Fly on the Wall

Easy Way Banks Can Increase Income, Service

Thanks to the South Carolina Bankers Association (SCBA) for publishing our article, "Capitalize on Check Processing Profit-Making Opportunity," in the Summer 2009 issue of the association's magazine, Palmetto Banker.

Read article here.

The SCBA endorses BSG Financial's Re$ubmitIt electronic check recovery service for business customers.

Businesses love Re$ubmitIt because it takes the work of collections out of their hands, AND gives them more of the money they're owed.

Does your bank need more income?

Legal Challenge to Overdrafts...again

Every few years, financial institutions are legally challenged--without success--on the practice of recouping overdraft charges from accounts that have direct deposit of Social Security benefits. 

Here is an article from Reuters.com about the latest attempt, and failure, against Bank of America.

___________________________

Is your overdraft management solution meeting the expectations of your bank AND your customers? 

BSG Financial provides a NO-COST analysis to make sure! E-mail Hank Thompson, executive vice president, to request a no-obligation review.

Dad's Letter...an encore presentation

About a year ago, soon after his father's death, BSG Financial CEO, Barrett Nichols, wrote an article for our company e-newsletter called, "Words to Live By...Then and Now. The article featured a letter Barrett's father sent him in 1972, a few months prior to his graduation from college. It offered encouragement, and stressed the values of knowledge, wisdom, and most importantly, character.

The positive response to "Dad's Letter" a year ago was overwhelming and we promised many readers we would print it again. At this time of graduations and new beginnings, and with Father's Day right around the corner, the timing seems right.

Read Dad's Letter here. Enjoy!

 

Success Is In The Details

Check out the latest article about Re$ubmitIt, which appeared in the April issue of Kentucky Banker Magazine, the publication of the Kentucky Bankers Association (KBA).

The article outlines details of the Re$ubmitIt program that address banks' needs and maximize profitability and service to business customers.

The KBA selected Re$ubmitIt as one of the services it offers its members. BSG Financial is proud to be part of the elite group of vendors KBA endorses.

Our Brief Diversion

  

364 days a year, BSG Financial focuses on developing and
implementing programs to maximize your institution’s profitability...

 

but on the first Saturday in May,

 

our thoughts tend to wander 

 

to

 

 The Kentucky Derby

 

and a different "bottom line"...

 

 

  

 

We hope you will forgive us for this brief diversion.

Never Stop Learning

Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival.
W. Edwards Deming (1900 - 1993)

We're all feeling the pinch of tighter budgets these days; however, now is not the time to eliminate professional development. On the contrary, it is exactly the right time to share ideas, tactics and best practices, and learn new ways of thinking.

While the opportunities for learning are still abundant, the times require that you choose those that give you the most “take-away” information for your dollar.

One such opportunity is the Financial Revenue Strategy Symposium, May 18-21, in Dallas Texas, which focuses on developing new sources of revenue; implementing tactics that keep top performers on top; and executing a plan to bring in extra income. The keynote speaker is Nessa Feddis, Senior Federal Counsel of the American Banker’s Association.

Sessions include:

Generating Revenue During an Economic Standstill
Radar On – Antenna Up… Fulfilling Customers’ Unexpressed Wishes
Revenue and Regulation:  Outlook on the 111th Congress
Cashing in with Merchant-Based Income

The conference features all-inclusive pricing, which includes conference fees, all meals, 3 nights at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, and airport transfers.

For more information and to register for the FRSS, go here.

Tell us the professional development opportunities you will attend.

Peep Show

Few things say “Spring” like Peeps--those yummy, pastel-y, sugar-y marshmallow treats. They're everywhere! This link to photographs of Peeps at landmarks around the world inspired “the fly” to get in on the action.

We’ve put our Peeps to work to explain BSG Financial's Re$ubmitIt® program, the electronic check recovery solution that:

• increases income for your bank and
• helps your business customers collect more funds from returned deposit items.

The process is so simple a Peep can do it!

See for yourself… (click on the image below to enlarge.)

 

If you want to learn more about Re$ubmitIt, click here. Happy Spring!

Our Full Plates

 full plate:

Fig. a full schedule; a lot to do.

Having recently attended the South Carolina Bankers Association Young Bankers Conference, we got a “fly’s-eye” view of what the banking industry is dealing with these days.

Even in the current cost-cutting environment, the SCBA Conference was well-attended by multiple banks. Apparently, we’re all clamoring for ways to juggle the myriad tasks and challenges we face.

Among the most popular topic was a renewed focus on customer service and the need for CRM systems to effectively retain and grow customers. The banking industry as a whole is also dealing with other pressing topics, including:

• FDIC insurance premium issues
• TARP applications and oversight
• E-Statements
• Reducing foreclosure action
• Stockholder meetings
• Consolidating redundant departments and trying to get more done with less staff
• Automating returns
• Setting up Remote/Branch Deposit Capture programs 
• And the list goes on…

Could outsourcing help you more effectively tackle many of these pressing issues? Click here to read an article by BSG Financial CEO, Barrett Nichols, on the benefits of outsourcing.

BSG Financial is committed to maintaining a presence at industry conferences throughout 2009 (see our upcoming schedule here), as well as developing solutions to help you “clear your plate.”

What issues are you currently tackling? We're interested in learning more!

Game On!

Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.

Rick Pitino, Univ. of Louisville, head basketball coach

The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament starts today, and according to the seeds, our city has the team to beat.

BSG Financial is located in Louisville, Kentucky, home of the University of Louisville fighting Cardinals—Big East champs and #1 seed in the tournament.

We do love our basketball in Kentucky and our interest in this year’s tournament is obviously high.

Rest assured, however, all of us at BSG Financial will continue to bring our clients "above-the-net" customer service and "slam dunk" profit-enhancing programs.

Even on game day.

He Said What?

As many of you may know, City National Bank CEO Leonard Abess, Jr. recently handed out $60 million in bonuses from his own pocket to employees of his Miami bank. Each employee--and some former employees--averaged receiving $127,000 in bonuses. Just another example of a banker doing something wonderful, at a time when bankers are not too popular.

President Obama hailed Abess as a national hero during his first address to Congress. ABC News named Abess its 'Person of the Week' last week, as shown in the video below.

But Abess's goodwill is not just a response to tough times. His father started the bank (Irving Trust, back then) in the 1940s and since taking over in the 80s, Abess has long adhered to conservative banking practices. "I think we have to be very sensitive about maintaining a sense of safety and soundness at City National," he said. "I want us to seem as rock solid as I remember Irving Trust seemed when I was a kid."

Almost prophetically, Abess also said he "would rather have the bank's capital in cash and short-term instruments than in risky loans."

Sound strategy that's never too late to follow.