Pub. 13 2018-2019 Issue 4

WWW.NEBANKERS.ORG 8 WASHINGTON UPDATE KEEPING PACE WITH CHANGE Rob Nichols, President and CEO, American Bankers Association I F YOU ARE LIKE MANY OF THE HUNDREDS OF BANKERS I HAVE TALKED to since joining ABA three years ago, odds are you have an is- sue with your core provider. Yes, these companies are critical partners, and they deliver many excellent services in a profes- sional and dependable manner. But when it comes to offering you the agility you need to keep pace with technological innovations, they may leave you lacking. That’s not to say that the industry’s primary core providers aren’t developing new products — but they do not always produce the ones you want to offer your customers or enable you to engage with those vendors that do. None of this would pose an insurmountable obstacle if it weren’t for the fact that breaking up with a core is exceedingly difficult. The contracts are long, your provider options are limited, conversion is a bear and a single bank’s leverage is almost nonexistent. So what can a bank do? Individually, options are limited, but collectively we can make a difference. That’s why I recently wrote to the leaders of the three major core providers on bankers’ behalf. The message, delivered respectfully: Empower community banks with the modern technology demanded by today’s competitive marketplace. That means either delivering technology solutions themselves or, if they cannot, allowing banks to engage with other vendors that can. I invited each to engage with ABA and our new Core Platforms Committee, which is composed of community bankers chargedwith identifying concrete ways we can address these challenges. The need for action is urgent, and I’m confident our committee and the core providers will respond accordingly. As we work to resolve this here-and-now issue, community bank- ers must also be focused on the future. Given the rapid and constant pace of innovation in the fintech space, it’s vital that banks as well as the associations that represent them are nimble and responsive to new opportunities. With that in mind, ABA recently made an innovative, direct investment in Summit Technology Group, an emerging company that is helping banks and other businesses migrate to the cloud. We view this action, which followed a thorough vetting process by our staff experts and board members, as an investment in the future. It offers not just an opportunity for a return on our invest- ment, but also better positioning for our members.