In assessing competitors, bankers should take a lesson from the GOAT

• Key insight: Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady knew his opponents better than they knew themselves. Smart bankers should too.
• Expert quote: "It wasn't how fast I could run but how fast I could diagnose what they were doing." —Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady
• What's at stake: Winning banks know their rivals' next moves before they happen, because competing banks, credit unions, and drone-like fintechs with AI intelligence are targeting you and your customers.
  

Among NFL quarterbacks, Tom Brady was the greatest of all time not just because he could throw the perfect pass, but because he knew when and where to throw it.
A recent interview underscored how deeply he studied game films before his last Super Bowl victory against the Kansas City Chiefs: "I knew KC's defense better than they knew themselves. I knew their body movements, the way their linebackers moved, the way their safeties moved. I knew everything they were doing. I had the answers to test. It wasn't how fast I could run but how fast I could diagnose what they were doing."

The lesson for banking is clear. CEOs and their executive teams must not only know their customers but also master banking's other KYC: know your competition."

Winning banks know their rivals' next moves before they happen, because competing banks, credit unions, and drone-like fintechs with AI intelligence are targeting you and your customers.

Consulting with several hundred banks since 1970 and serving on community bank boards, I developed a 10-point, AI-supercharged know-your-competition "wristband playbook:"

First, tap your most underused source of market intelligence: your commercial lenders and branch managers. Talk to them regularly, preferably in person, to understand what's happening in your market. Which competitors are winning which borrowers and at what rates and terms? Which borrowers are having problems? Go beyond BankRate.com and NerdWallet.com on rates to see who's luring away your depositors with longer hours, new branches, better services or superior digital offerings. Study their bench: Who's being hired and who's being fired?

Second, examine your competitors' website, the closest thing to their game plan. Look for new or canceled products, updated marketing campaigns, management or board changes, loan officer or branch manager movement, and emerging fintech, digital assets, or banking-as-a-service partnerships. AI can monitor these changes, flagging key developments before they catch you off guard. Some community banks have learned a hard lesson about "TMI websites," listing lenders' emails and phone numbers. The risk is not competitors poaching staff, but outside advocacy groups "shopping" your institution by phone or email, posing as prospective borrowers with different ethnic names and even voice accents testing for potential fair lending violations. Don't say you weren't warned.

Third, review every regulatory report for your competitors and their holding companies, starting with the FDIC's BankFind Suite and the FFIEC's National Information Center and Uniform Bank Performance Reports.  Regulators maintain online databases on enforcement actions, new/closed branches and M&A activity. The SEC publishes quarterly and annual reports, special event filings, and proxies with compensation data for public companies. Specialized AI apps can aggregate and dissect this data, including peer comparisons, in minutes.

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Fourth, scrutinize competitors' quarterly call reports, the equivalent of reviewing game films. Dive deep into their financials, page by page, including footnotes, going beyond headline metrics like problem loans and charge-offs to examine loan modifications, accruing loans 90+ days past due, loan loss reserves, nondepository financial institution loans, brokered and uninsured deposits, Federal Home Loan bank/Fed borrowings, and efficiency ratios. Again, make use of AI tools that can highlight key quarterly changes.

Fifth, track every local, regional, or national article, marketing campaign, and social media mention, good or bad, of your competitors. Monitor their Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and other platforms, including when they or their representatives are cited. Staffing sites like Glassdoor, Indeed and ZipRecruiter can be a gold mine of competitive insight. Regulators often maintain similar files, sometimes spotting mentions before a bank does. Google Alerts help, but AI-driven surveillance goes deeper and wider.

Sixth, check out every published complaint about your competitors, starting with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and then federal and state banking complaint portals. Scan social media reviews or mentions on Facebook, Google, Instagram, TikTok, X, Yelp, and YouTube, and newer platforms like Reddit and Nextdoor. Beware: Fake reviews can be worse than fake news. AI tools can pinpoint patterns, sentiment and potential manipulation. Many banks cultivate positive reviews and skillfully manage negative ones. Some banks "mystery shop" competitors digitally and in person, but AI can digitally mystery shop at scale.

Seventh, have internal or external counsel follow all legal filings involving your competitors. Civil litigation records include federal court PACER filings, state and local court dockets and class action databases. Regulators regularly review these same sources. Don't overlook patent and technology filings telegraphing new offerings before launch. Specialized AI tools can detect developments early.

Eighth, read your competitors' CRA performance evaluations, or PEs, as they contain valuable competitive intelligence. They often disclose donation amounts to specific nonprofits and sometimes community development borrowers. With more states adopting CRA laws, coverage increasingly includes credit unions and mortgage companies. Large-bank PEs include separate state and multistate metropolitan area loan, investment, and service ratings, sometimes revealing "poor" or "very poor" evaluations for specific geographies or products. Your CRA officer should collect and report on competitors' CRA public files, along with their annual HMDA and CRA loan filings.

Ninth, analyze competitors' branch deposits and market shares using the FDIC's Summary of Deposits, after adjusting for main offices or branches with substantial nonlocal deposits. Who is taking your market share and why? Properly scrubbed data helps identify "100% locations" for new branches and inform staffing strategies. Some aggressive bank entrants recruit branch or assistant managers from the largest nearby offices. Remember, banks must disclose branch deposits, but credit unions don't have to: You show them yours, but they don't show you theirs.

Tenth, follow the Godfather's advice: "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Never miss an opportunity to sit with a competitor at an industry, community or social event. Just as NFL teams hire rival coaches, banks often recruit lenders and key personnel from competitors to better understand their playbook. Some go further, hiring retiring examiners with deep competitor insights.

Tom Brady's greatness wasn't just execution. It was anticipation, built on knowing everything about his opponents. The same is true in banking: Knowing your competition is critical for a winning game plan that helps keep your customers and win theirs.