How mutuals are transforming their systems

Mutual lenders have been on a major transformation journey recently - particularly when it comes to core banking systems. Why is digital transformation important to Summerland Bank?

John Williams (JW): We have a view that we need to change as an organisation. We need to remain relevant and contemporary with our customers. And if we don’t transform, we will become irrelevant. So it’s really important for us to be able to provide not only the community focus, which we have through branches and our face-to-face service but the digital capabilities to be able to be competitive in the market.

Transformation is not just a project, it’s a continual ongoing journey. The world changes pretty quickly, technology changes pretty quickly, the market changes quickly, and we need to transform with that.

Summerland Bank has partnered with SaaS provider nCino for its transformation. What does nCino do?

Mark Bernhardi (MB): We help our customers with everything from customer onboarding to loan origination and everything in between. We also provide our customers with portfolio monitoring. So, we help our customers get a greater perspective on their credit exposure and provide the insights to help them manage their bank.

A lot of people think about origination as a process. But, at nCino, we really do think about it as data. We want to help our customers minimise rekeying, minimise the mistakes, and ultimately help them develop a very efficient process around how they get data from their customers.

I think credit is a significant enabler to the economy. The more that we can contribute towards making that process more efficient, much quicker, that’s got to be a net benefit to every small business and every consumer within Australia. Credit plays an incredibly important role in empowering the Australian economy, in empowering Australian small business and even from a transition to renewables perspective. So, it’s an exciting space to be in and we’re glad to be partnering with banks like Summerland Bank and helping them get there.

What are the benefits of a single digital platform for business operations?

MB: Integrations are incredibly difficult, especially for community banks that don’t have the technical resources and size of teams to be able to manage those. For us, part of the simplification is to bring these disparate systems and processes.

We want to help to provide additional automation. So, where there is a typical mortgage line coming through that meets all their criteria, we want to give them the ability to be able to auto-approve many steps within that process and ultimately reduce the time to yes.

We’re also focused on that efficiency. We know that for community banks, efficiency is crucial. If we can automate and remove that administrative burden off their bankers, the customer’s going to be happy, the broker’s going to be happy, and the bottom line’s going to be happy too.

What factors should a lender consider when selecting a vendor for a digital transformation project?

JW: It’s all about relationship and cultural fit. Similar to how you would select a staff member; you pick them based on their cultural fit and their fit within the organisation. We treat key business partners in the same way; you’ve got to have that cultural fit right first. Otherwise, it becomes a difficult engagement.

What trends will shape digital transformation in the coming years?

JW: I think artificial intelligence is going to be a fundamental game changer, not only in the way that we work but in lending processes as well. And I think AI, coupled with technologies like open banking and digital ID, is going to greatly transform the lending process into the future.

It’s about minimising the amount of input and the amount of work that customers and brokers have to do to lodge an application with us, making it as simple and easy as possible and getting a speed of decision that’s really rapid. I think that’s the utopia.

MB: I do think there’s a fantastic opportunity to raise the bar in terms of the value that bankers are delivering, moving away from administrative tasks into things that deliver high-touch value in the moments that matter, whether that’s for a customer or a broker.

We know that bankers spend way too much time on administrative tasks. And if we can transfer some of that time into high-value advice for broker customers that would be a fantastic outcome.

You can hear more about nCino and Summerland Bank in The Adviser’s In Focus podcast.

Tune in to the episode with Mark Bernhardi and John Williams in the Mortgage Business Spotlight podcast, here: