Demographics

A chief financial officer's workday is booked solid dealing with regulatory issues, risk assessments and finding places to cut costs. If they could find an extra hour, bank CFOs say they would use that time to consider how to improve their banks' strategies, employees and communities.

If banking is under attack, then chief financial officers are the defenders of the realm. Equipped with the numbers, they are uniquely positioned to bring the credible answers their stakeholders seek and the changes their companies need.

They spent their formative years analyzing balance sheets saddled with problem assets. They watched their mentors struggle to keep their banks afloat through the crisis. And they took good notes.

Our new special reports and proprietary research profile the key executives flanking the CEOs at financial institutions and explore how their roles have evolved. First up: the chief financial officer.

In March, American Banker Research conducted an in-depth online survey of 52 bank chief financial officers from American Banker's readership as part of our inaugural C-Suite Series. The respondents were from banks with less than $10 billion in assets, with vast majority coming from banks with $100 million to $1 billion in assets. They were asked how they spend their time, where they would like to take their careers and how they are handling the unprecedented challenges of today's banking environment. Among the insights revealed from the survey: Basel III hasn't been a big deal for the top line — yet; few CFOs are focused on mergers and acquisitions; and many of them consider their roles strategic. Highlights from the research follow.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is urging banks to reevaluate how they use credit bureaus like ChexSystems, after his investigation found that inaccurate data reported by banks is preventing some consumers from opening checking and savings accounts. Three banks already have agreed to modify their use of ChexSystems in screening potential customers.

With the role of the chief financial officer being redefined since the financial crisis, we asked CFOs at banks across the country, from Stock Yards' Nancy Davis to Comerica's Karen Parkhill, about what parts of the job they most enjoy, which tasks are taking up more time now than in the past, where they wish they could spend more time and, finally, what they would tell themselves at the beginning of their careers. Here are some of their responses.

Golden State regulators want to bar Internet lenders from linking electronically to borrowers' bank accounts and instead require them to accept paper checks as repayment. The proposal is a technological step backward, and it could ultimately force many online lenders to pull out of the nation's largest state.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the owner of several tax-preparation outlets that allegedly steered low-income clients into expensive loans against their anticipated refunds.

Citibank and the online marketplace lender Lending Club, with the help of Varadero Capital, will provide $150 million in loans geared toward fulfilling Citi's community reinvestment obligations.

Mobile wallet developers can find a suitable business partner in prepaid-card providers, who have already been down the path that mobile has just started.

While the CFPB's proposed rules may force payday lenders to adjust their business models, well-meaning ones should be able to operate in this new framework.

FICO and two data partners are testing a credit score based on alternative data that could help banks take smarter risks on borrowers with limited credit histories, but bankers' cost concerns and adherence to traditional methods present big hurdles.

Alternative financial service providers that sell prepaid cards, bill pay, check cashing and other services to underbanked consumers are becoming more sophisticated with the ways they mine customer data.

A number of companies across the U.S. are harnessing technology to solve Americans' cash flow challenges. But there is much more to be done to bring these solutions to the millions of Americans who need them.

Bitreserve, a payments company started by CNET founder Halsey Minor that seeks to solve Bitcoin's volatility problem, has announced a new partnership with the Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas-Pliego and the support of two new currencies on its platform.

Countries including Brazil, Nigeria, Malaysia and India have proved that there are viable ways to find alternatives to branches, use mobile devices to increase the reach of financial services and roll out government-supported financial inclusion projects.

A new service from Cardtronics asks consumers to pay up to $10 a month for unlimited access to 5,000 of the company's ATMs. That may not sound like a great deal — but it could have a lot of appeal among people who make use of alternative financial services.

The finance and technology industries should take some of the energy they've poured into mobile payments and put it toward making small-dollar loans more affordable.

Banks are transforming branches, rolling out new products and experimenting with alternative data, in an effort to bring more people into the financial mainstream. Such initiatives might have been a footnote in the past, but they have grown into a serious business strategy lately.