A majority of bank CEOS—68%—are confident about their bank’s prospects for revenue growth in 2020, according to the Community Bank 2020 Priorities Survey released by the American Bankers Association today. The survey, which is based on responses from 302 community bankers nationwide, found that 61% plan to expand organically within their current markets, 33% are planning to expand into new markets and 21% are looking to grow through merger or acquisition activity.
Technology and improving the digital experience were common themes in this year’s report, and CEOs said they would look to make improvements in two key areas:
Customer experience:
- 58% plan to increase the number of products offered to consumers digitally
- 53% plan to create a new website experience
- 44% plan to increase the number of digital channels offered to bank customers.
Back office operations:
- 41% said they will provide new tools or technologies to increase employee productivity
- 35% said they will use customer data and analytics to improve decision processes
- 12% said they will look to artificial intelligence and AI tools.
Acquiring new customers and recruiting and retaining talent topped the list of things keeping CEOs up at night. With respect to talent development, nearly half of respondents said they found it difficult or very difficult to recruit people with the skills they need to remain competitive, and many noted improvements to their compensation and benefits offerings in order to attract new talent.
