Back in Vegas, this time at the Bellagio (Fountains! Bacon mac and cheese! Cirque du Soleil!) for the Consumer Bankers Association CBA Live 2023.

And as usual, we’re here to report on what folks in banking and lending were talking about. The top three buzzworthy topics:

1. Regulations and the CFPB
2. Finding the right technology
3. Solving for hiring roadblocks

‍Regulations for everyone!

The conference schedule promised regulations would be a hot topic, and boy howdy was it. Some of the sessions and conversations we heard:

• CFPB has issued the final rule on Section 1071 - attendees got details and previews of tools for financial institutions who will be implementing data gathering and reporting.
  
  
• CFPB’s Director Rohit Chopra appeared and discussed a wide variety of topics, including the Section 1033 SBREFA outline. 
  
  “As a general matter, I put much more emphasis on non-bank supervision. We’re not forgetting about the banks, but much more [focus] on non-bank supervision and especially consumer finance infrastructure and these players,” he said.
  

• Local regulations were also under discussion, including Washington, D.C.’s debt collections law.

‍Not more tech, better tech

Banking has been accelerating hard towards the digital future in the past few years, and it needs technology to keep up.

Our own Scott Hamilton joined forces with Nicole Wadlinger of TD Bank to talk about how AI is driving compliance enhancements and how the right technology can meet the needs of banking and lending today. 

“There is broad consensus that traditional voice analytics is old, tired and ineffective - too much effort, too inaccurate. Contact center controls, complaints management processes, and agent coaching - massive bank challenges - need a better solution,” Scott said.

And it’s not about replacing people. It’s about getting better, agreed Nikki Katz, Head of Digital at Bank of America.

“What industry is not completely transformed by technology at this point? All of our companies are. And yet we're in the business - in the banking business. We provide financial products and services. 

“Ultimately, when I think about technology and what's next in digital, it is all about technology's ability to help us connect with those human beings,” she explained. 

‍Hiring - but not just anyone

While banks are struggling to hire, retain, and train agents and representatives just like everyone else in consumer finance, we heard two interesting twists.

‍

1. Michelle Lee, Regional Banking Executive of Branch Banking at Wells Fargo (and CBA Immediate Past Board Chair) pointed out banking leaders need to change the way they think about their customers and their representatives.
   
   “We are leading and employing a generation of people who think very differently than most of us who are leading them, and they are serving a customer base that is very different, that is more similar to them. 
   
   “So I worry that we don’t get them and we tend to be more critical of where their values and their work ethics differ from ours versus really trying to understand what's important to them.”

‍

2. Industry investments in omnichannel have enabled digitized and automated transactions, and customers love them. Good news!
   
   But the tricky part is that when customers do seek human interaction, their expectations are higher. 
   
   They need competent, empathetic customer service. And that means the talent war for associates that can provide that higher level of support is increasing competition.

‍What can you do to keep up?

The shifts in regulations, technology, and hiring are already underway - moving with the tide is the only option.

The right technology partner can transform the effectiveness of your employees and your business by offering modern solutions to:

• Streamline and automate workflows
• Coach agents to meet high customer expectations, and 
• Ease compliance adherence.

Ready to get started modernizing your banking team? We’ve got you covered.