Allan Rayson, Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Technology Officer at Encore Bank
Wendy Cai-Lee, Founder and CEO of Piermont Bank
Alex Carriles, Chief Digital Officer at Simmons Bank
Moderators:
Carter Pape, Technology Reporter, American Banker
Miriam Cross, Technology Reporter, American Banker
Penny Crosman, Executive Editor, American Banker
Transcription:
Penny Crosman: (
Good morning. Thank you all so much for coming to our digital banker of the year recognition. Um, at this point I would like to welcome all of our digital banker of the year honorees and my colleagues up to the stage. And then we'll more properly introduce everybody, I guess, just sit in order. That's fine.
Penny Crosman: (
So in case anybody isn't familiar, digital banker of the year is a recognition that American banker has been doing every year. For the past 10 years. We actually post an application on our digital banking conference, uh, website, and then we, um, uh, tweet and, uh, put that on LinkedIn. And we put it in our email newsletters and we get a lot of applications from a lot of the leaders in this industry. And then, uh, my colleagues and I Miriam cross technology reporter, a Carter poppy technology reporter, American banker I'm tech editor, American banker, and penny Crosman. And, uh, we, you know, carefully read all these applications and we have calls about them and we debate the, the, the merits of the different applicants. And then we make an editor's choice about, uh, who, who we think did the most to kind of move the industry forward, uh, implement innovative technologies, move their, move, their organizations forward toward a more digitally savvy way of doing things. So this year, our choices were Alan rayon at, uh, Encore bank and he's our digital banker of the year. So let's just give a little,
Allan Rayson: (
Um,
Penny Crosman: (
Actually I will give you that word.
Allan Rayson: (
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Penny Crosman: (
So Miriam wrote a profile of Alan, which, uh, you can see in the issue of American banker on your seat. Um, it's our cover story. That's Alan right on the cover with his groovy carpeting and neat background. Um, so Miriam, you wrote the profile. What were some of the things that Alan has done over the past year that you thought were kind of innovative or interesting?
Miriam Cross: (
Yeah, so as chief technology officer and chief innovation officer Alan oversaw Encore becoming a very fast growing digital first commercially focused bank, when Alan started at the end of 2020, the bank had only one major piece of technology in place its core system, but in 2021, and thus far in 2022, Alan has sought out a lot of young up and coming fintechs that he feels will be nimble and grow with the bank to fill in the other gaps. Although if you ask him, he's still not done, there's still lots to do. And as a result of that, Encore has become the fastest growing bank in the country in terms of organic growth of institutions of 750 million assets are higher. Um, and it only started in 2019. So that is why we chose oh, and also done this with a very digital first approach because it has a very light branch presence. And that's why we chose Alan as our digital banker of the year.
Penny Crosman: (
You have one question you wanna ask Alan?
Miriam Cross: (
Sure. Uh, what is, uh, something you feel ENCO does that is very innovative and unique compared to other commercial banks?
Allan Rayson: (
Yeah, of course. Um, and thank you for everything, uh, for starters, very, very much the way that you, the way that you, uh, just listened and, and told our story is, uh, amazing and very much appreciated. So, um, thank you. Um, I think, I think Encore, you know, every everything really for us starts with the way that we, the way that we raise capital. I mean, the, the opportunity that we've had to put, you know, some 15, 1600 investor partners around us that are financially invested in, in Encore and, and otherwise that's, that's kind of where everything starts as you and I have talked a lot about. Uh, and then we, you know, the way that we execute is we focus on, on banking, our investor partners primarily, and ultimately the, you know, the, the referrals that they send us, but, you know, ultimately what's innovative about us is, is everything, everything starts with that core group of people and we're, and we're working to create, you know, honestly the best boutique experience that we, that we can. And, you know, as we've talked a lot about over the last few months, I mean, really, really having, uh, the culture inside of our organization to, you know, take some chances to try some things, you know, knowing not everything is, is ultimately gonna work, but we're, we're doing everything that we can to create, you know, create that type of experience that we're, that we're looking for for, you know, for our investor partners and the, you know, uh, the, the trusted referrals that they, that they send us.
Penny Crosman: (
All right. Awesome. So our next winner was Wendy Kylie, founder and CEO of Piermont bank in New York. She unfortunately was not able to come, but we are fortunate to have Winnie woo, who is chief growth officer at the bank. So, uh, first I'm going to present Winnie with the award, and here we go. Hopefully I'm not getting too many fingerprints on here. So Carter, you wrote the profile of Wendy and of Piermont her, the work she's doing at Piermont. What were some of the things you learned about Piermont in the course of your reporting?
