The Secret of Product Penetration May Reside in Your Financial Institution’s Location

by TMG

by. Jeff Falk

The key to success (or failure) of your financial institution’s (FI) product and service offerings may be determined by the region of the country in which you do business. New research suggests that each region in the U.S. has a particular product penetration strength, from credit cards in the Southeast to real estate loans in the Northeast.

Each U.S. region has been identified as a leader in one of four product penetration metrics:

  • The West leads in share-draft penetration
  • The Southeast is first in credit-card penetration
  • The Central region ranks at the top of auto-loan penetration
  • The Northeast claims the largest percentage of members holding a real estate loan

Although these national trends may give your FI some indiciation as to what product and service offerings are most successful regionally, you must do your due diligence and evaluate the specific local demand. To best evaluate the local market’s demand for certain products and services, FIs can utilize a variety of resources, including staff observations, customer feedback, market research, competitor activities and national financial market behavior.

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