Survey: Banks Boosting Budgets, Adding Technology Partners

BRENTWOOD, TENN., August 28, 2018 – Almost half of the senior executives and directors responding to Bank Director’s 2018 Technology Survey say their bank’s technology budget increased between 5 and 10 percent for fiscal year 2018, and almost one-third saw an increase of more than 10 percent. The annual survey is sponsored by CDW.

Banks also reveal they’re working with more technology providers, with a median number of seven for the typical bank—an increase of two since 2016.

Sixty percent say their management team and board are open to working with newer technology startups—up 15 points from last year’s survey. These newer providers could be crucial in filling gaps in customer-facing and back-end technology. More than one-third of respondents don’t believe their bank has the products, services and delivery methods required to meet the needs and demands of today’s consumers.

The 2018 Technology Survey was conducted in June and July 2018, and surveyed 161 independent directors, chief executives, high-level technology executives and other senior executives of U.S. banks above $250 million in assets to understand how banks strategically use technology, how they’re vetting vendors and how boards are staying on top of this important issue.

Bank boards—tasked with the oversight of the bank, including its long-term performance—continue to struggle to wrap their hands around technological change. Seventy-nine percent of directors and executives say their board needs to enhance its level of technological expertise, specifically around areas that include tying technology to bank strategy and better understanding how to invest in technology.

Additional findings include:

• Eighty-three percent say improving the user experience on digital channels is a goal for their bank over the next two years, followed by improving account onboarding (73 percent) and adding more features to the bank’s mobile app (71 percent).
• Despite the buzz around Amazon’s Alexa, just 21 percent say integrating with that or a similar external platform is a near-term goal.
• Forty-five percent say they plan to add more branches that will be smaller in size. Thirty-seven percent plan no changes to their bank’s branch footprint.
• More than half plan to update technology used in branches over the next two years, and 47 percent plan to add more technology in the branch. One-third plan to upgrade ATMs.
• More than one-third of respondents indicate a need for significant improvement in their bank’s use of data analytics and business process automation.
• Sixty percent indicate their bank has been increasing the number of employees focused on technology and innovation, and 55 percent have a high-level executive focused on innovation.
• Sixty-one percent say their board has brought in relevant bank staff to better educate itself about technology. Twenty-nine percent have a board-level technology committee that regularly presents to the board.
• Cybersecurity remains the top issue focused on by the board, at 93 percent.

Full survey results are available online at BankDirector.com and will be featured in the 4th quarter 2018 issue of Bank Director magazine.

About Bank Director
Since 1991, Bank Director has served as a leading information resource for the directors and officers of financial institutions. Through Bank Director magazine, its executive-level research, annual conferences and website, BankDirector.com, Bank Director reaches the leaders of the institutions that comprise America’s banking industry. Bank Director is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Source: BankDirector.com

Contact: Michelle King, chief marketing officer, (615) 777-8465, [email protected]