Banking World Meets Small Business
How is the traditional banking industry keeping up with today’s constantly changing technology landscape? Not very well!
Banks are facing challenges in several areas, but there are four that stand out in today’s market.
The top 4 challenges facing banks and financial institutions
- Not making enough money. Despite all the headlines about banking profitability, banks and financial institutions still are not making enough return on investment, or the return on equity, that shareholders require.
- Consumer expectations. These days it’s all about the customer experience, and many banks are feeling pressure because they are not delivering the level of service that consumers are demanding, especially regarding technology.
- Increasing competition from financial technology companies. Financial technology (FinTech) companies are usually start-up companies based on using software to provide financial services. The increasing popularity of FinTech companies is disrupting the way traditional banking has been done. This creates a big challenge for traditional banks because they are not able to adjust quickly to the changes – not just in technology, but also in operations, culture, and other facets of the industry.
- Regulatory pressure. Regulatory requirements continue to increase, and banks need to spend a large part of their discretionary budget on being compliant, and on building systems and processes to keep up with the escalating requirements.
These challenges continue to escalate, so traditional banks need to constantly evaluate and improve their operations to keep up with the fast pace of change in the banking and financial industry today.
What are the banks doing to help support and keep up with the technology companies in which are now in the alternative lending space such as Ondeck Capital?
A combination of changes, including: rising interest rates, a less zealous regulatory environment, tax cuts, and overall optimism among business owners will provide a much-needed profit boost for banks.
This in turn will help offset rapidly rising technology expenses and enable banks to accelerate transformative digitization of platforms and processes.
In addition, significant advisory opportunities will benefit those bankers bold enough to help clients navigate these changes in 2017.
Now the good news for small business owners out there is a clear majority of employers feel good about the growth in the coming years.
Small businesses—which are defined as having 500 or fewer employees—are the bedrock of the nation’s economy, with small businesses accounting for 54 percent of all U.S. sales and 55 percent of all jobs, according to the Small Business Administration.
The NFIB survey, which includes responses from 619 small businesses, asked companies how they feel about 10 factors related to overall optimism. Key takeaways from the survey include:
- Fifty percent of small business owners said they anticipate business conditions to improve over the next six months.
- Fifty-one percent of survey respondents reported they were hiring or trying to hire new employees.
- Sixteen percent of small business owners said they planned to create new jobs.
Key to growth for small business owners is simple, hire the right people! Sound simple enough?
Well here is a strong way to start acquiring the right individuals to help growth and retention- Good Benefits Key to Hiring Effectively
- Although the overall outlook of small business owners is positive, they also identified areas that inhibit growth.
- Specifically, 8 percent of small business owners responded that the cost or availability of insurance was the “single most important problem” confronting their business.
- When companies turn their eye toward growth, they need to attract new talent while ensuring current employees remain confident and happy about their jobs. One of the best ways for employers to maintain the balance between growth and employee retention is to offer good benefits package
