Independent Banker - October 2024 - 17

about a conversion and take action, "
she says.
Jonathan Baltzell, president of
bank solutions at Jack Henry, notes
that certain " organic triggers " spur
community banks to rethink their
existing core arrangements. Some, for
instance, begin looking around 18 to
24 months before a core contract is
set to expire. He is convinced that the
best reason to reevaluate is " when the
core system is no longer supporting a
bank's strategic priorities. "
Dudley White, president of
core account processing solutions
at Fiserv, agrees, viewing a core
conversion as a business decision.
" A fancy new tool " or technology
isn't reason alone to make a
switch, he says.
Other community banks seek
a change after getting fed up
with disappointing customer
service, according to Paul Jones,
vice president of professional
services at DCI.
" I hear frustration that [some
" Most banks know [a core
conversion] is going to
be a beast, and so it was
really valuable to go in with
reasonable expectations. "
-EMILY MAYS, COMMUNITY SPIRIT BANK
banks] can't call in and get a live
person, " he says. " They've got to
submit a ticket, and then they might
hear something back or they might
not. And if they don't hear back?
Their only recourse is submitting
another ticket. "
Step 2: Calculate
conversion costs
Sticker shock should not dissuade
a community bank from exploring
a core change, since the final price
tag might be less than anticipated,
contends Mays. This was the case
at Community Spirit Bank.
For help with budgeting, she
highly recommends finding a
consultant who specializes in core
conversions. By hiring Trent Fleming
in Tennessee, she is convinced
that the bank saved money on its
conversion. Not only did Fleming
advise locking in a better price
through a longer, 10-year contract
with CSI, he also identified savings
by eliminating ancillary vendors that
were now unnecessary.
Researching a core conversion
Given the headaches accompanying a core conversion, community
bankers gather information every way they can, including by reading
ICBA's Core Processor Resource Guide.
With chapters ranging from " Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Evaluating a Change in Core Processors " to " Contract Terms and
Negotiations, " ICBA's guide introduces community bankers to the
most critical steps of the conversion process.
It even has valuable takeaways for bankers eager to squeeze
every drop of value from existing core-processing relationships.
A 2020 ICBA survey found that just over half (58%) of community
bankers participate in user groups held by their core providers.
ICBA describes this as " a missed opportunity, " given that the
42% of nonparticipants have no voice in current solutions or
future developments.
Visit icba.org/newsroom/surveys-and-white-papers to download
and read the guide.
Melissa McNutt, CEO of Neighbors
Bank, also praised her bank's core
conversion consultant-Genesys
Technology Group-for providing
price comparisons and negotiating a
favorable contract.
Step 3: Have the right
internal conversations
Conversions succeed " when people
are engaged early and often. And
that's not just the C-suite, but also
the key contributors responsible for
making the business run every day, "
says Baltzell. Involving the right
people and keeping messages positive
help " when it comes to evangelizing
the change, " he adds.
Mays agrees, noting that as
Community Spirit Bank interviewed
core providers, everyone from
department heads to branch
managers sat in on demos and
independentbanker.org // 17
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Independent Banker - October 2024

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