You’ve Seen This All Before [VIDEO]
In every recession, the same things happen. Deposits get difficult. Everyone's fighting over those same dollars. They all need deposits. Regulators are coming in....
Welcome to the Top 5 Percenter™ Blog
How Top Community Banks Increase Net Interest Margin Without Competing on Rate [VIDEO]
For too many community banks, net interest margin has become a pricing battle they simply cannot win. Matching rates may keep you in the game today, but it won’t keep your bank independent tomorrow.
The highest-performing community banks don’t win because they offer the lowest price. They win because they’ve positioned themselves so differently that customers willingly pay more. That’s the real competitive advantage—and it’s one that many banks never discover.
In this week’s video, you’ll discover:
- Why competing on rate is becoming a dangerous long-term strategy.
- How elite community banks command premium pricing without losing customers.
- The positioning strategies that allow banks to improve margin while reducing pricing pressure.
If your institution is still winning business primarily by matching competitors’ rates, it may be time to rethink your approach. The banks producing exceptional net interest margins aren’t simply getting lucky—they’ve built a completely different value proposition.
Watch this week’s video to discover how your bank can stop competing on price and start competing on value.
Net interest margin. Three of my favorite words. Why? Because it is such an important component of what takes a bank to the top of its peer group.
Listen, if you’re tired of being average and competing on rate, there is a way out of that mess. I would suggest that the banks that don’t figure out a way to stop having to match rates are probably not going to maintain their independence going forward. Let’s face it, there is more competition than ever, and banks are undercutting each other on pricing. And yet, there are those who command premium pricing. What do they do? What do they know?
Why won’t they tell you their secrets? Well, you need to, in fact, know their secrets about how they position themselves, how they identify those who are likely to pay premium pricing, and how they arrange the situation such that the customer is telling them that what they bring that’s different is worth millions to them. Therefore, when they charge twenty thousand dollars extra, it is the bargain of the century, thereby taking them out of competing against competitors. The only thing they’re competing against is not having that special uniqueness the bank offers. You think it can’t be done?
Well, maybe you should hang out with the folks who are getting it done because if you cannot suspend disbelief and aren’t willing to say, “Maybe there’s something we don’t know,” I can guarantee you, you will continue to match rate. I don’t think banks can continue to do that anymore. Let’s face it, the big banks have a competitive advantage in pricing. We can’t compete in that space.
But listen, there will always be room for the community bank that’s the boutique bank, that adds tremendous value, knows that they’re worth more, and doesn’t say those lame things like, “We have good people,” and, “We’ve been around for one hundred and twenty years.” That’s not going to command more than twenty basis points more, and you can’t make it on twenty basis points more. This is the time to really bring in additional pricing. So I hope to see you discover how to do that.
I’m teaching a special class on how to do that. I hope I see you there.
More From The Blog
Where to Find Large Low-Cost Deposits Now [VIDEO]
Low-cost deposits are “it.” Having large, sticky, low-cost deposits with a large amount of cross-sales solves a plethora of problems. When you increase your core...
High Performance Accountability Secret [VIDEO]
I just did a seminar today where I asked people, "What's your biggest challenge?" “Accountability” always seems to be number one whenever that question is asked. No...
The Great Money Migration of 2021 [VIDEO]
Which side of the great money migration of 2021 will you be on? There was a day when customers used to walk in your lobby—those were good days. They loved you. They...
Forecasting Your Ideal Future for 2021 and Beyond [VIDEO]
It's a new year. Now, the question is, what are you going to create in 2021? Here's an effective way to create your best possibilities for 2021. Ask yourself this: If...
How Most Banks Get Team Selling All Wrong [VIDEO]
There was a day, back when I started as a commercial and agricultural lender, that we did everything. We did the channel checks; we did the credit analyst work; we did...
How to Make Your Virtual Sales Model Work [VIDEO]
Don't look now, but the sales model has changed. Let's face it, going onsite with one person, carrying a briefcase and being introduced through the door, is not working...
An Oasis of Loan Growth… [VIDEO]
Loan demand has dried up. Boy, those are words you never want to hear. Not just because you don't want to hear that there isn't as much demand for loans, but when your...
Remember What It Is All About [VIDEO]
The economy has gotten tougher. People are getting crankier. A lot of people are still unhealthy. Everywhere you look there seems to be a new problem, but how many new...
The Virtues of a Gratitude Habit [VIDEO]
Just today I heard about one of our banks where a quarter of their people are out with COVID. Hmm. These are challenging times. Imagine trying to run a bank with that...