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The fintech organization Jack Henry's annual Strategic Priorities Benchmark Study found the majority of credit union and bank CEOs overwhelmingly want to prioritize growing loans for their organizations during the next year.
The survey results, released Thursday by the Monett, Mo.-based Jack Henry, came from more than 100 CEOs at financial institutions ranging in asset size from $500 million to more than $10 billion.
According to the results, the survey found the following as top strategic priorities for financial institution leaders:
- Growing loans (67%);
- Boosting operational efficiencies (44%); and
- Adding digital products/features (39%).
The survey also revealed the top three concerns of credit union and banking executives. The concerns included:
- Talent acquisition and retention (60%);
- Net interest margin compression (49%); and
- Fraud and security (41%).
The biggest innovation concern, according to Jack Henry's survey, was speed to market followed by resistance to change.
The top competitive threats included: Fintechs (24%), big tech firms (24%) big banks (16%), and other community-based banks and credit unions (16%).
The survey also stated that 85% of respondents "plan to pursue a niche market to scale growth, differentiate in a crowded financial services market and support local communities" in the next 12 months.
Jack Henry Chief Strategy Officer Gautam Sircar said, "The acceleration of change in the financial services sector is driven by many factors, including technology advancements, economic challenges, changes in consumer expectations and shifting competition. Keeping the pulse on the most strategic items for bank and credit union CEOs is important to our strategy."
The survey also found 79% of respondents plan to increase technology spend "over the next two years with digital banking, automation, and fraud and security technology being the highest investment priorities."
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
