In his call for ''high-frequency banking,'' BankThink contributor Philip Maymin asserted that government interference has put banking’s current pace on par with the beleaguered U.S. Post Office. The decided lack of speed hasn’t just made it more difficult to complete the most basic transactions; it’s also slowed innovation.
As one commenter noted, a perfect example of this creative lag can be seen in how financial institutions currently use social media – or rather, how they don’t.
''How much bureaucracy does it take for someone in a bank to post on Facebook [or] Twitter?'' BankerBud wrote. ''Quite a bit, in fact. You have manager review, compliance review, legal review, etc. before you even get to post a comment (if you are even allowed to).''
In a subsequent discussion on American Banker’s Facebook page, commenter Rich Vetstein was quick to agree. ''The red tape is ridiculous,'' he wrote. ''Two word policy. Be Professional.''
It's hard to suggest financial institutions should use social media with reckless abandon. As Richard Magrann-Wells wrote on BankThink a year ago, in a column arguing that stockbrokers should not be on Twitter, there are high risks associated with any and all forms of corporate communication. (Hint: the regulatory whip is one of them.)
Another commenter postulated that it's not the government, per se, that has financial institutions slow on the Twitter.
''My experience at banks is they've always been wound up about media,'' @mckpartners tweeted. ''I think it's their over controlling, out-of control nature.''
How much social media vetting do you see in the industry? Is it necessary, and if so, why? Leave a comment below.
Jeanine Skowronski is the deputy editor of BankThink.
Did I feel that I could be criticized or lose my job for saying the wrong thing. Sure, if it was really the wrong thing like, "The Bank has just received a Cease and Desist letter from FDIC/OCC so dividends might be reduced". Or if I disclosed plans for a friendly acquisition ahead of regulators and the other Bank's board knowing about the pending deal.
Maybe it's because I was trained, at an early age by my father, to keep my mouth shut until I know what I want to have repeated. I have often broken that rule and extracting my size 14 shoe from my mouth is never pleasant, but I have found that non-disclosure is worse than a faux pas.
Perhaps the best example was a time when I was the senior member of the Mass Nat'l Guard's Public Information Office stationed at a small post just north of Boston. We had troops billeted there during the Boston School busing crisis in the 1970s. A fight broke out in one of the barracks as one soldier was speaking to his mother. She heard the commotion and asked what the noise was from. He son, not wanting to fib to mom told her. Mom called the Boston Globe about a riot at the post. I took the call when the Globe reporter call the post. He stated that he had a report from mom that there was a riot and would I like to comment. I indicated I would not like to comment but knew I had to or a story would appear in the morning anyway, most likely wrong.
We were not popular in Boston during the call-up anyway so I didn't want him to add fuel to the fire. So, throwing caution to the wind and using "common sense" I explained that two or three troops had gotten into a fight and the only thing hurt was a couple of prides, but that there had been no riot, nor even a brawl. I invited him to come up if he felt the need to (at 1AM). He declined and quoted my "couple of prides hurt" in the morning edition. Within minutes of seeing the paper myself, I received a call from my boss's boss's boss's boss (General) asking what I thought I was doing. I told him "Damage Control". He thought for a minute and admonished me not to do it again unless I called my Commanding Officer first, or if I had to.
Perhaps that's the wrong kind of example but I think not. In using Twitter or LinkedIn or Facebook or... common (uncommon) sense has to be used and it must be assumed that NOTHING is confidential - NOTHING. Sometimes the only thing worse than saying/printing the "wrong thing" is saying nothing at all.
Richard Isacoff
isacofflaw@msn.com
http://www.facebook.com/panamericanbank
Jesse Torres
President and CEO
Pan American Bank
http://www.facebook.com/panamericanbank