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Assessment & Strategic Recommendation Services

The Challenge

Banks and Credit Unions are continually challenged by changes in revenue models, keeping pace with technological innovations and competitive pressures. When trying to assess overall strategic goals, priorities and productivity of the back office and operational areas, financial institutions are often shackled by internal politics and exposure to the broader market.

Performing due diligence on the industry solutions and assessing what your needs are in terms of internal training, leading edge or established technology is an essential strategy.

One of the greatest challenges facing financial institutions today is the lack of differentiation among competitors. Opportunities for revenue growth are battling expense reduction for top consideration in an institution’s long term goals and objectives. Long term goals and objectives must be linked with practical strategies, tactics and initiatives that move the organization toward achieving its stated purpose.

The Solution

Using our knowledge of best practices and expertise gained from assisting hundreds of banks and credit unions with their planning endeavors, ICI can ensure the successful development of your organization’s Strategic Plan.

To take advantage of the strategic opportunities and minimize the risks, ICI recognizes that there are no cookie cutter approaches. ICI will conduct comprehensive survey of your solutions, technology, workflows, processes, branches and back office operation to include the following areas:

  • Core Processing System and Ancillary Solutions
  • Review existing Technology Contracts
  • Benchmark operational/technology costs relative to peer banks and credit unions
  • System Architectural Review

ICI Assessment Deliverables

After ICI has completed the survey process and verified the review contents with financial institution staff, ICI will make strategic recommendations and answer questions in the following areas:

  • Deliver a Custom Strategic Plan
  • Gap Analysis: current environment vs. strategic direction
  • Maximize shareholder and member value
  • Novel and original competitive strategies
  • Revenue enhancement
  • Operating efficiencies
  • Accountability for execution
The Strategic Plan will assist in answering the following questions:
  • Is further training required, do new modules need to be purchased or is a new core solution the answer?
  • What is the most cost efficient plan: new module implementation or conversion strategy?
  • Is a Workflow Restructure needed?
  • Identify which is the most cost effective direction: in-house, outsourcing or a combined strategy?
  • Which vendors are in front of, keeping pace or behind the technology curve?
  • How can your organization, customers or members benefit from this technology?
  • How can senior management measure the organization’s progress against the goals set forth in the Strategic Plan?

ICI Assessment Benefits

ICI's value comes from the ability to offer advice from a broader perspective and an organized process. ICI Consultants have over 300 years of experience in the Bank and Credit Union industries. We will add our knowledge and understanding to the Assessment engagement. ICI will deliver a plan that is all inclusive, unbiased, easily implemented and a source of guidance for future decisions. We want to avoid providing just another binder on the bookshelf.

Whether or not you have implemented these solutions before, ICI's Assessment Services will provide the following deliverables and benefits:

  • Action Plan: ICI will ensure that the Strategic Plan is properly executed and that it does not gather dust on an executive’s shelf.

  • Deliver a Custom Strategic Plan versus a cookie cutter approach. From working with hundreds of financial institutions, we realize that all clients have unique requirements that demand a custom strategy to resolve its challenges.

  • Take the fear and guesswork out of cost justifying, evaluating and implementing new solutions.

  • Enable organizations to quickly execute new strategies and initiatives.

  • An ICI consultant, who has an average of 25 years of experience and counseled dozens of clients in the financial industry, will advise your organization.

  • ICI will provide you with a detailed report card and recommendations for those areas with the greatest potential for improvement.

  • Show where investments may be required; where strengths and weaknesses lie; where support contracts should be modified; where opportunities are to upgrade antiquated technologies to newer, higher value technologies.

  • Make Management Team or Personnel Recommendations.

  • Identify areas where integration between systems may be improved in order to maintain end users focused on Customer or Member Service Excellence initiatives. This approach will increase client satisfaction, retention and cross-sales opportunities.

  • Ensure that systems are implemented with the appropriate levels of performance and value.

  • Identify any best practices improvements in the areas of: security, process, project prioritization and collaboration between departments.

  • Determine if technology projects are in harmony with strategic business goals to support Bank or Credit Union growth strategies.

Assessment and Strategic Recommendation Report Clients

Here are just a few examples of Assessment and Strategic Recommendation Report engagements that ICI has delivered:

  • Top 3 National Bank:Assessment and Strategic Recommendation Services

  • Mid-Atlantic Community Bank ($225 million): Bank-wide Assessment and Best Practices Assessment

  • Texas Credit Union ($4.3 Billion): Comprehensive Back Office and Branch Assessment and Check Processing Business Case

  • Florida Bank ($2.2 Billion): IT Personnel and Budget Assessment

  • Northwest Bank $3 Billion): Build-out, relocated and expanded operational facility

  • National Bank ($155 Billion): Market Research

  • Top 25 Bank:Market Research

  • Iowa Community Bank: Lockbox Marketing Assistance, Lockbox and Check Imaging Business Case and Vendor Evaluation

  • Australian Vendor:Mobile Banking Marketing Advice

  • New York Bank ($650 M): Back Office and Core Processing Assessment and Strategic Recommendations

  • Tennessee Bank ($1 Billion)Back Office Assessment and Strategic Recommendations, ATM Processing Evaluation, Merchant Capture Marketing Advice, Check Imaging Business Case and Vendor Selection

  • National Bank ($105 Billion): Market Research

  • Top 30 Bank: Benchmark Report

  • Southern Bank ($9 Billion): Online Banking Strategic Recommendations, Vendor Evaluation and Implementation

  • Ohio Bank Service Bureau: Core Processing and Check Imaging Assessment and Strategic Recommendations

  • Swedish Corporation:Mobile Banking Market Research

  • Virginia Community Bank ($160 Million): Online Bank Strategic Recommendations

  • Top 1, 2 and 4 National Bank Outsourcing Companies: Core and ancillary product recommendations

  • New Mexico Community Bank:Marketing Assistance

  • North Carolina Community Bank: Cash Management Marketing Assistance

Strategic Plan Implementation

If your institution's Strategic Plan is collecting dust on a bookshelf, all of the time, effort and capital that went into the creation of the plan were wasted. We will help your institution implement the initiatives set forth in the Strategic Plan developed by ICI or execute and significantly add to those ideas set forth in the original strategy.

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