Our Work

A major International Financial Services Co. purchased this failed Spanish Government Bank as an opening into the Spanish Financial Services Industry. After closing the deal, the Regional Group Head asked The LoBue Group to perform a due diligence on the Bank and recommend how to leverage the opportunity.

• The Bank was successfully turned into a profitable Consumer Bank.
• Existing parent company products were modified and implemented in the Spanish market within 6 months.
• Staff was gradually reduced by 30% through freeze on hiring and re-training.
• One “Historic” facility was sold and the proceeds recouped the purchase price of the Bank.

‍

LoBue conducted a detailed financial and operational assessment to determine the current and potential value of the acquisition. Immediate opportunities and long-term opportunities were identified and a plan was developed to capitalize on the bank’s strengths.

• Create central operations and service functions for all activities.
• Turn branches into Consumer sales offices.
• De-emphasise Commercial activities which were non-competitive.
• Leverage and adopt the parent’s consumer platform and product set to the local market.
• Review the owned real estate locations for possible sale of “historic” facilities.
• Freeze hiring and re-train excess staff for consumer functions.

‍

This German Consumer Bank subsidiary of a major International Financial Services Company was underperforming versus its peer group in new revenue generation and efficiency rating. The parent requested The LoBue Group to conduct a Bank wide BPR program with focus on productivity improvement and volume growth.

Overall, the program goals in efficiency, service and sales were exceeded

• Program produced a 21.5% reduction in staff and associated expenses
• New loan volumes increased by over 15% in first year.
• Cycle time for new loans decreased from over 10 days to 3 days, achieving “Best in Class” performance.
• Efficiency rating improved from below peer group to top quartile.

‍

Centralize all in-Branch operations and service functions and re-orient branches as sales outlets. Re-engineer all support functions for efficiency. Improve loan cycle times to be best in country.

This Spanish Consumer Bank owner by a Global Financial Institution had been losing money since acquisition and management wanted to ascertain a clear direction to profitability or to enhance sale value.

Analysis and peer group review demonstrated a significant lack of distribution capability vs competitors. Profitability would require significant investment with unsure results, therefore a sale recommendation resulted.

LoBue re-engineered all Bank functions reducing direct operating expenses over 30% and improving sale results by a multiple of prior expectation.

‍

A complete review of the business was needed to determine the potential of the business

• Conduct review of Bank against peer group and analyze potential for moving to profitability.
• Lay out strategy for implementation based on review results.
• Aggressively move to strategy implementation regardless of prior inside view.

‍

This international insurance giant wanted to improve service and reduce support costs for the European business segment headquartered in France. There were individual business units in all European countries. Service delivery and corporate compliance varied greatly from one country unit to the next and cost of support functions was deemed to be too high.

Direct expense reduction of 18% plus implementation of Best Practices in all support functions.

• Significant improvement in service and cost of processing.
• European Human Resources function centralized with single HR executive providing guidance in each Country.
• Finance and Audit functions moved to Shared Services Center.
• IT road map completed for creation of one regional processing center.

‍

• Centralize all support functions into one Shared Services Center with implementation of Best Practices from across the network.
• Develop an IT roadmap to centralize processing functions on a regional basis.
• Develop end-to-end processes to reduce turnaround times and improve productivity.
• Develop staffing models and standards for each processing position.
• Review and update all job descriptions.

‍

Once the largest branch network in the country, this bank sat dormant for many years as its Parent Bank invested little in continued growth.

The Bank had a limited number of products to offer, relying mainly on deposits, and was left with seriously delinquent loans that had been neglected by the previous management team. The bank was funded primarily from large deposits held by the Parent bank. A sale of the bank would bring little due to the condition of the balance sheet. The Parent bank decided to reinvest in the bank, take advantage of the expanding market in which it was located, and improve the value of the bank.

A new management team was put in place to improve the value of the bank by increasing the volume of both assets and liabilities while expanding the product set and improving the services offered to customers. Early steps were taken by the new management team to rectify problematic loan portfolio. The physical state of the branches, while very old, were enhanced with minor upgrades.

The core system being used was a rigid, home-built system that was in need of replacement.  The bank was in the early stages of replacing their system with a recognized core banking system.  All user requirements were needed for current and future products.

LoBue was asked to conduct a review of the business and conduct a program to improve efficiency, expand sales and improve the management process.

