Business Process and Productivity Improvement Services

Efficient operations have always provided low cost providers a competitive advantage. However, in the modern community banking industry, low cost operations are becoming even more crucial if not imperative. Net interest margins are at historical lows and are not expected to grow significantly and other sources of revenue from fees are flat to non-existent with many financial institutions.

Competitive Advantage

The efficiency ratio measures what percentage of each dollar of revenue is brought to the bottom line of the bank. We have seen steady improvement in total assets per FTE at banks over the last decade, but continue to see a declining level of profitability and limited improvement in the efficiency ratios.

This decline can be attributed to the squeeze in net interest margin, declining levels of fee income, and an inability to lower total costs.

Huge regulatory requirements – starting with BSA, GLBA and USA Patriot Act enhancements to Anti-Money Laundering have all been layered on your bank, along with the financial reporting risk management requirements of FDICIA or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. And if those added requirements aren’t enough, the growth of Information Technology (IT) and distributed processing has brought in extensive controls and operating requirements related to IT security and vendor management.

These regulatory requirements are all in place now and management is saddled with the resultant costs and programs. Now, the residential credit and financial market melt-downs are sure to bring more regulation. This does not change the need for banks to be efficient and striving to improve profitability.

How Can NEBSG Help?

Our professionals work with and have knowledge of the strategies, systems, structures, policies, procedures and risk management practices of numerous community banks. From this knowledgebase, our professionals benchmark your business and bring strategies, tactics and detailed operating methods to your attention to drive your costs down without negatively impacting customer service.

NEBSG Services Include

Our experienced team of banking industry professionals provide a comprehensive suite of services to lower costs, increase revenues, improve customer service and increase employee productivity:

Strategy:

• Assessment of implementation of your strategies and business plans
• Development of strategies and tactics to improve performance
• Bankwide or Line of Business assessments

Organizational Structure

• Benchmark structure, roles and responsibilities of departments
• Assess span-of-control and job descriptions
• Assess impact of structure on your crucial business processes

Operations:

• Benchmark productivity and staffing levels
• New account opening process effectiveness review
• Servicing and operations efficiency reviews
• Front- to back-office process effectiveness reviews
• Deployment and integration of call center, Internet, ACH and remote banking services

Residential Lending and Servicing

• Review mortgage and home equity products, systems and processes
• Develop and support residential lending program, strategy and business
• Assist with adoption, enhancement or review of secondary market programs
• Review loan servicing capabilities and assess viability of out-sourcing or further streamlining

Technology Utilization

• Review branch, call center, and business developer processes, policies and procedures
• Support sales and service performance through training and program management