Carter Pape: (
Yeah, so, uh, when I was, you know, interviewing Wendy about, and, and some of the investors in clients that she has with Piermont, the, uh, thing that really emerged as the differentiator for paramount is that they are, uh, Denovo bank started, uh, 20 18, 20 19 that, um, is focused very, very much on banking as a service. Um, so whereas you see a lot of institutional banks serve, come into banking as a service as, uh, something that they have adopted, you know, after they've been chartered, uh, paramount was really focused on that from day one. Uh, so that's, that's kind of what makes them different bank is a service of course means that they are their primary clients, their partners are fintechs. So their, uh, you know, providing banking services that those fintechs then use. Um, so yeah, but I, I, I think I'm interested to hear from you and I've heard it from Wendy. Uh, why, why have that focus on banking as a service? Why make that the differentiator for Piermont?
Winnie Wu: (
Yes. Um, thank you so much. Um, and you know, our co and, um, uh, Wendy the, uh, regret that she couldn't be here today, and it's an incredible honor to get a recognition from, um, an PAC, um, publication like the American banker, um, actually Piermont is a full service commercial digital bank. So we serve and entrepreneurs not just from the FinTech sector, but also from commercial real estate and other SMB, uh, sectors. We also have a keen interest in women and my own business because we are one of them. Um, the fit banking as a service really took off, I think because we were very inspired by what FinTech has done to transform our industry overall. And we have a very unique value proposition because as a de Novo, you know, it's a lot easier for us to build from a technology standpoint to better support our FinTech clients. Um, also because we are a startup ourself, um, you know, it, I think a from culturally and talent standpoint, it aligns very much, uh, with the FinTech industry.
Penny Crosman: (
All right, awesome. And our third digital banker of the year is Alex car. Let me present his award. There you go,
Penny Crosman: (
Alex. And I have known each other for many years. He used to, uh, lead digital efforts at B B V a more recently. He, uh, about two years ago, I think he became the chief, uh, technology officer at Simmons first national bank. He's done a lot of, uh, a lot of interesting, innovative things. I probably don't have time to talk about all of them, but he launched a, uh, a digital, a digital first digital only checking account called coin checking designed for younger people. Um, very easy, simple, quick account opening. Um, uh, he also kind of invented an account opening process that involves scanning a person's driver's license, and then, uh, running it by motor vehicle bureaus and getting their, um, their feedback on how, uh, whether or not it's accurate and, and verifying the identity, which is, um, you know, a really interesting approach that I haven't seen that many banks do a very useful, um, thing to do, uh, coin checking now represent.
Penny Crosman: (
It was, it was introduced in the second quarter of 2021. It now represents 7.2% of all accounts. And 60% of those users are under the age of 40. So he, he, he is meeting that goal of trying to, uh, reach younger people. And Miriam wrote about this, uh, several months ago. So if you wanna read more about that, you can, you can, uh, look that up. Um, and another sta 58% of all banking transactions are now made on digital channels as of 2021. Thanks to the work Alex has done. He's also done a lot of work, reducing fraud, um, through a variety of means a lot of, um, a lot of transaction reviews, a lot of, um, reviews of mobile deposit users to make sure everything is kosher. And you're not just letting anybody, um, you know, drop a fake check or what have you. Um, and, uh, another stat is 84% of all deposit accounts are now enrolled in digital banking, which is, um, pretty high. Um, so, uh, you know, there are a lot of different things that I could ask you about, but one thing I know is you, you hate the term omnichannel, and we've heard that a few times. What do you dislike about that?
Alex Carriles: (
Okay.
Alex Carriles: (
It is true that I don't like the word omnichannel. And the reason is that when it started, it had a good, eh, reason for being, we had first multichannel, which were individual channels. And then the word omnichannel came out in the late two thousands early, uh, 2010s to try to convey the sense that you can move from one to another. But the reality is that somehow along the way, that became an excuse to have an incomplete and bad experience on every channel because the other one will patch it as an example, oh, we thought, oh, you go to your mobile phone and start searching for a new checking account. And then you go and fill out the application on your computer. And then you finally go to the branch sign documents and get your card. It's like, that's omnichannel. Like, no, that's a disaster. why, because when you try to fill out the application, if you wanted to continue on your mobile phone, if that thing is not responsive, it's not designed for mobile, it looks horrendous.
Alex Carriles: (
And then you don't have the process in place for e-sign. And therefore you cannot agree to those terms and your lawyers will be, uh, with their hair on fire saying, no, no, you need to go to the branch to get it signed. So if it omnichannel, it is it's, it is disaster. Absolutely. So I think that we need to move away from that and turn the page on omnichannel and think about channel agnostic, which is, I don't care where you do it. You will be able to do it from a to Z, from two to knots on that channel, however you want it done. And to me, that is a much, much better experience. I mean, uh, mention coin checking. I mean, we think that if we can do it in one channel and deliver an extraordinary experience, it is okay to be single channel. It doesn't need to be Omni because if I send you to that one channel and you have a in incredible experience, you will be happy as a customer. And I think that the numbers have proven that it has worked out
Penny Crosman: (
Right. Awesome. Is worked out all right. Awesome. All right. So I think we have time for like one more little question answer with each winner. So, Miriam, do you have one more question for Ellen?
