Pub. 9 2014-2015 Issue 3

www.nebankers.org 18 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. A LONG WITH THE SHEER INCREASE in the number of regulations, pressures to stay in compliance with industry standards (PCI- DSS) have amplified as well. With all of this comes challenges fromcompetition, fraud, and uptime on availability of delivery channels such as hours of op- eration, ATMs, and branch automation. In addition, most financial institutions have been bombarded with changes in Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) laws, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, hiring practices, taxes, insurance, and software updates like Windows 7 and Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) global standards. If you’re a typical community banker, you want all of this regulatory overbur- den to just go away so you can get back to being a banker again. One community bank president I spoke with indicated that his bank’s biggest area of concern today is downtime from core competen- An “avalanche of regulation” has hindered many banks from launching new products and delivery channels, as discussed in the last issue of Nebraska Banker magazine. This avalanche of regulation also has caused many banks to question enter- ing new markets due to increased regulatory risks, costs, and liabilities. Farm It Out! Marc Mathis, NuSource Financial cies such as generating more revenue, managing risks, providing top-notch service to the bank’s customers, and not having the time and resources to care for technology-related issues, problems, and updates. These are all big concerns, especially when every- thing is dictated from outside sources, be it federal, state, industry, vendor, or technology. Constantly worrying about being in compliance for this or that is exhausting, and it takes away from what bankers do best. Unfortunately, you’re not going to come across a big, red STOP sign indicating that you’re all caught up and your compliance efforts are complete. The fact of the matter is these outside influencers of change are ongoing. However, they also provide great opportunities for those who are willing to adjust and adapt to new ways of managing these moving targets. Technological innovation has opened a whole new realm of opportunity for your financial institution. One of these new opportunities may include relinquishing some of your non-rev- enue-generating tasks to experts in a particular field or profession—in other words, outsourcing. These areas do not focus on your core competencies. A few examples could be managing print services, payroll, human resources, or ATMchannel management. These areas are time consuming, and they carry risk. What does “outsourcing” really mean? Here in the Midwest, when we need a project done or a task completed in which we are neither skilled nor edu- cated, we often say we are going to “farm it out” to get the job done. We know that if we are unable to complete the task or stay up-to-date on it, a multitude of problems lie ahead—from lawsuits, bad public relations, and downtime to the loss of customers or the resignation of a valued employee. In summary, change is constant due to regulation, competition, technology (hardware/software), vendors, and the industry. That’s why it’s so important to focus on what you do best and consider