Cornerstone Advisors’ report, “What’s Going On In Banking,” highlights loan growth as a top priority for community financial institutions in 2018
Annual report emphasizes financial industry’s efforts to improve and streamline lending processes for both commercial and consumer loans
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (April 16, 2018) — Cornerstone Advisors’ annual report, “What’s Going On In Banking,” reveals that the top growth priority for financial institutions in 2018 is expanding loan portfolios, with community banks focused on generating commercial loans and credit unions more focused on generating consumer loans. The survey, which is available for download, courtesy of Baker Hill, reports that one-in-five financial institutions will add a new or replacement loan origination system this year, highlighting the industry’s focus on improving lending processes.
“What’s Going On In Banking” also reveals that overall IT spending will increase for 85 percent of financial institutions in 2018 and for some banks and credit unions, IT spending will increase by more than 10 percent compared to 2017. In terms of specific technology priorities, a majority of banks and credit unions advised that improving efficiency and service delivery will be the most important objectives this year. Additionally, 96 percent of banks and 89 percent of credit unions cited that streamlining workflows is a top priority for reducing costs in 2018.
“In 2018, community banks and credit unions will seek to gain more value from existing systems, as survey respondents listed this as a top priority in the technology department. With regards to lending technology, 29 percent of financial institutions want to modify or improve their consumer loan origination system and 34 percent want to improve their commercial loan origination system,” said Ron Shevlin, Director of Research at Cornerstone Advisors. “Modifying, improving or if needed, replacing, these systems may help institutions realize the full value of such technology and ultimately, achieve the loan growth that many institutions are prioritizing this year.”
Baker Hill helps financial institutions identify ways to drive efficiencies in the lending process with the company’s latest developments for Baker Hill NextGen®, which promotes sustainable loan growth and profitability. Baker Hill NextGen® combines comprehensive loan origination features with the latest technical advancements in cloud and mobile computing, streamlining lending processes and portfolio risk management while improving accuracy and supporting a better customer experience. With Baker Hill NextGen®, financial institutions use automated workflows to efficiently process consumer and small business loan applications as well as complex commercial credit requests from start to finish.
“Cornerstone’s research showcases financial institutions’ determination to achieve greater loan growth in 2018, on both the business and consumer side. As interest rates continue to rise this year, banks and credit unions must take this opportunity to maximize portfolio profitability,” said John M. Deignan, President and CEO of Baker Hill. “With Baker Hill NextGen®, financial institutions can optimize and streamline lending processes to grow the loan portfolio, increase profit margins and most importantly, deliver the digital lending experience today’s borrowers demand.”
Cornerstone Advisors is a banking and credit union research firm that delivers leading industry data and benchmarks. The firm’s “What’s Going On In Banking” report is based on survey results from 262 bank and credit union executives at U.S.-based mid-sized financial institutions, including 72 CEOs. The sample was evenly split between banks and credit unions.
Baker Hill sponsored Cornerstone’s report as part of its commitment to continuous innovation and unwavering efforts to offer the most relevant, cutting-edge technology to help financial institutions keep up with evolving market needs. The report is available for download on Baker Hill’s website at www.bakerhill.com.
About Cornerstone Advisors
Founded in 2002, Cornerstone Advisors (www.crnrstone.com) delivers consulting services, industry insights and executive forums focused on helping mid-size banks and credit unions improve profitability and elevate performance. Cornerstone assists financial institutions in developing more meaningful business strategies, negotiate better vendor contracts, make smarter technology decisions, and strategically re-engineer critical processes.
About Baker Hill
Baker Hill empowers financial institutions to work smarter and drive more profitable relationships. The company delivers a single unified platform with solutions that streamline origination and portfolio management for business, consumer direct and indirect lending. The Baker Hill NextGen® platform also delivers sophisticated analytics and revenue enhancement solutions that support sound business decisions to mitigate risk and generate growth. Baker Hill is the #1 provider of member business lending services, serving 500 financial institutions, including more than 20% of the top 150 U.S. banks and 20% of the top 25 U.S. credit unions. For more information, visit www.bakerhill.com.
