LAKE MARY, Fla.-The recession's end will not bring a recession to increasing compliance demands.
"All of the regulatory change, we believe, is not a temporary type of turbulence," offered Sam Kilmer, VP-market development for Harland Financial Solutions. "It is a systemic change in the financial services industry."
There is a tendency to lump economic problems and growing regulatory pressure together, suggested Kilmer. "But they are different. While leading economic indicators say there will be improvement, the regulatory situation suggests a growing burden over a long period of time. So regardless of how much the economy improves, there will be increasing pressure on credit unions from a compliance perspective."
Kilmer contended that requires credit unions to be more efficient at everything they do, to make room for the additional time it will take to address compliance. "I have to do more with the same resources in my non-compliance areas, or I need to be more creative about my sourcing."
For example, Kilmer said that some clients are requesting that Harland provide assistance with in-house systems. "They are asking us to do more, possibly around system maintenance, using more shared applications, or just providing our expertise and talent on temporary projects or on an extended basis."
Kilmer added that cost control should not get in the way of expansion, and that credit unions should pay close attention to mobile banking as a way to extend reach without adding staff. "Sometimes credit unions think that moving into mobile banking is predicated on the type of membership. But wasn't there a time when we said there is a certain demographic that uses ATM machines?"
