Key Considerations for Effective Financial Education Programs

November 9, 2016

Banks and other financial providers have recently increased their focus on developing financial education programs, driven by a number of factors:

Numerous studies have highlighted deficiencies in financial literacy among U.S. consumers. FINRA Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study found that only 37% of people were considered to have high financial literacy in 2015, down from 42% in 2009 and 39% in 2012. Studies also show that consumer exposure to and engagement with financial education programs leads to smarter financial decision making. Therefore, the onus is on a range of entities (government, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, industry associations, and of course financial firms) to develop programs to improve financial literacy.

Many financial firms are looking to (re)position themselves as trusted providers of not just products and services, but also of information and advice that can help people better manage their finances. To that end, financial education programs can act as a means to help banks cement relationships with their clients.

The following are some key considerations for financial firms in establishing a new financial education program—or in enhancing an existing one:

Conduct research to gain insights into consumers’ financial literacy levels, attitudes to financial services, preferred channels for consuming financial information, and favored sources of financial information and advice.
Create a dedicated and branded financial literacy program that brings together the diverse range of financial education initiatives under one umbrella. These programs can take the form of an online portal, such as the TD Bank Learning Center, John Hancock Retirement Plan Services’ My Learning Center and MassMutual’s FutureSmart program.
Conduct financial education surveys. Surveys are an effective way to raise consumer awareness and interest, highlight commitment to raising financial literacy, and gain insights that inform financial education program development and execution. U.S. Bank recently published two financial education surveys: the Parent Financial Education Survey (July 2016, focused on the parents of college students aged 18-14) and the Student and Personal Financial Survey (September 2016). Last month, Bank of America published the Bank of America/USA Today Better Money Habits report, which was versioned for 7 of its markets.
Ensure that financial education content reflects the different ways that consumers process information. Keep content short, with easy-to-follow tips and soundbytes. Incorporate images, infographics or video to enhance its visual appeal.
Distribute content through a range of channels. These channels can include online portals (as described above), events, in-person and online courses, and social media platforms. (PNC announced in August that it would be using Pinterest to promote its financial and early childhood education initiative.) In addition, a number of banks (e.g., First Tennessee, First National Bank and SunTrust) have partnered with Operation Hope to open HOPE Inside offices in its branches. SunTrust recently announced an ambitious plan to expand the Operation HOPE Inside program from 7 branches today to 200 by 2020. The number of individuals receiving financial counseling through these offices is expected to rise from 6,000 to 150,000.
Partner with schools and nonprofit organizations that promote financial literacy in communities. This partnership can take the form of joint programs, funding or employee volunteer hours. Fifth Third recently introduced an initiative to deliver its Empower U financial literacy course through 60 local nonprofit organizations throughout its footprint. And Allianz Life recently awarded $275,000 in financial literacy grants to 14 nonprofit organizations in the Twin Cities.

Well-constructed, well-delivered financial education programs improve financial literacy. This in turn leads to smarter financial decision making, benefitting both consumers and their financial providers.

Six Tips for Banks to Develop a Small Business Content Program

October 18, 2016

In a recent EMI blog post, we discussed ways that banks could re-engage with the small business market. One of these ways was to develop content of interest to small businesses. The development and distribution of targeted content can enable banks to re-establish credibility, act as a proof point of banks’ commitment to small businesses, and reposition banks as a key source of advice for small business owners.

The following are six tips for developing a content program aimed at small businesses:

