Citizen's National Bank Realizes the Value in Outside Consultants
It took Mark Singleton, President of Citizen's National Bank in Waxahachie, Texas, several years to get comfortable with the idea of hiring an outside consultant. Once he did, it took him two more years to decide on who to hire.
"Although I had talked with several consultants on occasion since the early '90s, I thought we ran a pretty good shop, and couldn't believe they would find much to improve upon," said Singleton. "Then, around 1995, I realized there were some things I couldn't figure out. Some of my competitors were performing better, and I wasn't sure exactly why. It put me on this mission of interviewing consultants."
The difference is experience
In the process of selecting a consultant, Singleton talked with several big accounting firms, another bank consultant, and John Floyd of John M. Floyd & Associates. "What impressed me most about John and his group," said Singleton, "is that they're all bankers. They approach things from a banker's perspective."
Once John M. Floyd & Associates was selected, Singleton put a 'recommendation team' of ten people in place to work side by side with Floyd's consultants throughout the course of their work. That team met on all items. Another ten people -- all leaders in their various departments - were also brought in as recommendations were being made affecting each department. The opinions and concerns of those ten additional people were an important part of the final recommendation process.
Big results
After nearly five months of a comprehensive review of the bank's operation, the Floyd team identified nearly 250 recommendations that, if implemented, would mean $1.5 million in savings or increased earning opportunities. "We put an aggressive implementation plan into place," reports Singleton, "accepting nearly 90% of those recommendations. Within the next 12 months we had already surpassed the $1 million mark."
One of the recommendations that was implemented was an Overdraft Privilege program. No other bank in the Waxahachie area was offering ODP at the time, and CNB customers were very responsive to the service. Singleton reports the results have been very positive from a profit enhancement standpoint.
Big growth means 'round two'
Overall, the outcome of the 1997 recommendations were so valuable, Singleton chose to bring Floyd's team back in just three years later (late 2000). "Our bank had grown tremendously since '97," said Singleton. "In fact we'd gone from $120 million in assets to more than $280 million, so I knew we needed to reassess some things. It turned out to be a good move for us."
This time, Floyd's team identified $1.9 million in savings or increased earnings opportunities. Singleton reports that today -- six months after the recommendations were made -- the bank is on track to achieve that goal.
A fresh perspective can be invaluable
So -- is Mark Singleton convinced about the value of hiring an outside consultant? "Absolutely," he said. "A fresh perspective - especially from consultants who have significant banking experience - can be invaluable. It's made us a more profitable bank."
JMF Boilerplate
John M. Floyd & Associates (JMFA) is a leading vendor of overdraft privilege programs serving more than 2,000 financial institutions in 49 states and Central America. JMFA is also nationally recognized for training, account acquisition and earnings enhancement programs, as well as product, service, pricing and technology improvement consulting. To learn more about John M. Floyd and Associates and to receive a FREE Overdraft Privilege Analysis, please visit www.JMFA.com or call 800-809-2307.
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