Pub. 5 2015-2016 Issue 4

10 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S Financial Outsourcing Solutions • www.fosaudit.com Addressing Your Bank’s Needs SERVICES • Internal Audit Outsourcing & Co-sourcing • Asset Liability and Liquidity Management Exams • Bank Secrecy Act & Anti-Money Laundering Exams • Information Technology Risk Management & Exams • Fraud Exams • Compliance Consulting & Exams • Sarbanes-Oxley Testing • Trust Department Exams • Debt Collector Reviews & Monitoring INTERNAL AUDIT + CONSULTING The Stability YouWant should come with the service you deserve CONTACTS Debbi S. Fetter, CFIRS, CISA, CFSA, CRMA, CRCM Lisa M. Steen, CFSA, CRCM, CFE, CAMS Thomas R. Strause, CIA, CFE, CBA, CFSA, CISA 1-888-212-8799  HSA  continued from page 9 You are unwittingly creating a gap in services to your customers, and may be unintentionally inviting your customers to look elsewhere for an HSA. Most individ- uals are more likely to move their entire relationship away froma services provider that does not offer everything that they need rather than have piecemeal services with various institutions. Research and polling show that this tendency is particularly evident among Millennials. This key point goes back to the idea that your bank needs to align its products, marketing, knowledge, and values with what is important to your existing and potential customers. Ask yourself, “Can we afford to have a growth for strategy and attracting Millennials that does not include offering a product growing at the rate that HSAs are today? HSA = Helping Sustain Assets This closing advantage of HSAs works for both your customers and your bank. When interest rates finally rise, there will be a massive war for consumer deposits. Having an additional tie to your customer with anHSA increases your organization’s odds of retaining that customer when the war begins. Any additional line of busi- ness with a customer strengthens your relationship, this benefit is not exclusive to HSAs, but tax-preferred accounts gen- erally are viewed by consumers as painful and difficult to move. The other important role for your organization in this space is to help your customers accumulate savings for future medical expenses. These accounts don’t start out with enough money in them to attract the interest of brokerage or invest- ment firms. So, the responsibility of supplying this type of support falls squarely on their local bank. If a core part of your mission state- ment is to help individuals save money, then HSAs need to be an important part of that objective. Your role needs to go beyond just of- feringHSAs. Your organization should un- derstand your customers’ needs and have a handle on howHSAs can work for them. We’re not talking about giving finan- cial or tax advice, but knowing howHSAs work benefits the average saver. HSAs can do more than most people realize. The multiple benefits of HSAs are accessible for the taking by your bank and its customers.  For more information call 800-346-3860 or email: irareview@ascensus.com. You can also visit the web- site: ascensus.com