Bremer’s new brand is the culmination of a two-year dive into self-reflection, said CEO Jeanne Crain. The process started as Bremer explored how to move into the future, asking, “What’s the right strategy? What’s the right focus for our team? And, how do we invest our capital wisely? [Continue]
An entrepreneur is someone who surveys the landscape, looks for things that could be improved, and acts toward that improvement. Entrepreneurship, at its essence, is problem-solving. Sometimes an entrepreneur will start a company to solve that problem, and if the company is successful, that entrepreneur becomes famous. [Continue]
People have long talked about the demise of banking. And in the last decade, talk has ramped up on the decline of print media. Of course these industries are changing, and it is likely these industries will move to a fewer number of larger players. But these industries are not going away. In the right niches, banks and newspapers remain important providers of essential services. [Continue]
The sign above the door clearly communicates you are about to enter a bank, yet the printing on the front door to Bremer Bank’s southwest Minneapolis branch reads, “no cash on premises.” Cue the cognitive dissonance. [Continue]
At the end of 2018, Green Bay, Wis.-based Associated Bank announced it would acquire 32 Wisconsin branches of Huntington National Bank, Columbus, Ohio. That group of offices holds $850 million in deposits and $134 million in loans, lending considerable oomph to Associated’s Wisconsin footprint. [Continue]
In the future, it is predicted that bankers with the best understanding of behaviors and emotions will create a new landscape for personal banking. Understanding that delicate interface where electronic machine-banking meets the customer’s need for authoritative human interaction will lead to a new chapter in relational banking. It will be light on human touch [Continue]
Throughout Jeanne Crain’s 37 years in banking, industry consolidation has been a constant. Until she reached Bremer Bank, every bank Crain ever worked for changed hands while she was employed there. Sometimes more than once. Crain recalls this journey in her own words. [Continue]
Jo Ann Barefoot has been doing a lot of globetrotting lately. Since being named the first female Deputy Comptroller of the Currency in 1978, Barefoot launched a career in the private sector and describes herself as a “serial entrepreneur.” She is currently CEO of Barefoot Innovation Group, something of a think tank for financial technology, regulatory reform and the future of banking. [Continue]
Patterns of behavior, including how a customer feels — their emotional state when they are interacting with banking professionals — is valuable information in creating successful transactions and relationships. If bankers know the behavior of a group inside of its customer base in data-analytical terms, and know how their customers feel when they are interacting with their financial selves, it makes it easier to offer products and services that the customer may not know exist. [Continue]