Conference Chairman
Richard Melville
Managing Editor
American Banker
This is my first year chairing SourceMedia’s Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium and I’m excited to be part of it. If you haven’t already glanced at the list of executives who have signed on to speak, please do so — if you have, you’re already aware that it includes an array of top retail banking talent from around the world. I’m eager to hear their thoughts, and to meet you — the executives who have the job of building the next generation of retail financial services in this country, starting in 2009.
The senior executives who attend the Best Practices gathering have long considered it the premiere gathering of its kind. This year, the discussions of retail strategies and tactics will be more important than ever: The pursuit of growth is much more complicated than just two years ago, when branch-building was a given and the question was just how many to build.
The financial crisis unleashed a Pandora’s box on the industry in 2008 and one can only hope that the coming year will see the worst of the economic and financial stresses move to the rear view mirror. Hope still requires an appropriate strategy to execute on.
As retail bankers survey the new landscape, they are confronted by a very different competitive environment. Gone are many of the weakest institutions — replaced or absorbed in most cases by tough competitors operating on sturdier footing. The winnowing of the field will bring a new set of challenges, and of course a new set of opportunities.
There is no avoiding the reality that the industry’s view of risk has changed. So, too, have customers’ views — of risk, of banks, of their own financial goals. Those shifts will require a new set of ideas and approaches. Yes, every institution needs to be sure it is entering 2009 with the seat belt fastened, perhaps more tightly than in years past. But as retail financial services executives, you need to remember the seat belt is there so you can drive the car.
Consider this your invitation to join us for the 14th installment of this industry-defining event. Make your reservations now to join us in March.
