

And then to go one step further, as you mentioned, especially in the business banking space, to be able to share as much insight as possible back to the consumer, to the customer, to the business, to let them know, you know them.

Jim Marous (43:51):

I get frustrated on an ongoing basis that I know both my personal and my business bank know a lot more about me than I ever would've imagined. The challenge is, I don't know that they know me, they don't show it on a daily basis.

Jim Marous (44:06):

And right now, as you mentioned, the availability of data, the distribution of data, and the actual application of that data to make it for a more personalized and integrated relationship, because business banking used to be where you'd have payroll separate from payments, separate from deposit service.

Jim Marous (44:24):

This has all got to look together because if you don't do it that way, you're going to fall behind the other fintech organizations that are making this a simple way to look at things and how are you going to differentiate between your different segments because what your medical group wants is not what your association group wants and again, the differentiator is your business banker is going to go in and talk their language, not our language.

Jim Marous (44:53):

If I can do what the business banker can do, then it's wrong because they have to have knowledge that goes beyond simply, as you said, the transactions.

[Music Playing]

Jim Marous (45:04):

Matt, I really appreciate you taking the time to be on the show. I think it's an area that we don't talk about enough, not only the mid-size organizations, but even more importantly, the business banks and the capabilities that's important and the integration between the business side and the consumer side. But really appreciate you being on the show and congratulations on your relatively new position, a couple years.

Matt Wind (45:27):

Thanks Jim. I greatly appreciate it. This was fun and you know what, happy to do it again if you want to, but I really enjoyed it today. Thank you and have a great Thanksgiving.

Jim Marous (45:36):

Thanks, you too. Thanks for listening to Banking Transformed, the top podcast in retail banking and the winner of three international awards for podcast excellence. We appreciate the support you've given us through our five-year tenure. If you enjoy what we're doing, please take some time to show some love in the form of a review.

Jim Marous (45:56):

Also, be sure to read my recent articles on The Financial Brand and the research we're doing for the Digital Banking Report. This has been a production of Evergreen Podcasts, a special thank you to our senior producer, Leah Haslage, audio engineer, Chris Fafalios and video producer, Will Pritts.

Jim Marous (46:14):

I'm your host, Jim Marous. Until next time, remember, success comes not from trying to match the technological scale of major banks, but from making focused investments in areas where they can create unique value for customers.