I'm booked to talk in May at a state bankers' convention. They asked me
Then I had second thoughts. How, I asked myself, can a man who still
Well, I decided, maybe I'd be better than some techie who is all wrapped
Then I remembered what someone had told me about the information
"It is a series of solutions looking for problems."
This will be my theme when I address the convention.
Yes, community bankers must monitor cyberspace and consider their role
But do community banks really have problems that require them to get on
Look at it this way.
First of all, some of what we call the new technology is simply faster
"E-mail" is just electronic movement of what we used to call "letters."
E-mail gives the convenience of getting immediate response to messages
So acceptance and utilization of these tools is a no-brainer.
What is amazing is how the electronic superhighway has evolved - in no
It is also striking to see how home pages have attracted huge numbers of
But the typical community bank does not need nationwide publicity,
The Internet will never replace the teller, the ATM, or the grocery
But this appears still to be years away.
And when it comes to paying bills, though some major banks tout
Programs like Zipcheck use automated clearing house networks to
So where is technology important today?
*It is important in automating credit extension to individuals and small
*Authorized contact people can use it to get data immediately into or
*It can be used to see what the bank's liability mix really looks like,
The bottom line: It's easy to agree with Alan Greenspan that bankers
There'll be plenty of time to join further along the learning curve,
Mr. Nadler is a contributing editor of the American Banker and professor