ABA Banking Journal - July 2008 - (Page 38)

CORRESPONDENT BANKING for alternatives to trust preferred funding. “We steer them towards convertibles, common stock, and subordinated debt as alternatives,” she says. From the beginning, she says, sales calls that are related to correspondent work in any niche will involve ample homework in advance of the meeting. “We’re fortunate that there are the call sheets and other data sources for the banking industry,” Holzapfel says. “We offer a sense of where a client is and where they need to go in our view.” An array of services important Mark Heugley at Zions agrees that a show of deep and detailed banking knowledge is important. He started his career as a teller in 1968 and did every sort of job—except making loans— including a long stint as chief operating officer at another community bank. When he started with the Utah-based regional in 1988, the correspondent division, such as it was, operated informally. Gradually, with a series of well-timed hires and development in response to opportunities around cash management and other core services, the business grew. “We came up with the idea of developing a sweep account for our banking customers,” he says. “Basically, I put the mandate out there: lets begin to offer banks many of the same services that we offer corporate customers.” Today, Zions is active in credit, treasury, and liquidity products. Randy Shelden, who has seen Cornerstone Bank’s fortunes grow ever more favorably with the development of a white-labeled remote deposit capture service, says that when it comes to payment-related correspondent work, skill and effective use of technology have worked hand and glove to become a great leveler. “We’re doing this as well as any big bank that may choose to operate in this region,” he says. “Effective customer service is how we differentiate ourselves. If there is a problem or concern, our clients know they can pick up the phone and talk to a person who can help, not someone at a call center,” he adds. Payments itself forces change Competition in the once staid world of correspondents certainly changed speeds after image exchange, especially when the Federal Reserve began to consolidate check processing operations, shuttering what were essentially epic check processing factories. Cathy Glassman says that after Check 21 and image processing (particularly with the runaway popularity of remote deposit capture), there was new interest and life in correspondent banking. “It lowered the cost of doing business significantly and changed all the rules and forced respondents to rethink their options,” Glassman notes. All the assumptions about the model shifted and you’re starting to see players of all sizes going after some of the same customers. This is much the same as has been happening among primarily state-based banker’s banks. Glassman says that the winners in the game will emphasize the service element, helping clients with such key notables as training. In general, an engaging onboarding process that allays any concerns about a given service, will also make a difference and let community bank clients know what their upstream counterparts have to offer. BJ 38 JULY 2008/ABA BANKING JOURNAL www.ababj.com/subscribe.html http://www.elanfinancialservices.com http://www.ababj.com/subscribe.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - July 2008

ABA Banking Journal - July 2008 Contents Editor’s Column Searching for New Paradigms at BIS Snapshot: C&I Asset Quality 100th Anniversary: Then & Now BofA "Event Concept" Wins Awards, and Customers ABA Resources ABA Chairman’s Position M&A: Beat Today's Market Blues Pass the Aspirin Cover Story: Workout Time Correspondent Banking: No Longer Just a Handshake Business Getting IT Right By Thinking It Through Webnotes Are You "Red Flag" Ready? Mailbox Banker’s Mart To Advertise/Index of Advertisers The Economy

ABA Banking Journal - July 2008

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