Our financial institution consulting takes us to wonderful places throughout the this great country. If you like it hot, then the Southwest was the right place to be last week. Every day, it was over 105 degrees. Despite the heat, we observed people outside jogging, playing basketball, riding bikes, and adults playing kickball (old school style). The surrounding environment always reminds us how every financial institution is unique.
Last week, a couple of our team members were in the Southwest for a “hot” engagement (the photo of the local morning television show above offers proof). Each institution serves unique markets, economies, demographics, and are led by unique individuals whose approach to banking is shaped by their own personal experiences and philosophies.
Because every institution is unique, it is important to listen before offering any regulatory compliance guidance and support. It has been our experience that the most successful compliance officers actively listen and seek to understand before making recommendations. Using the medical profession as an analogy, it would be considered malpractice for doctors to offer a prognosis before diagnosis.
More than ever, listening/understanding must be the first step in compliance support. Why? Every day, we see first-hand how most financial institutions are actively managing change (e.g. new products, new markets, new competitors, new strategies, changing economies, etc.). The world surrounding financial institutions is not standing still; therefore, change management is required.
In order to provide the right compliance support, we must understand three simple perspectives:
· Where have you been?
· Where are you today?
· Where are you going?
We have to understand the change that is happening internally (inside the financial institution) and externally (market forces and regulatory changes) in order to provide the best counsel and approach to compliance.
Stephen Covey provided great wisdom to the world with his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.
The Bottom Line: Regulatory Compliance has a broad scope and remains a “hot” topic throughout the country. Understanding the regulations is only a small part of the success formula. Cookie cutter software, standardized checklists, and canned directives are simply insufficient in today's market. The most productive compliance teams start by listening and seeking to understand, and only then recommending solutions.
At TRUPOINT Partners, we start and maintain all relationships by listening to our clients. Our first duty of support and service is to seek to understand how your organization is unique. Click here for a complimentary Fair Lending Risk Review (a simplified 15 minute review) or click below to inquire about a comprehensive assessment.
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