FinXTech Intel 2023 report final 2 - Flipbook - Page 9
“Rather than thinking of technology as a pillar or a piece
of your strategy, you should come up with those strategic
objectives. And then technology is a ribbon that goes
throughout those strategies.”
John Behringer, RSM US LLP
tion. And banks that don’t have enough staff to manage these
has enough IT staff, not necessarily realizing that those
projects may need to bring in external consultants, which
employees are largely handling help desk tickets and other
adds costs.
basic maintenance, not working on big-picture strategic
needs. When communicating with the rest of the bank’s lead-
For more on due diligence, go to page 14.
ership, senior technology officers might emphasize the need
for in-house staff working on initiatives that move the needle
on strategy, while discussing the possibility of outsourcing or
Shevlin recommends banks cultivate their internal competen-
automating the more rote tasks needed to keep the lights on,
cy for digital partnership collaborations throughout the bank
Behringer says.
— not just among finance and IT employees. A bank that
wants to grow through fintech partnerships will need a num-
“Come back to, ‘What’s our vision? What do we view as kind
ber of experts in-house that can find, negotiate, bid, deploy,
of core to who we are?’” he says. “That’s where I think the
scale and monitor these new vendor relationships.
CEO can do a better job. A lot of times with management,
technology is an afterthought.”
Ultimately, it’s the senior leadership team that develops a
technology strategy in consultation with outside experts and
Technology executives should also be mindful not to get too
internal ones, and with approval of the board of directors.
deep into the weeds and keep tech discussions focused on how
they tie to broader business objectives.
For more on questions boards should ask,
go to page 17.
“A CIO or CTO, even just talking to the executive team, has
to translate the tech speak into business operational impact
and dollars and cents: ‘What’s this going to cost us, and
what’s this going to do,’ without going into mind-numbing lev-
The chief technology or chief information officer is often
els of detail about the technology,” Shevlin says.
responsible for managing and developing the bank’s technological resources, among their other duties. When it comes
to larger strategic goals, this responsibility will likely include
advocating for the bank’s technology needs before the board
and other senior leadership. To do so successfully, that person
needs to be able to tie those particular needs back to the
bank’s core vision for what it wants to achieve, Behringer says.
When considering broader staffing needs required to put
strategic tech initiatives into play, it may be useful for banks
to segment staff into those dedicated to running the bank and
those dedicated to growing the bank, while improving efficiency and profitability. One centralized group should take responsibility for integration into the bank’s core, while another
should have ownership for the results of fintech partnerships,
For example, a chief executive or director may feel the bank
Shevlin says.
FINDING FINTECHS: HOW DO YOU DECIDE? | 7