Tag Archives: Bank of America

5 Key Financial Education Trends in 3Q21

Numerous surveys continue to highlight financial literacy gaps among U.S. adults and children, illustrating the ongoing need for financial education programs (according to a Step survey, 97% of teens believe that financial literacy is important). Many financial firms and their partners have been at the forefront in developing and distributing innovative financial education programs. The following are noteworthy financial education trends in the 3rd quarter of 2021.

  1. Build engagement with younger segments through financial education programs and content. Firms are looking at a wide range of channels to reach younger demographics:
    • HSBC created a new world in Minecraft – Fintropolis – designed to improve financial literacy.
    • Bank of America launched a 7-part series on YouTube that aims to share financial know-how with both parents and students.
  2. Develop financial education partnerships with associations and advocacy groups.
    • OneMain Financial partnered with EverFi to launch the Money LaunchPad financial literacy program for students in grades 9 to 12.
    • BancorpSouth committed $1.5 million to Operation HOPE for financial literacy programs and announced six additional HOPE Inside locations.
  3. Target specific consumer segments with financial education programs and thought leadership tailored to their unique needs, including:
    • LGBTQ: Capital One published an article, “The Debt Free Guys: Financial Obstacles Facing LGBTQ+ People”, and Ally published an article on “Financial Considerations for LGBTQ+ Couples.”
    • Couples: Ally Bank launched a marketing campaign targeting couples’ fears over the “Money Talk”, and Morgan Stanley listed “6 Money Questions to Ask Your Partner Before You Commit.”
    • Widows and Widowers: MassMutual published “A financial checklist for widows and widowers.”
  4. Brand financial education programs to bring together various financial education initiatives as well as raise consumer awareness and engagement. Recent examples:
    • Charles Schwab launched MoneyWise America™ program for teens.
    • Regions introduced the Next Step podcast, the latest resources from the bank’s Next Step financial education program.
    • Capital One launched the Money & Life program, which builds on its former Money Coaching program.
  5. Position financial education as part of broader ESG and CSR initiatives. Financial education efforts are now more prominently featured in financial firms’ annual ESG and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports.

5 Key Commercial Banking Trends in 3Q21

As the U.S. economic recovery picked up speed in the third quarter of 2021, the decline in commercial line utilization that had taken place throughout the pandemic started to bottom out. Even though commercial loans continue to decline on a year-over-year (y/y) basis, banks are reporting very strong growth in their commercial loan pipelines. In the expectation that economic growth will continue to recover and this will translate to growth in commercial loans, banks are already starting to position themselves to capture their share of this growth.

With this in mind, the following is a list of five commercial banking initiatives that banks pursued in the third quarter of 2021:

  1. Revisiting commercial banking capabilities. In a commercial banking environment characterized by changing customer priorities, the advent of innovative financial technologies and the emergence of new competitors, many banks are revisiting their commercial banking value proposition. This is seen in the articulation of new commercial banking strategies in recent company filings and investor presentations as well as in recent commercial banking videos from banks like Truist and Citi.
  2. Publishing industry-specific thought leadership. By focusing resources on industries that have strong growth potential and/or that are under-served, banks can improve ROI. One of the best ways to build engagement within these sectors is by publishing industry-specific content (e.g., articles, blogs, newsletters, reports, podcasts and webinars). Many banks also look to turn this content into a prospect generation tool by listing relevant executives (often with email and direct phone numbers) in these publications.
  3. Developing a series of branded content, which both increases awareness of this content and facilitates promotion across multiple platforms. Examples of branded content series include:
  4. Providing value-added treasury management and commercial payment tools. With businesses increasingly comfortable with applying new technology solutions to enhance business efficiency and productivity, banks have launched a number of treasury management and commercial payment tools, including:
    • Request to Pay: a real-time payments service from JPMorgan Chase
    • Integrated Receivables: an account receivables solution from Wells Fargo
    • VAM 2.0: an enhanced virtual account management solution from Bank of America
    • Integrated Payables: from Citizens
  5. Increasing focus on ESG. In addition to annual ESG and CSR reports, many banks are publishing ESG-related content for their commercial clients. Examples in 3Q21 included Bank of the West’s Means & Matters Stories of Money and Sustainability and the BMO Harris Sustainability Leaders podcast. Citizens went even further by launching Green Deposits for its corporate clients.

5 Key Digital Banking Trends in 3Q21

As consumers turn to digital banking channels for everyday banking – and for an increasing range of more complex banking interactions – the battle between digital challengers looking to enter and grab a share of the market and traditional banks seeking to optimize customer retention and engagement has intensified. With this in mind, the following are five key trends that emerged in the digital banking space during the 3rd quarter:

  1. Existing digital challengers are expanding their product portfolios and raising funding for further growth.
    • Established digital banks are continuing to report strong customer growth. They are looking to enhance existing customer relationships by introducing new products.
    • New product launches during the quarter included Acorns Early Smart Deposit; the Albert Cash checking account; a checking account and mobile app from Atmos Financial; the Douugh Wealth robo-advisor; as well as an instant payments feature from gohenry.
    • Digital banks who raised funding in 3Q21 included Revolut and Varo (raised $510 million, valuing the company at $2.5 billion).
  2. New digital challengers are emerging. With relatively low barriers to entry, new digital banks continue to emerge, with many targeting specific market niches, such as the recent launch of Nerve, a challenger bank for musicians.
  3. Traditional banks are investing to build strong digital engagement. Banks have responded to the challenge posed by digital challengers by directing increased resources to develop features and tools that enhance the digital experience. To show progress on this, many banks are now publishing metrics not only on (digital/mobile) usage, but also on growing digital engagement:
    • Bank of America reported Zelle P2P payment users rose 24% y/y to 15.1 million in 3Q21 and Zelle payment volume jumped by 54% to $60 billion.
    • U.S. Bank reported that digital transactions accounted for 80% of total transactions in 3Q21, up from 67% in 3Q19.
    • Huntington Bank reported that digitally-assisted mortgage applications accounted for 96% of total mortgage applications in 3Q21, up from just 9% in 3Q20.
  4. Traditional banks are developing their own digital banks. While many traditional banks are competing with digital challengers by enhancing their digital banking functionality, some are going further by
    • Launching standalone digital banks: Cambridge Bank launched Ivy Bank, a digital-only division.
    • Adding products to the digital bank’s offering: Citizens Access, Citizens’ national digital bank, is planning to introduce mortgage lending and student refinance by the end of 2021, as well as checking, home equity, credit card and wealth in 2022.
  5. Traditional banks remain committed to the digital-human channel model. Many banks have realized that the broad transition to digital channels for everyday banking transactions means that they can continue to serve a market with a less dense branch presence, so are cutting branches in existing markets. However, their continued reliance on branches is seen is the fact that many are opening branches in de novo markets (JPMorgan Chase is halfway through a plan to open 400 new branches by the end of 2022). Banks are also redesigning branches in existing markets to reposition them to take on new roles (e.g., advisory centers, brand beacons, community hubs, locations to showcase new innovations).