Miriam Cross: (
Yeah. Um, I know you don't like taking credit for everything you do at Encore bank, but what is an idea you had or a project you've owned since you joined Encore bank that you're very proud of.
Allan Rayson: (
Yeah. I, um, I appreciate you pointing that out. It, it is a team game for sure. You have the bracelets. Um, yes, for sure. We, we all wear these, um, admittedly a little bit hokey, uh, bracelets that say we win together, and that is very much our culture. So thank you for pointing that out. It is a team game. Um, I'm probably most proud of the relationship that we have built. Um, you know, honestly with, with companies like mantle Z suite Hawthorne river, um, but just a couple, you know, comment on a couple of those. I mean, mantle very much changed the game for us. Um, not only in the front office, but the, but the back office, um, just the efficiencies that are created, the, you know, the lives that our people get to get to lead. Now that we've stripped so much manual process out of the, you know, out of the back office, um, util, you know, utilizing a product like the, like the consumer one that, that mantle brings, um, Z suite chains, the game for us, cuz we're able to, you know, not only help meet our corporate objectives of, of growing commercial assets and sourcing core deposits and you know, raising non-interest revenue.
Allan Rayson: (
But you know, we get to deliver an outstanding technology product to law firms, title companies, people like that, um, and get, you know, get deposits in return. So I mean, tho there's, there's a lot of examples, but those are a couple that I'm, that I'm most proud of, but it is a, it is a team game.
Penny Crosman: (
And thank you for saying that. I always appreciate when people give credit to the vendors they work with because yeah. The vendors do do a lot of the tech companies do a lot of the innovation and do a lot of work and it's, it's really great to recognize them and not try to pretend everything's in house, cuz it can't be
Allan Rayson: (
Agreed. We couldn't do it without him. Agreed. Yeah.
Penny Crosman: (
Carter, do you have a question for Wendy?
Carter Pape: (
Yeah. I wanted to ask you about Wendy, you know, since she's not here, but you you've worked for, uh, you've worked with her for a while. So I wanted to ask when, when you started working with her and then, uh, what you think makes her different as an entrepreneur, just something you've noticed about her leadership.
Winnie Wu: (
Yeah. So, um, Wendy has a very unique, um, career path. Um, you know, she actually started her own company, um, at the age of 24 job out of Columbia B school. And she saw her company successfully raised 12 million and successfully sold it back to the investor, um, right before the dotcom bubble. So, you know, I think that, and then she, you know, went and worked for, you know, large corporations like Deloitte. Um, and also later on, um, went into east west bank and now building paramount bank. And I was fortunate to have a boss and a mentor like her because one thing that, you know, uh, I feel like she's always championing for other female, um, banking professionals. And this is reflected in the overall team that she's built at paramount. We have an extremely diverse team. Um, we have a very small team, but you know, um, I was counting the other day. Um, overall the team speaks 15 language other Lang other than English. And I thought that was pretty incredible. And it shows that, you know, under her leadership, we truly, um, is it benefiting from the diversity that we have?
Carter Pape: (
Yeah. Wendy, something that she talked about when we spoke to her was just like the importance of the, the team around you. It's very obvious point, but it's a pretty essential, just like the people you surround yourself with are very important.
Winnie Wu: (
Absolutely.
Penny Crosman: (
So Alex, um, one thing that's very clear for everybody, anybody who knows you is that you're very enthusiastic about your work and that you maintain that enthusiasm. I've heard that you maintain that enthusiasm even when there's a crisis and everything's going wrong. You're, you're always like keeping everything up and keeping people kind of positive. How do you do that? Especially on a bad day, bad day, for whatever reason, how do you maintain all of that enthusiasm and positivity?
Alex Carriles: (
Thank you, Benny. Well, I think that the main thing is if you see yourself as part of a team and the leader of that team, you owe it to your team to maintain calm, to try to keep your call and to think, eh, try to be as calm as possible to make the right decisions. I mean, if your first question, when you have a crisis is who authorized this, who signed that, who made this? And you're just trying to find a, a guilty party to focus your anger. You're going the wrong way instead of that, if you are thinking, okay, what went wrong? How can we fix it if it was working? That means that most likely we can bring it back to a working eh, status. So I think that at the end of the day, trying to look for solutions instead of trying to look for making people guilty or accountable for that, it's a good start. And once you start basically transmitting that vibe to your team, everybody starts responding in kind and you have a team that becomes really focused, really high performing and try to deliver solutions. And once you are successful and deliver solutions, I guess that's what keeps people happy.
Penny Crosman: (
All right. That's, that's very wise advice. Uh, well we're just about at a time let's give our, all of our winners this year, a final round of applause. I wanna thank you all so much for coming and, uh, receiving your awards. There are boxes here and I also wanna thank Alex's wife for coming and being part of this. So, uh, one more round of applause. Thank you very much.