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Net Notes: New England Lenders On-Line
by Stephanie A. Chisholm
In March of this year, Barbara Goodrich, executive director of the CMBA, Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association, said that "We recognize the need to provide education to our members," referring to the growing need for training bank employees in on-line communication.
Ross Strickland, president of Webster Bank, is a technology pioneer. Webster is one of only five banks out of five hundred licensed lenders in Connecticut on the World Wide Web with their own site. Webster came on line six months ago, offering existing customers a wealth of information. Mr. Strickland says, "We want our website to be user friendly. We want to remain ahead of our customer's needs. The internet as a marketing medium offers Webster Bank the chance to be on the leading edge." Webster plans to announce its URL (internet address), www.websterbank.com to the general public this summer through direct mail, print, television and radio coverage and to existing customers through statement stuffers.
Mr. Strickland adds that, "I estimate our customer base at 290,000 households in Connecticut. I would guess that one in five households currently has internet access. Our average customer has 2.1 accounts with the bank, typically including checking, savings and mutual funds." Mr. Strickland explains that Webster anticipates a good degree of consumer doubt regarding security issues. "Until the public can be convinced that account information is protected and confidential on-line, we will offer a pre-qualification worksheet which can be transmitted via fax or E-mail directly to the bank. We want to make sure that our customers are comfortable and that the system is user-friendly." Karen Stopford, technology relationship manager at Webster Bank, says, "This is a multi-phase project. We see the internet not only as an avenue to reach current customers with an interactive dialog, but as an opportunity to start new relationships. How does this map to our marketing strategy? It's kind of like an 'un-focused focus group.' It is a wonderful opportunity to touch base with our customers. Our goal is to make what we have now more interactive." Ms. Stopford further expands on Webster Bank's commitment to the community, saying that "As a company, we are not just jumping on the internet because it's a fad. Webster grew up right here in Waterbury. We keep in close touch with our Connecticut customers. Our reach is getting broader and we see this medium as being more personalized. It's not 'in-your-face' advertising like on TV or radio. It's a natural for us."
Debbie Bochain, vice-president of residential lending at Liberty Bank Home Lenders, recently commented on the current banking culture, "I'm busier now than ever before. When I get to work in the morning, I already have at least 25 or 30 E-mail messages to answer. People can now leave messages after five, overnight, on weekends and on holidays...and they do! This new technology marks the end of traditional banking - with its reputation for limited hours - as we knew it." According to Marie O'Neill in Liberty Bank's marketing department "We want to explore the marketing opportunity presented by the internet, but we are not ready to jump on the bandwagen just yet."
Nora Suppers heads the residential lending department at Ridgefield Bank. She admits that she doesn't use a PC herself, but has recognized the need to adapt to the new technology. " We have hired a systems consultant to explore the internet technology. Ridgefield Bank will soon be on-line, we're just not sure when or how. Anthony DiCaprio, president of Family Home Mortgage Lenders in Danbury likewise confesses that he doesn't give E-mail access to his employees. Mr. DiCaprio, chair of the CMBA technology committee said, "We know that this is big, and we are looking into it. We just have to do some research." Ron Shelton, president of Society Financial in Farmington is ready to jump in. During the month of March, he registered his company's domain: www.societyfinancial.com and is currently in the process of designing Society's homepage. "We should be on-line by April 1st. I am fascinated by this...we can't wait to see what kind of a response we'll get. We allocated funds previously set aside for print and billboard advertising to jump on the internet."
Ironically, one member of the public relations department at BayBank's (www.baybank.com) headquarters recently shared that while the company has spent hundreds of thousands on developing their website, the employees don't even have an E-mail system available for their own use. "They say it's a confidentiality issue. They are too afraid someone will crack the system and gain access to confidential financial information. I think they are working on a decoding system now, but from what I understand, it's still in development. We're an 11 billion dollar bank, and we don't even have E-mail!"