Modernizing Banking: A Success Story
Friday, May 21, 2021
Challenge
Five years removed from the financial crisis of 2007-2008, a leading west-coast bank faced pressure from its shareholders to increase its market share in an increasingly competitive landscape. While its conservative approach to lending served it well in the past, local and national competitors were quickly outpacing it in terms of customer acquisition and asset growth. The bank knew it needed to transform in order to keep up. It needed to be able to quickly introduce, test, and adapt new financial products and services, as well as forge new partnerships and expand existing ones.
Unfortunately, the bank’s technology landscape stood in the way of its business transformation goals. Each line of business operated differently Modernizing Banking: A Success Story and independently. Core business processes and valuable data were trapped in siloed systems built on outdated technologies that were difficult to update and littered with security risks. In order to transform the business, the bank needed to modernize its infrastructure and transform its approach to solutions delivery.
The problem was clear, the risk of inaction was high, the vision of the future was compelling, but getting started on such a monumental journey proved challenging. The bank needed a partner with specific expertise in breaking down massive problems into manageable pieces and a successful track record with technology implementation. They turned to Macedon and the Appian platform to accelerate their digital transformation.
After receiving last-minute instructions for processing PPP loan applications, the bank and Macedon responded in a weekend, beating a top 5 US bank to market and saving $4 million in the first week alone.
Solution
Macedon’s team hit the ground running, starting within a single line of business with a desire to develop solutions rapidly that addressed the largest pain points first. The first application, a heavily integrated intelligent case management solution for dealer chargebacks, was scoped, implemented, and rolled out in 14 weeks. The application immediately resulted in faster processing times and reduced errors, but more importantly, the project’s success created excitement around the program and established the momentum the bank needed to double down on its investment. The consumer finance group expanded the dealer chargeback solution into a comprehensive dealer relationship management platform, then began to move through the entire consumer loan lifecycle.
Result
At the same time, other lines of business saw the return on investment and were eager to join the movement. With demand for transformation services expected to rapidly accelerate, the bank identified the need for standardization and centralization in order to protect and leverage its investment. To ensure the bank was prepared for the impending surge, Macedon established a technical center of excellence (COE) for the Appian platform and advised the bank on best practices for governing a digital transformation program. The bank also relied on Macedon’s inhouse experts to serve as COE staff members while the bank developed its own internal competency.
Almost a decade later, the bank’s digital transformation function on the Appian platform is mature, and has delivered tremendous value. The central services team curates shared components that enable different lines of business to work together instead of separately. Enterprise-wide applications enable a 360 degree view of the bank’s customers, breaking down data silos. The bank is also more responsive to the changing regulatory and market environment.
From outdated and error-prone to automated and scalable.
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