Independent Banker - December 2018 - 75

you are interviewing to demonstrate how you can use their
products to drive revenue growth. " Parisi says the cost to
change was " lower than I anticipated, and the opportunity
to increase revenue and create new revenue streams is
much greater than I anticipated. "
Reading the fine print
CNB Bank & Trust in Carlinville, Ill., also underwent a thorough
assessment of its core processor system before signing
a renewal extension. Shawn Davis, president and CEO
of the $930 million-asset community bank, says ICBA's
resource guide section on contract negotiations was particularly
helpful.
" Everything's negotiable. That's what the document
drives home, " says Davis. He also notes the importance of
having fees clearly defined, and working within a realistic
timeframe to evaluate the system's capabilities and assess
viable alternatives, should the need arise.
" If you're unsuccessful in negotiating the contract, you
still have to negotiate the conversion, " he says. " Six months
is not enough time, and this document spells out why. "
CNB Bank also followed the guide's advice about defining
data ownership and access in its contract, and securing certain
indemnity rights surrounding the sale or lease of software.
" You can't start the process too early in your contract,
and if you think you need help, get it, " Davis advises.
For $374 million-asset Coulee Bank, it was paramount
to bring in outside help to manage its core processor evaluations
process and hammer out favorable terms, explains
Mike Gargaro, chief operating officer at the La Crosse, Wis.based
community bank. The process was extensive, and the
contract was signed a year to the day from when they hired
the consultant. " It was time and money well spent, " says
Gargaro, who notes the new contract achieved the bank's
goal during its vendor negotiations.
Getting from point A to point B was a team effort, Gargaro
stresses. During the conversion, the community bank
maintained weekly meetings with the vendor and held its
own internal meetings, which he says helped keep the project
on track.
From the get-go, " we didn't pull any punches, " says Gargaro.
" We let people know what we were doing and incentivized
employees to test out system features. " The bank even
brought in catered meals and sponsored back massages for
staff during the lengthy days of final testing before going live.
Staying focused and working as a team helped Coulee Bank
make it through difficult days, like when Hurricane Irma
threatened to destroy its carefully laid plans to transfer data
and data centers on the weekend of the conversion, he says.
Gargaro has no regrets and says that now that the conThe
community banker view
Community bankers on the core conversion process
" I read somewhere
that undergoing a core
conversion is like doing a
heart transplant on a person
running a marathon. "
-Kathy Underwood,
Ledyard National Bank
" Six months is not enough
time, and this document
spells out why. "
-Shawn Davis, CNB
Bank & Trust, on contract
negotiations
" It was time and money
well spent. "
-Mike Gargaro, Coulee
Bank, on hiring outside
help to manage its core
processor evaluation
process
version is behind them, Coulee Bank's employees and
customers are beginning to reap the benefits. " As part of
the conversion, we also converted debit cards into a more
streamlined process, " he says. " So now we can add cards at
a single entry point. "
The bank also added enhanced fraud alert features to its
mobile banking offering and a Secure Swipe feature that lets
customers remotely activate or deactivate their cards.
" We have customers using it already, " Gargaro says,
" which we are pretty excited about. "
Get the guide
To download ICBA's Core Processor Resource
Guide, visit icba.org/advocacy/reports
independentbanker.org Q 75
http://www.icba.org/advocacy/reports http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - December 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - December 2018