‍

Program initiatives resulted in significant operational and sales improvement, supporting the transformation to a profitable bank capable of growing significantly and steadily.

• Significant improvements in the sales process were demonstrated through a sales tracking process. The systematic tracking process incorporated the needs for daily, weekly and monthly reporting of actual vs. budgeted sales and incentive tracking for all products across all branches.
• Overall productivity improvement of 23% as operational activities were centralized and branch processes were improved.
• Sales and Service training and the realignment of functions in the branches resulted in a 34% increase in customer-facing effort.
• New core system conversion was performed in tandem with the sales and service activities and new products were able to be rolled out immediately upon conversion.

‍

Branch Network

• Install a new branch organization and provide training to all branch staff to process all servicing transactions in the branch.
• Reduce service times by reducing process requirements in the branches
• Install a sales function, a sales management process, and introduce cross selling initiatives and sales incentives
• Move operational activities out of branches and transition staff to sales and service functions
• Provide sales training throughout the branch network and provide sales aids for all products
• Develop new job descriptions, process flows and capacity plans for all activities

Corporate Banking

• Segment Corporate Customers and assign Regional Credit Marketing Officers
• Develop a customer relationship management process to ensure regular customer contact

Central Operations

• Centralized branch operational and credit activities
• Utilize processing standards and KPI’s for processing positions.
• Develop new job descriptions, process flows and capacity plans for all activities.

Credit Processing

• Establish a Retail Credit Department to focus on the processing of retail credit applications.
• Review and refine the credit process to provide customers with immediate funding of loans upon completion of documentation.
• Reduce customer signature requirements in the credit application process.

System Conversion

• The user requirements for the new system were developed by the team to ensure the new processes and process changes resulting from the recommendations were properly reflected and supported by the new system.
• Reporting requirements for all products and business areas were developed, including sales and service tracking.

‍

A major government bank with a distribution network of over 400 branches was seeking solutions to improve the quality of service being delivered to the customer. The executive staff at the bank cited a strong need for a proactive, sales-driven culture within the network and not one of a reactive nature with mediocre or no results, as what they were currently experiencing.

The Bank had been using consulting firms over the prior 4 years with limited results. The attitude in the organization was defeatist in that many of the business managers and staff believed that progress would be slow and results would be lost. Key obstacles included the paucity of formalized standards, a limited management process, and a slow decision process attributable to being a large government institution.

The bank realized that with the presence of foreign banks having a model of exceeding customer expectations and providing the best platform for elevation of the customer experience, the pursuit of sustainable change was irrevocable.

The branch network was characterized by a tired look and unmotivated staff. The branches needed to be updated and new life was needed to bring the bank back to its successful roots and move forward towards useful technologies to manage service and sales. Customers needed to see improvement and recognize the bank as proactive.

‍

A wave of change and a new approach to service and sales brought many benefits including:

• A systematic service and sales management process
• Clearly derived and communicated levels of service
• Instilled sales culture amongst all levels of staff resulted in 117% increase in retail sales
• Changed the makeup of the Branch staff, increasing the number of customer facing staff from 52% to 81%.
• Decrease in customer waiting time by at least 20%
• An enhanced customer experience, shown with actual results from customer feedback
• Improved efficiency in back-office functions ranged from 20 – 40%

‍

LoBue focused on the branch network and the centralized supporting functions to capitalize on a large distribution system.

• Process re-engineer, rationalize and re-purpose the branches with a focus on the Customer Experience
• Install a Service Management Program with the aim of quantifying the level of service(s) being delivered to the client
• Define the levels of service given to the client based upon best practices and customer expectations
• Install a wholesale program of Branch Sales by instituting a system based upon results and accountability
• Re-align back office staff within the branch to become customer facing staff
• Move credit and operational activities out of the branches and define an efficient and effective new process in a centralized environment.
• Re-configured the current layout of the branches, to enhance and compliment many of the behind the scene changes

‍

The Client was in the midst of a system conversion that was behind schedule and over budget. The conversion included three key aspects, the core system, CRM, and on-line banking. The conversion team was lacking dedicated resources required for the conversion and the systems infrastructure was deficient for proper testing and training. The main recipients of the new systems had not begun the training required to be able to go live and no prior training documentation existed to build new training material. Additionally, Initiatives related to the internet site conversion were seriously behind schedule. Impacted areas included branch operations, on-line banking, payment processing, call center operations, and new accounts.

