Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) is one of the largest building societies in the UK and is headquartered in Bradford, England. Since 1864, YBS has focused on fostering relationships with its loyal customers through the concept of TCF – Treating Customer Fairly. For YBS, TCF means providing customers with transparency before, during and after the point of sale and ensuring that their products and services deliver what they promise.

Financial institutions worldwide have felt immense pressure from the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic in terms of supporting their clients amid financial uncertainty. COVID-19 and the subsequent shutdowns of many businesses have had an economic impact across the globe. As a result of the pandemic, 7.5 million small businesses in the U.S. are now in danger of closing permanently. Unemployment rates in 2020 hovered nearly three times the average of the year prior, and as of June 30th, 2020, 4.5 million homeowners faced forbearance.As the prospect of a quick V-shaped recovery receded in many countries, Accenture analysts anticipated higher job losses, limited economic growth and an environment in which many consumers and businesses will be unable to pay their debts, significantly affecting financial institutions even further.

The decision to evaluate and implement a commercial loan origination system (CLOS) is a big one for a financial institution, giving it the opportunity to leapfrog the competition and truly transform its commercial lending processes for its borrowers and employees. Careful planning and execution are key components of every successful CLOS evaluation, selection and implementation.

Deploying an end-to-end commercial loan origination system (CLOS) is complex and provides many opportunities for missteps. Understanding the most common pitfalls that can happen during the implementation is the best way to steer clear of costly mistakes.

Cloud adoption is now a necessity for financial institutions seeking enhanced services, requiring changes in work culture, system integration and regulatory compliance. As the financial landscape evolves into distinct segments, executing effective digital strategies is crucial for long-term success, positioning institutions to prosper in the new age of banking.

As consumers increasingly desire faster banking, more convenient access to their accounts and quicker decisions on their loan requests, financial institutions are hamstrung by a rising wave of financial regulations. Between new and existing regulatory requirements including Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL), customer disclosures and fair lending laws, to the mounting risks of default, fraud and cybersecurity, to the new challenges presented by the global health crisis brought on by COVID-19, financial institutions are stuck between two seemingly mutually exclusive and competing priorities: fast banking and better compliance. At nCino, however, we believe it’s possible for financial institutions to have it all. The key to striking this balance is that banks must be willing to approach their business differently.

Over the past decade, the financial services industry has faced significant workforce challenges including changing employee demographics, increased competition for top-level talent and an evolution in the nature of the work itself, as technologies such as artificial intelligence become more mainstream. These rapid changes have illuminated the need for the continual training and reskilling of workers, particularly when it comes to technology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have received significant press in recent years, yet the promise and opportunity of these technologies is sometimes obscured by fear and uncertainty among the general public and financial services executives alike. Despite the financial industry’s rich history of embracing new technologies to improve customer service and operational efficiency, it has lagged retail, manufacturing, healthcare and other sectors in implementing effective AI solutions.