Market Scan

Headlines: Deposits and Collection Networks

Centura Bank Launches Remote Deposit Service

Headlines: Deposits and Collection Networks

Self-Service Shared Branching Becomes Reality: NCR and Ensenta Partner to Offer the First Shared Branch Kiosk

Headlines: Deposits and Collection Networks

Goldleaf Hits Significant Remote Deposit Milestone

Headlines: Deposits and Collection Networks

Bank of America Revolutionizes Cash Handling Process;

Alogent Announces Remote Deposit Go-to-Market Strategy Module;

Alogent Enhances Offering for Banks’ Small Business Customers, as the New Vanguard for Distributed Capture;

Panini Showcasing Small Business Initiative at AFP Annual Conference

US Banker Reports on Deposits and Collection Networks

The September issue of US Banker has several noteworthy articles on Deposits and Collection Networks

In "The Local Link in Branch Efficiency," Leo D'Acierno and Sherief Melels call on banks to spend less time building out far-flung empires and more time focusing on the needs of local markets, "one key aspect of local success - highly relevant to efficiency - is arranging the density and placement of the branch network in a way most hospitable to each market, or area where target customers live, work, and shop." 

In "NSF, Overdraft Protection Fees Drawing Greater Fire," Lee Conrad makes the case that banks have become addicted to NSF and overdraft protection fees:

"These two kinds of checking-account fees totaled $25.3 billion in 2006, up 49 percent fro m$17 billion in 2004.  Overdraft protection fees were $17.5 billion of the 2006 total; non-sufficient funds fees were $7.8 billion.  Combined, these two kinds of fees accounted for 60 percent of all fee income in 2006, up from 45 percent in 2004."

John Adams writes about using relationship pricing and product bundling to grow deposits in "How Much to Charge?"

Headlines: Deposits and Collection Networks

New Houston Banking Center Kicks off Comerica Bank's Latest Round of Expansion in Texas

Headlines: Deposit Products and Collection Networks

Fifth Third to Expand Presence in Atlanta with Branch Purchase from First Horizon

Union Bank Introduces Combined Cash and Check Processing Services in Las Vegas Market

Union Bank Launches New Priority, Signature Banking Programs for Small Business

Web Seminar on Merchant Back Office Conversion & Best Practices in Remote Deposit Capture

On September 24, 2007 at 1:30 pm Eastern, Panini will sponsor a web seminar on Merchant Back Office Conversion and RDC Best Practices.  Bob Meara, a senior analyst with Celent, will present on RDC Best Practices.  Mr. Meara recently wrote a report of the same name which featured some orginal research on the topic.

To register, click here.  Its a freebie and includes a drawing for $500!

Greenwich Associates Awards Excellence in Business Banking

Greenwich Associates has recognized several banks for excellence in customer satisfaction.  Greenwich states that the awards are based on "more than 25,000 business banking firms with sales of $1 to $10 million in 70 markets across the U.S."  It is unclear what the evaluation criteria included.  In any event, here are the winners for the Cash Management Services category.

National winners were Bank of the West, BB&T, Colonial Bank, Comerica, First Citizens Bank (NC), First National Bank, Huntington National Bank, Peoples Bank (CT), Regions Bank, SunTrust Bank, Synovus Financial Corp., Union Bank of California, Wachovia, and Zions Bank.

For a look at regional winners, click here.

Commentary

Most of the majors - Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and US Bank - are notably missing from the awards list, which is dominated by regionals and super-community banks.  The customer service advantage enjoyed by smaller institutions enables them to compete for cash management business against competitors with lager staffs, better collection networks and consistent early-to-market advantage.

Wachovia Introduces Weekly Economic Outlook Podcast

Wachovia will provide weekly economic outlook forecasts via pod casts available on its website.  For the press release, click here.  For the latest pod cast, click here.