Articles by Eric Wittekiend
Eric Wittekiend, strategic advisor
Eric recently re-joined RFG after a four-year hiatus as a vp of marketing research with a local Chicago bank. In his prior stint with RFG, Eric was a lead presenter of RFG's Strategic Planning Study Group program. His previous experience includes a wide variety of marketing and product development roles with local and national banks.
Some institutions are thinking outside the box to identify alternative revenue opportunities. I’ve compiled a few examples clients have shared with me recently.
By now, you are aware of the pending legislation and regulatory reforms to limit overdraft fees. Long story short, as of July 1, 2010, the Federal Reserve will require consumers to opt-in to overdraft protection for debit card and ATM transactions. Financial institutions will no longer be able to charge overdraft fees on debit and ATM transactions without the consumer electing overdraft protection.
Richard E. Taber, chairman of the board and CEO of the First County Bank, Stamford, Conn., started as a part-time teller 42 years ago. First County Bank is a $1.2 billion (in assets) mutual savings bank that is operated for the benefit of its depositors rather than shareholders. The bank’s mission will always be to serve its customers and the communities in which they live. We caught up with Mr. Taber a few weeks back to get his take on the economy and challenges to our industry.
Steve Morrissette
President and CEO
First Community Bank of Joliet
With the financial industry apparently under siege by the credit crisis and a different flavor of legislation being scooped on almost daily, I wanted to find out what …
With all the “green” initiatives today, one may wonder if they really work. We found a $2 billion bank in the Midwest that recently had great success with a green eStatement promotion. Union Bank and Trust in Lincoln, Neb., launched eStatments in 2003, but turned up the green with a recent promotion by donating $1 to fund the planting of a tree each time a customer signed up for eStatements.
Union Bank has all the essentials in place to effectively push eStatements. Customers can quickly and easily sign up for eStatements once they log in to Union Bank’s online banking site. An eSignature is accepted as authorization and no paper is required to complete the sign-up process. Prior to the promotion, Union Bank signed up 14,000 accounts for eStatements – an average of 200 per month – saving the bank approximately $1 per month per account compared to paper.
Wachovia. WAMU. Merrill Lynch. What happens with acquisitions of this magnitude?
Employees leave. Branches close. Fees are increased. Products are changed. Customers become dissatisfied. And consumers and businesses change banks — lots of them. Our research tells us checking accounts close for a variety …
