PRI Blog

Our blog is dedicated to sharing our thoughts and expertise about the banking industry and how you can experience quantifiable results for your financial institution. We invite you to hear the perspectives from our banking professionals through our posts.

Are ATMs a Profitable Asset or Dead Weight?

Many financial institutions provide ATMs at each branch location because “that’s the way it’s always been done.” However, banking has rapidly evolved since the 1960s when ATMs first appeared to give cardholders access to cash when the financial institution was closed. Has your institution recently analyzed whether ATMs are a profitable endeavor or more of […]
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Top 7 Mistakes to Avoid for a Smooth Merger or Acquisition

As we mentioned in our last blog 3 Keys to Creating a Successful Acquisition Playbook, smaller community-oriented financial institutions often struggle with sustaining organic growth. The complex regulatory environment, challenges of talent acquisition, retention and succession planning in small communities pose steep challenges to that kind of growth. Acquiring or merging with another strong institution […]
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3 Keys to Creating a Successful Acquisition Playbook

As smaller community-oriented financial institutions wrestle with future-proofing their businesses, having and executing against a well-defined acquisition strategy can be an effective way to remain relevant to their customers and community. It can be difficult to sustain organic growth, the cost of the regulatory environment is onerous, and in communities of a few thousand people, […]
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Deposit Growth Strategies for Today, Tomorrow, and Forever

As we wrote in the article How Community Financial Institutions Compete in a Digital Age, deposit growth is not what it used to be. Along with shifts in U.S. population growth and demographics, excess liquidity in deposits created by COVID stimulus plans has quickly eroded. The “higher for longer” rate environment is stressing cost of […]
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Debunking Common Misconceptions of Debit Card Profitability

When working with financial institutions to improve profitability, the debit card program receives a bright spotlight because of its potential to increase the organization’s revenue and decrease its costs. PRI consultant Candace DeBarger says that four myths about debit cards can be a barrier to maximizing their profit potential, and she debunks them below. Myth […]
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Community Banking Month: United Bank’s Impactful Community Support Strategy

April is Community Banking Month, which the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) calls “a celebration of the independent spirit and unwavering commitment of community banks to help consumers and small businesses achieve their financial goals to create communities of prosperity nationwide.” PRI is celebrating some of the excellent community banks that we’re fortunate to […]
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Community Banking Month: How Peoples Bank is Strengthening Their Community

April is Community Banking Month, which the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) calls “a celebration of the independent spirit and unwavering commitment of community banks to help consumers and small businesses achieve their financial goals to create communities of prosperity nationwide.” In April, PRI is celebrating some of the excellent community banks that we’re […]
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AI and Automation in Community Banking

Just more than a year after OpenAI released its Large Language Model (LLM) chatbot ChatGPT and the rapid expansion of AI in general, many in the banking industry are looking at how they can join the AI race. However, the desire to jump into AI without a clear plan or understanding of what AI platforms […]
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Keeping The Community Bank Feel as You Grow

Community banks have long been pillars of the local community, intricately interwoven with its small businesses, governmental entities, and the everyday lives of its citizens. In fact, community banking represents approximately 90% of all banks in the US! In today’s highly competitive and fast-moving financial services environment, growth is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. […]
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The Human Touch in Digital Banking: Balancing Automation and Personalization

For almost a generation now, financial institutions have embarked on a bit of a digital arms race. Starting with the simplest online banking applications and moving up from there, digital banking assets were collected. Technology vendors purchased newer products and included them in their digital suites using traditional programming technology to create interfaces. Today, however, […]
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