Customer service

Bigger rivals are making inroads into small banks' bread-and-butter business line, yet the leaders of three community banks say they just need to keep doing what they do best — personal service — but work harder at it and incorporate new technology.

After two century-old community institutions merged in 2010, they never suspected it would take seven years before their operating systems got along.

A lot of lenders say they're dedicated to customer service, but here are six instances when Amarillo National Bank — whose CEO is one of our Banker of the Year award winners for 2017 — went above and beyond the normal call of duty.

The key to loyalty and growth, said one expert, may be in building on a sense of community and making members feel lucky to be part of the CU.

When a coder locked $150 million of digital currency stored in Parity digital wallets last week, many bankers probably saw it as another reason to ignore cryptocurrencies. Instead they should recognize the business opportunity (key custody) that the incident presents.

As use of smartphone apps begins to surpass online channels at some institutions, banks are facing pressure to offer clients more robust services.

Despite digital mortgage advances, borrowers think it still takes too long to get a loan, J.D. Power finds in its annual customer satisfaction ranking of originators.

The regional bank’s first-year CEO is doing some expected things, like offering more products through digital channels, and making a few surprising moves, like inviting all credit card customers to switch to lower-rate loans.

Mobile banking, oddly enough, is redefining the role of call center agents as customers handle routine tasks on their smartphones and reach out for help with bigger-picture questions.

Customer service is steadily expanding within Facebook separate from its payments operations, as part of “an ecosystem for buying.”