Publications & Resources

April/May 2007
Focus: Risk Assessment & Disaster Planning

WIB Service Corporation:
Community Banks’ Path to Value-Added Products & Services

By Anne K. Scully, WIB Service Corp. President

The distance between capturing a great idea and providing a great solution is vast. Unfortunately, brilliant ideas often die on the vine for two reasons. First, many typically bring innovation that, by default, rocks the status quo and triggers foot-dragging resistance. Second, they lack a sound infrastructure—people, process and commitment—within which they can be successfully developed.

The WIB Service Corporation recognizes that having a good infrastructure in place is critical to its research, analysis, recommendation and WIB member acceptance of prospective vendors for endorsement. Underlying our infrastructure, and key to our due diligence process, is the WIB Service Corporation Board of Directors. Our WIB Service Corporation Board representation ranges from de novo to over $5 billion in assets, from single bank to multi-state bank holding company, and from family-held to publicly traded. Each board member brings a wealth of background and expertise as well as a unique perspective on community banking.

Board members are called upon to review competitive matrices outlining various “category specific” vendor proposals—vendor vs. vendor, specific vendor proposal relating to WIB membership demographics and WIB endorsement criteria. Board members also serve as “beta” users prior to endorsement as well as assess endorsed vendors’ ongoing performance, etc. WIB board members and other WIB banks have also contributed significantly to WIB Service Corporation’s review process.

This year, the WIB Service Corporation Board is implementing measures that will further strengthen its product selection and due diligence processes. These steps will ensure that products and services under consideration are not only appropriate options for WIB banks but also meet the most thorough and up-to-date regulatory requirements. For example, a proposed product may meet de novo or small banks’ needs but not those of older or larger banks (or vice versa). In other instances, a particular product may be a good fit for all WIB banks—across the board.

In the due diligence arena, formal advisory committees—comprised of WIB bankers—will be appointed for every proposed endorsement. They will assist the WIB Service Corporation Board, on a much more tactical level, with due diligence for the particular product or service. We encourage your bank to participate in one or more of these advisory committees, especially if your bank is currently conducting due diligence on products in a particular area or are considering particular products this year.

As you can see, not every good idea survives the due diligence process. In fact, the WIB Service Corporation Board has made the due diligence process a rigorous one and limited consideration to only those few ideas whose potential for “greatness” is shared equally by the Board and members. But, at the end of the process, it has produced a clearly defined portfolio of high quality products and services that reflects the caliber and status of the WIB brand. That’s doing their job.

WIB-Endorsed VIPs Profit Performance Group and Pinnacle Financial Strategies Join Ranks

VIP Profit Performance Group (PPG) has affiliated with VIP Pinnacle Financial Services (provider of a turnkey, regulatory compliant overdraft privilege product to WIB banks). And the result? A dynamic combination of products and services to take your bank to the next level in operational profitability, additional fee income and “over the top” regulatory compliance.

PPG focuses on untapped profit potential at community banks. Overseen by Founder Lonnie Grubb, PPG uncovers opportunities and develops performance action plans that improve efficiency, teamwork and profitability.

PPG is powered by Active Intelligence, its proven combination of smart tools, expert support and sustainable results. State-of-the-art PPG systems, processes and techniques determine project feasibility and deliver a detailed study of your bank’s entire operations covering more than 400 key elements.

Experienced former bankers provide specific action plans to guide improvements, which include more efficient operations, teamwork, and the ability to identify and analyze future profit-improvement opportunities.

With PPG, you can:

• Objectively identify operational weaknesses with a detailed study
• Quantify opportunities for more profitable operations
• Put recommendations into action for immediate and long-term results
• Map results to action plan milestones

WIB members receive preferential pricing and additional contract rebates from WIBSCO

Grow Fee Income and Alternate Financing Programs with BancLeasing. It’s no secret that net interest margins in all community banks are shrinking. Community banks need new tools to grow fee income and create alternate financing programs.

Your bank can do both with VIP BancLeasing. BancLeasing’s program is a complimentary leasing solution to your bank’s traditional commercial lending platform which will generate cross-selling opportunities, resulting in both customer retention and fee income for your bank.

BancLeasing offers three levels of participation for WIB banks. BancLeasing offers WIB members a special bonus/incentive program for the bank’s loan officers.

Unauthorized reproduction of all or part of this material without the express written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.