Among the other trends revealed were the following:

Nearly two-thirds of respondents are allowing more than half of their staff to work from home. Banking, traditionally viewed as unaccommodating to remote work models due to the various regulatory constraints, now sees a considerable part of credit union and bank operations in an actual remote-work model. Given the occupancy costs associated with commercial real estate, remote work (specifically working from home) may become particularly attractive to organizations across most verticals, including banking. For banking, this shift would have implications for branch density, further accelerating the elimination of branches.
Over half of credit unions and banks expect "severe" impact (the second highest option on the scale) on their communities with nearly all other assessments split between "extreme" and "moderate." What is far less clear is how long this impact will persist. Survey responses placed estimates of the expected duration of the economic hangover almost evenly spread from less than six months all the way to 18-24 months.
This lack of clarity also plays out in credit unions' and banks' approaches to internal projects such as new feature rollouts and system upgrades. Four-fifths of financial institutions expect to delay either most of their projects or non-essential ones. Somewhat surprising, according to SRM, only a very few respondents expect cancellation of most projects, although this could change if the duration or severity of the situation increases.

SRM said it anticipates financial institutions will renew their focus on realizing additional cost savings through vendor relationships, business process improvements and the application of automation. Most financial institutions have already made appropriate, successful shifts to operate in a state of doing more with less. The economic impact and future uncertainty about the length of a recovery will heighten the pressure to uncover cost savings and improve process efficiency.

Instant Insights /

Remote Banking Vital to Credit Unions and Members: Survey

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