LoBue was requested to join the project manager and conversion team to advance the system conversion timeline and meet newly stated target dates.

The system conversion was completed without a service interruption. The installation of the CRM and enhanced functionality of the Call Center and website features provided the Bank and its customers a platform for improved service. LoBue provided system testing and troubleshooting for enhanced CRM functionality, including a funds transfer module and processes designed with workflow systems.

Significant enhancement in the conversion plan, particularly in the area of training and newly documented policy and procedures, reduced the risk of operational and financial risk at the time of conversion and provided proper documentation needed for on-going operations.

At the time of conversion, the Bank’s deposit business experienced a period of growth resulting in the need for newly trained staff. The establishment of a training program, developed for the system conversion was further enhanced to include in new-hire training, a benefit that continued to pay dividends well after the system was installed.

‍

LoBue conducted an immediate situation analysis to assess the needs for a successful system conversion. A revised implementation plan was completed to include requirements for training and procedures, while expanding on the existing systems-centric plan. Implementation included:

• Development of a Training program for Call Center and new accounts
• Expediting procurement of critical systems hardware needed for back-up, training, and production
• Updates for policy and procedure changes
• Modifications required for accountholder agreement documentation
• Reports Analysis
• User Acceptance Testing for Core System, CRM, and related modules for internal payments and internet bank.
• Website development requirements for adaptation to the new system

‍

The bank was one of the oldest banks in the region and had a reputation for stability and strength in the marketplace. This conservative culture caused the bank to move slowly to change the business model as the market evolved, thus causing the bank to begin to lag the marketplace in innovation.

The management team recognized the need to improve efficiency and become more flexible to adapt to client needs. As a result, the Bank was re-organized along business lines and most support functions had been centralized. With the success of early changes, the Bank had identified the need to re-examine the Bank’s operations base and identify more positive opportunities for change in order to meet the challenges and leverage the opportunities presented by the expected expansion of the market.

• The FTE savings from the project allowed the bank to maintain the same staff level while experiencing significant volume increases during and after the project.
• 18% improvement in efficiency across all Central Operations units.
• 36% improvement in first call resolution in the service desk.
• Repurposed 44 positions into new product and value add functions needed in the bank.
• Implemented effort based sales goals and modified the bank’s CRM System to allow tracking and reporting of sales.
• 16% improvement in productivity in the Retail Credit function and reduced the credit card end-to-end process to be the among the most competitive in the market.
• Developed branch evaluation, analysis and reporting procedures for disciplined approach to new Branch location selection.
• Streamlined the Corporate Banking credit process and structured the organization according to customer segments.
• Reduced significant administrative work from Human Resources and repurposed FTE towards much needed organizational support roles.

• Re-engineer process and customer service operations capable of absorbing significant new volumes with no additions to staffing.
• Retail and Corporate processing and service models need to be developed and implemented for best in class performance.
• Implementation of a “Sales Driven Culture” in the branch network and amongst Relationship Managers.  
• Installation of a “Results Oriented” Management Process based on best in class processing and service standards. Design and implementation of the appropriate management information process for each activity and a pro-active daily review process.
• Identification of the IT needs to support the expansion of the Bank’s Business base. A comprehensive business needs versus IT capability assessment to develop short and long term solutions.
• A review of organization alignment based on the revised process organization will be recommended. Necessary business line focused processing and service activities will be the driving force.
• Update and refinement of the Branch location strategy to include recommendations for type and location of current and future branches to facilitate expected demographic growth.
  
  

A large credit card provider operated a small consumer bank for the purpose of issuing consumer mortgages. Due to the inefficiency in the mortgage processing area, the bank had not provided sufficient bottom line income to the institution in spite of the steady growth in mortgage volume. LoBue was asked to evaluate the mortgage processing operation and to recommend programs to reduce related expenses.

• All processes were reviewed and key processes rationalized, resulting in significant expense savings of approximately 14% of the total annual operating cost.
• Service level was significantly improved by the shortening of credit cycle; part of the solution included auto-decisioning of certain client applications.
• An ongoing training and staff review program was installed.
• A rational model was instituted balancing revenue growth with appropriate expense growth.