Conduct due diligence. Survey small businesses and company stakeholders to develop insights into what content topics small business owners are interested in, how they consume content, and how they perceive banks as content providers. In addition, banks should study competitors’ content development to identify best practices as well as approaches to avoid. And banks should also assess content topics and styles deployed by dedicated business media, such as Inc. and Entrepreneur.
Develop a content portal. Large banks—such as Bank of America (Small Business Community), Capital One (Spark Business IQ), JPMorgan Chase (Chase for Business Resource Center), U.S. Bank (Connect), and Wells Fargo (Wells Fargo Works for Small Business)—have all developed small business portals. These portals publish a regular stream of small business-related content, which aim to drive small business awareness, interest and engagement. Establishing content templates and guidelines—covering content length, styles, colors, fonts, logo treatment, images and graphics, and approval processes—facilitate timely content development and publication.
Focus on topics of interest to small businesses. Content developed for small business owners tends to be focused on key business life stages (e.g., starting a business, growing, selling), and related business challenges and financial needs. Such content positions the bank as a trusted advisor for small businesses at different stages of evolution, and can act as a catalyst for small business engagement.
Utilize a range of content types. Banks have a range of different content types at their disposal, each of which offers specific advantages in terms of developing and presenting content. These include articles and blog posts, case studies and success stories, podcasts and webcasts, videos and infographics. Wells Fargo has a dedicated “Wells Fargo Stories” section on its website, which include thumbnail summaries, which link to additional detail, including video. Content should be presented in easy-to-consume formats for small business owners who are bombarded with information on a daily basis.
Promote content across multiple channels. Banks should aim to present this content across a number of channels, including social media (in particular LinkedIn and Twitter), the company website, small business media, and small business-oriented events. In addition, this content should be adapted for use by the bank’s small business bankers in branches or on the road. Some banks that maintain small business content and advice portals extend this branding into social media. A standout example here is the @WellsFargoWorks Twitter handle, which mirrors the bank’s Wells Fargo Works for Small Business portal.
Carry out small business surveys. Many of the large banks now conduct and publish regular (annual, quarterly or even monthly) surveys that track business sentiment and key challenges. These surveys help demonstrate the banks’ commitment to the small business market. And findings from the surveys provide fodder for content development that can be used across a range of channels. Many of these have been in place for more than a decade (PNC has published a semi-annual PNC Economic Outlook since 2003), and some include a metric that is tracked over time (e.g., the Bank of the West Small Business Growth Index). A number of banks create market-specific versions of these surveys (U.S. Bank publishes versions of its annual small business survey for 11 markets in its footprint), which help raise the bank’s profile in these markets. Banks have also conducted one-off surveys of current hot topics (e.g., the TD Bank EMV Survey in November 2015) or focused on targeted segments (the August 2016 Bank of America Women Business Owner Survey).

Developing relevant and engaging content across multiple media enable banks to position themselves as aware of small business ambitions and needs, and committed to partnering with small business owners to develop pathways to business success.

Key takeaways from leading credit card issuer 3Q15 financials

October 30, 2015

The following is a list of several trends that EMI Strategic Marketing identified in leading credit card issuers’ 3Q15 financials:

Regional bank card issuers continue to lead in receivables growth. A key factor: regional banks, such as SunTrust and Wells Fargo, are focused on cross-selling credit cards to their bank customers.

Many national issuers not (yet) growing loans, but are ramping up new account generation. National credit card issuers like Citi and Bank of America reported y/y loan declines in 3Q15, due to continued run-off of legacy portfolios. However, both of these issuers are confident that their portfolios will grow in the near future. Citi reported that it is ramping up card acquisition for its core products, and this is starting to pay off with 6% y/y rise in active accounts. Credit card “monolines” are also investing in new account generation. Discover new account generation in 3Q15 was at its highest level since 3Q07. And American Express reported an 8% y/y rise in marketing and promotion spending, with a focus on attracting new card members. As a result of this investment, American Express generated 2.3 million new accounts in 3Q15, compared to a quarterly average of 1.6 million in 2014.
Card volume grew…but was impacted by low fuel prices. Leading issuers continued to report growth in purchase volume, but the y/y rate of growth was lower than in recent quarters, in large part due to low fuel prices. Discover reported y/y sales volume growth of 2.6%. However, excluding gas, the growth rate was 7%. Issuers reporting very strong volume growth included Capital One (+19% y/y), which is benefitting from its focus on transactors, and Wells Fargo (+15%).
Issuers are growing revenues…and expenses. Six of the largest U.S. credit card issuers have dedicated payment units, which publish quarterly revenue and expense data. Since the financial crisis, revenue growth has been elusive for issuers, but in 3Q15 four of the six issuers reported y/y growth in revenue. Benefitting from loan growth, five of the six issuers reported growth in net interest income. And three of the six reported noninterest income growth. However, as issuers are looking to generate new accounts as well as loan and volume growth, they are increasing their noninterest expenses. Banks with the largest y/y increases in noninterest expense in 3Q15 included American Express (+11%), U.S. Bank (+9%) and Discover (+8%).
Credit card yield shows signs of growth. Of the seven leading issuers who reported yield data in their quarterly financials, four reported y/y growth. In addition, six of the seven reported q/q rises in yield. This indicates that in the post-CARD Act environment, issuers are not competing aggressively on price, but are instead concentrating on enhancing rewards, providing additional value-added features, and making large acquisition-and-activation bonus offers.

Charge-off rates continue to decline…and may fall even further. As we have mentioned in previous blogs, credit card net charge-off rates are well below historical averages. Reasons for this extended decline include tight underwriting on the part of issuers and an aversion to building up large credit card debt on the part of cardholders. In its earnings conference call, Discover characterized the credit loss environment as “remarkably benign.” With continued y/y declines in 30+ day delinquency rates (which have historically been a predictor of charge-off rates), issuers are not expecting the charge-off rate to spike in the near term, and in fact rates may continue to decline further.