Banking has seen some drastic shifts since the global pandemic — from the competition to attract and retain new talent, to meeting the needs of customers facing increasing inflation and uncertainty in this precarious economic climate.  

From his view over multiple institutions and as a public policy expert, our guest today, Ramon Looby, CEO of the Maryland Bankers Association, gives us a nuanced look at the issues facing the banking industry.

Looby’s perspective as an industry advocate across community, national and multinational banks

In a position to be a resource for banks, Ramon has seen a lot of change: from regulation shifts to emerging trends. During this very interesting economic and legislative time, Ramon has seen priority given to two topics in particular: retaining talent and the idea of junk fees.

“We partner with the member institution to help our bankers have a broader look at what's happening out in the marketplace, whether it be changing regulation or emerging trends, we try to help our bankers stay on top of it,” Ramon explains. 

Attracting and retaining talent in banking in an altered job market

Retaining talent in general is a tough challenge. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever to have the right people on hand to get the work done considering the level of customer engagement that financial institutions must maintain in order to keep up with the crowd. 

One way to help retain existing talent: focusing on the teammate experience. By finding ways to expose talent to other areas of growth in the bank, they’re able to save costs and give deserving employees internal opportunities.  

Another way they’ve supported employees is paying for a myriad of fees through the pandemic, such as childcare and public transportation — demonstrating just how important bank employees are.

The perception of so called “junk fees” for banking services

It’s a real challenge to distinguish between making money available and whether the associated fees are appropriate. For many customers, the idea of associated fees seems completely unnecessary. To combat this opinion, banks of all sizes are working to get rid of certain fees. 

One way banks are working to fix this: offering credit at a cheaper price — a move that will help the majority of Americans that are already in financially stressed situations. 

Putting financial literacy on the public policy agenda

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, it became clear how a better understanding of finances would have collectively helped Americans. Looking to the future, there’s an opportunity to prepare younger generations to deal with similar situations if they were to ever surface. But that starts with financial literacy. 

Knowing how to handle your finances has personal and societal benefits — think of all the ways a bad credit score can impact an individual. That investment in education can start within schools. 

Looby explains, “I’d say to some regulators, ‘Let's sit here in this room, I can ask us to define money, and it's going to mean something different to each one of us.’ And so if you can just imagine what it means to different consumers at different points in their lives, there's no one way to get it out there. But when you think about what public education schools offer, I think it's a way to help us ensure that the consumers are coming to the marketplace prepared and have the information they need to make good decisions.”

While there’s no clear-cut answer as to why financial literacy hasn’t been taught in classrooms before this moment in time, Looby emphasizes that we shouldn’t waste this wakeup call and take the necessary steps now to ensure a better, more financially secure, future.

Want to learn more about how Upstart partners with banks? Check out this case study mentioned in the episode.