From Legacy Limitations to Digital Excellence: Summerland Bank's Transformation Story
Summerland Bank, a customer-owned bank serving regional Australia, successfully transformed its lending operations through a strategic partnership with nCino.
This community-focused institution, deeply committed to local banking relationships and regional development, faced the common challenge of operating with multiple legacy systems that limited efficiency and innovation potential.
"We've come from a place where we had multiple legacy systems and processes to handle an application that were quite static for quite a long time. If you wanted to be innovative or create new efficiencies, it was almost like that had been fully used up," explains Gareth Herman, Head of Products & Retail Operations. The bank needed a solution that would modernise operations while preserving their community-first approach and supporting their strategic vision to expand and serve more people within regional Australia.
The Partnership Approach and Transformational Results
The success of this digital transformation stemmed from a collaborative approach that prioritised relationship-building and cultural alignment.
"My favorite thing about nCino would be the relationship. I think that's absolutely critical in the success of any business arrangement. You can have contracts, and you can have arrangements in place, but it's the relationship that matters," emphasises CEO John Williams.
The implementation delivered immediate operational improvements and enhanced customer experiences. The unified platform replaced fragmented systems, streamlined processes, and created real-time visibility into loan pipelines. Lenders can now track applications at every stage, access integrated services like ID checks and credit checks within one platform and spend significantly more quality time with customers rather than wrestling with cumbersome forms and multiple systems.
Hear more about the partnership between Summerland and nCino in this video.
This efficiency translates into tangible benefits for customers, as demonstrated by remarkable service moments like helping a customer secure pre-auction loan approval, allowing them to take a property off the market before it even went to auction. "The customer was extremely happy, and it gave them confidence in our ability at Summerland Bank to be able to offer them the services they needed," shares Tameka Cocking, who served on the project team as a lender. The personal satisfaction this brings to staff is evident: "It fills me with joy as well. I get really excited when I'm able to see that smile on my customer's face and they thank me for being able to make their dreams come true."
The platform created more than operational improvements—it established a foundation for continuous innovation and growth. "We're right at the very beginning now because we've got this baseline, we've got this product that is efficient and capable, and now it can only get better. That's probably the most exciting thing about it," notes Herman.
This transformation demonstrates how community banks can embrace digital change without compromising their core values, creating a scalable foundation for serving more communities across regional Australia.
Read the full case study to discover how collaborative partnership, technical innovation, and cultural alignment drove this successful digital transformation while strengthening Summerland Bank's commitment to community banking excellence.