Category: Benchmarking

Operational risk is defined as the risk bank’s face of monetary losses resulting from failures within their own processes, people and systems. Unlike external risk due to events such as market volatility, geopolitical risk, or systemic risk, operational risk is internal—meaning that banks have quite a bit of control over these risks. An operational risk dashboard for banks measures these internal risks and give banks the data they need to create measurable objectives to minimize those risks. Why is Operational Risk so Challenging for Banks?    Operational risk is complex…

Even as customers flock to online and mobile banking channels, brick-and-mortar retail bank branches continue to play an essential role in serving customers. Branches are still a leading sales channel for bank products and services, and most customers still value face-to-face transactions at their local retail branch—even if they don’t visit it very often. But branches are also one of a retail bank’s biggest operational expenses. A commonly cited statistic is that the same transaction done in a branch costs about $10 compared to about 25 cents in the digital…

In response to the 2008 financial crisis, banks in the U.S. and across the globe have taken steps to significantly improve their financial ratios. For example, in an effort to improve their Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio, banks have raised additional equity. Although financial ratios are a critical measure of a bank’s liquidity and solvency, there are a variety of ratios that measure everything from customer service to staffing levels that banks can use to benchmark their efficiency, performance, and profitability. And while bank capitalization has improved, banks remain…

The finance function—which can include general accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, budget and analysis, cost accounting, financial reporting, payroll, internal controls, treasury, and more—is evolving. In the past, the finance function focused mostly on historical transactional financial reporting such as the balance sheet or profit and loss statements. But the role that the finance department plays in banks is changing. The work is becoming more complex, in part due to regulatory burdens and complex business models. Banks increasingly view the finance function as a true partner to the CEO and…

What is Commercial Banking, or Commercial Lending? Commercial Lending is defined as the process of loaning money to businesses by banks or other financial services institutions. The process is much different than a loan made by commercial banks to individual consumers and is typically much more complex. Commercial loans can help businesses with mortgages for commercial real estate, short-term funding to float payroll, or even renewed indefinitely as a revolving line of credit based on incoming revenue. Most commercial loans are secured credit facilities backed up by collateral such as…