CEO Drives Bank's Technology Culture
1992; American Bankers Association; Volume: 84; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0194-5947
Autores Tópico(s)Digital Platforms and Economics
ResumoWould bank employees be more comfortable with willing to use a new software program if senior management were enthusiastic about it actually helped design it? The answer is yes, if Wilber National Bank, Oneonta, N.Y., is any indication. Robert W. Moyer, who is vice chairman CEO of the $375 million assets bank, speaks as knowledgeably about the latest developments in bank technology as he does about bank regulations loan-to-deposit ratios. When Moyer joined the bank in 1969, .it had already converted savings accounts to an automated system was in the process of doing the same with DDA accounts. Today, remarkably few papers clutter Moyer's desk. The bank's homegrown software system--dubbed WIN, for Wilber Information Network-provides numerous management reports on-line, most of which don't require hard copies. A built-in electronic mail system delivers interbank memos, further reducing the flow of paper through the bank. Information is an edge. What we get do1lar for dollar from the system goes right to the bottom line because of the efficiency we operate under, says Moyer. In today's society, information itself is an edge, he adds, and we're mandated to provide information. Employees throughout the bank access the same system Moyer does, enabling them to easily call up client account information, open new accounts, provide product information updated interest rate information, perform numerous other functions. WIN includes word processing capabilities that Moyer uses to write letters, among other things. He can quickly generate letters to several hundred stockholders, for example, drawing on information the system maintains on the status of their holdings. Built-in security features limit access to certain functions, but use of a single system in the bank for platform, teller, management needs eliminates problems associated with maintaining multiple systems running in different operating environments. We asked ourselves whether we wanted our tellers to be tellers or all things to all people, says Moyer. We decided we wanted them to be tellers, but also to have access to other information as needed. When bank employees take courses with other bankers, relates Moyer, they are frequently amazed at how much more in touch with technology they are than their counterparts, at the lack of such comprehensive systems they perceive in other banks. They have a high level of expectation where technology is concerned, says Moyer. It's like going into your favorite supermarket where you know where everything is then going to another one being amazed that they don't carry an item you're used to getting. Advisors to IBM. The choice of hardware running the WIN software-- an IBM ASl400--is no surprise considering Moyer his vice-president of operations, Steven Milavec, participated in IBM's development of the computer. The two were the only bankers in the multi-industry advisory group that provided the computer manufacturer with tips on achieving greater efficiency from the midrange computer prior to its release in 1988. Approximately 160 devices are attached to the AS/400 at Wilber National, estimates Moyer, including six communications lines, three proof machines, numerous PCs linked by a Token Ring local area network. The bank's ten branches are connected on-line to the AS/400. A branch employee in a branch can access an optical disk system, bring up an image of a check or statement, print it on a laser printer in the branch. Prior to bringing in the AS/400, the bank ran its software on an IBM System/38, following several years in a service bureau arrangement that was terminated in 1978. Strategic planning. Because so many applications are automated at Wilber National, technology has long played an important role in strategic planning at the bank, particularly in its ability to deliver new products. …
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