6 Hoosier Banker March 2015 In January we were all witness to the first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football championship playoff. The Ohio State Buckeyes handily defeated the Oregon Ducks 42-20, in what many considered an upset. While there have been pronouncements in the past of an NCAA football championship team, this was the first time a playoff system was established to crown a champion. We as Hoosiers, of course, are likely more interested in the NCAA basketball championship, now more commonly referred to as March Madness. The NCAA first held a basketball championship tournament in 1939. Surprisingly the teams competing in the first championship games were not Indiana University, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA or Kansas. It was the Oregon Ducks defeating Ohio State 46-33! What are the odds that the same two teams would be competing for the first championship for these two popular sports? Pretty long odds, I would guess. This phenomenon reminds me of the wisdom of French critic Alphonse Karr: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.*” I began my career in banking 45 years ago and have seen an awful lot of change during that time, yet some things have not really changed much. When my career began, the banking business was just beginning to talk about the oppressive regulatory environment in which it had to operate. Today, bankers are talking at length about the oppressive regulatory environment in which they have to operate. It is much more oppressive today than at any time in my long career, but the perspective ‒ that there is too much regulatory scrutiny over banking ‒ has not changed. Also when I was beginning my career, bankers were dismayed by the uneven playing field that existed between banks and credit unions. Regretfully that situation has not changed. In fact credit unions enjoy an even larger advantage today as a result of expanded powers to provide a broader array of services, often with less regulatory requirements than those required of banks. And despite the many academic and independent research studies that indicate that credit unions ironically provide fewer services to low-income persons than banks do, credit unions continue to enjoy a federal tax exemption. Talk about a competitive advantage! When I was starting my career, banks were focused on hiring, training and promoting young people to look at making banking their careers. Today I hear that everywhere I go. The future of our business is dependent upon the development of the leaders who will propel banking into the uncertain future. The Indiana Bankers Association, at the demand of our members, continues to develop more and more programming that will provide leadership training to those bright, young people who will assume senior roles within the next few years. In 1970, banks were beginning to adopt computer systems to replace much of the manual systems that had been in use for decades. Technology has come a long way since 1970 ‒ my cell phone today offers more computing function than the entire bank in 1970 could provide. Technology has always been a disruptor of current processes, and managing it will continue to be an ever more important function for banks as they move into the future. No one knows specifically what the future holds for bank technology, but I am willing to bet that the ability to adapt will be a differentiator for the banks that are the most successful. Another concern back when I was a novice banker was nonbank competition. Credit cards were just beginning to be issued by nonbank companies. Consumer loans were being disrupted from many other sources than credit cards, such as finance companies and the captive automobile financers affiliated with automobile manufacturers. Competition today comes from new technology companies, investment bankers, insurance companies, and many more from throughout the world. Even more so than credit unions, these companies are saddled with less regulatory burden than that required of banks. Yes, the world has changed for bankers in many ways in the past 45 years through consolidation of the industry, the addition of new delivery methods for services and products, technological advances and regulatory burden, to name a few. But as noted above, the more things change, the more they stay the same. If the NCAA starts a new championship for a sport, I am putting my money on Ohio State and Oregon to be in the final game! FEATURE PresiDenT’s PonDerinGs S. Joe DeHaven, President & Chief Executive Officer, Indiana Bankers Association Amplify is a public relations and grassroots tool designed to help rebuild the image of banking. Developed by the American Bankers Association, Amplify is available to all bankers, both ABA members and nonmembers, free of charge. For more information, visit amplifybankers.com, or contact Erin Scheithe at 202-663-5436, email: escheithe@aba.com. t AmplifyYour Outreach and grassroots help rebuild Association, all bankers, and nonmembers, visit * Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
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