Dear Colleague:

Welcome to the new world of retail banking. If last year was (quite literally) the year that saw the rulebook rewritten, 2011 will be the year companies transform their business plans to meet the new requirements.

The biggest challenge: how to do that in a way that still somehow generates profits. Cost cutting certainly isn't going to do the trick — this is an industry that has gotten leaner with each passing year. Sharp curbs on some dependable revenue sources like overdraft and debit, to name just two examples, will make it even harder to overcome headwinds on the lending side. And compliance costs, an ever-present feature of the banking business, are only going higher amid new agencies, new regulations, and increased attention to risk-management controls.

In such a climate, a banker might be tempted to hunker down and wait until the storm blows over. But winners and losers are being determined every day in the market, in many cases via a burgeoning wave of M&A deals that many expect stands to be the fiercest this industry has seen in decades.

Those who intend to control their own destiny in this kind of a market will have to examine — and in many cases expand on — their commitments to areas like mobile banking and payments, personal financial management, and small-business lending, just to name a few.

Given the investments, in dollar and in people terms, that are associated with change of any kind, it's imperative that retail executives identify the right approaches and execute on them with an unwavering focus. That's where American Banker's Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium fits in.

The senior executives who attend the Best Practices Conference have long considered it the premiere gathering of its kind. It's the one industry event — now in its 16th year — that focuses squarely on the topics that keep retail banking executives up at night.

Consider this your invitation to join us for this industry-defining event. It's your chance to connect with industry peers and with the executives who in the coming year will be redefining the retail financial services landscape. Make your reservations now to join us in March.

Regards,


Richard Melville
Group Editorial Director, Banking
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