‍

• Analyze all processes and eliminated redundant tasks. It was also found that operating staff did not follow uniform procedures due to lack of training and developed “bad habits” over time. Procedures were redesigned and a new training program was instituted.
• Due to internal inefficiencies, staff worked extensive overtime hours, which contributed to the service level failures. Based on the new procedures, capacity plans were recommended for all units.
• The credit decision process was redesigned to improve the decision making timeline from 3 weeks to 4 days, eliminating a substantial backlog.
• Recommended that the internal contact center be outsourced and combined with the parent Credit Card company contact center.
• Installation of a comprehensive management reporting process measuring all transaction volumes, process quality and timeliness issues.

‍

The trust operations of a regional bank experienced serious quality issues and escalating expenses. Added pressure was placed on the institution by the changes in regulations and  compliance reporting. A major focus of the Bank was serving foreign Embassies.  Due to increasing customer complaints in the Embassy Business, and very low growth in the Trust Business, LoBue was engaged to rationalize all related processes and to improve the service levels and profitability.

• All operations processes were reviewed and key processes rationalized, resulting in  30% capacity improvement and direct expense savings of  $3 million (11%).
• Service quality was improved and customer complaints were reduced by 85% and complaint turnaround time was reduced from over 7days on average to less than 24 hours.  By the end of the program 80% of complaints were resolved realtime.
• The Bank eliminated all Regulatory issues and was in full compliance with all required regulations before the program ended.
  

• Recommended to segment the client base and to tailor the service most appropriate the size and importance to the specific segment.
• Collected customer input data and analyzed major concerns translating these into operational improvements.
• Eliminated non-value added tasks and reduced hand-offs to speed up key processes and to reduce processing costs.
• Analyzed all related regulations and outside reporting requirements and aligned processes to include the required capabilities.
• Developed a comprehensive management reporting protocol, which provides early warning of operational, service and quality issues.
• Recommended certain non-core functions to be outsourced.

A Midwestern Bank had spun off its credit card operations servicing merchants and financial institutions into a venture capital backed independent firm. The new firm planned to double in size within 5 years and needed to streamline its operation to contain cost and to provide for an orderly growth.

• The institution wide rationalization resulted in an annual expense saving of $5.2 million. Plans were put into place to reduce an additional $4 million in expenses after the conclusion of the LoBue project.
• The three contact centers were consolidated into a single center with an outside backup and the staff was cross trained to handle all call types.

The comprehensive management information coupled with the management discipline placed the institution on a significant growth path toward the five year goal of doubling incoming revenue.

The following LoBue recommendations were implemented in this project:

• Recommended consolidation of all similar functions into homogeneous process groups eliminating redundant operations. Rationalized key processes to reduce number of handoffs and to eliminate no-value added tasks.
• Recommended the outsourcing of several non-core functions.
• Determined the span of control for each organizational unit and reduced the vertical management structure to a more horizontal organization.
• Moved and consolidated three separate contact centers into a single operation and provided a training plan and a systematic approach to training resulting in increased agent skill levels and reduced number of agents. At the same time, improved the customer service quality by shortening customer wait time by 15%.
• Recommended the reallocation of customer accounts to relationship managers and moving non client related activities from RM’s to operations.
• Recommended the reallocation of sales territories and the revision of sales targets for sales staff engaged in merchants and financial institution credit card sales.
  

Installed a comprehensive management reporting system which contained weekly and monthly operating statistics and action oriented issue resolution.

One of the largest U.S. based credit information services firm managed a consumer credit activity data base consisting of 400 million client folders which included in excess of 6 billion records of credit activities. The firm received 20 million plus inquiries and disputed information activity per year. LoBue Associates was engaged to recommend programs to reduce the electronic data load and to minimize the incoming call volume.

• The institution was able to reduce the massive database by more than 15% in size resulting in $2 million per year savings in computer processing time.
• Client calls were reduced by approximately 2 million per year or 10%, eliminating $1.2 million in annual expense.

The cleaner client data and the lower call volume significantly reduced the firm’s legal exposure and the potential litigation cost.

• LoBue analyzed the existing data base and found that a significant amount of the massive information retained was redundant and outdated. The analysis resulted in recommendations for systematic purges and data cleansing projects reducing the retained transaction volumes.
• It was also determined that several errors in the recording of the daily information had created duplications and were the sources of customer inquiries, thus recommendations were made to tighten up activities and controls for the data input processes.
• Analyzing the call activity resulted in recommendations revising and clarifying the text on standard external communications, such as statements, to further eliminate client calls.
• Design and implement a comprehensive report card to monitor and control data quality and client call activities; the report card contained quality targets and mandated actions if the targets were not met.