Banks are the pillars of any economy. Banks help consumers with financial transactions, loans, investment advisory, and more. Since a bank has multiple operations and processes, it can get challenging for employees. Banking employees often work long hours with increased efficiency. When the efficiency of employees decreases, a bank might witness a decline in revenue.
Banks may consider outsourcing their banking service offerings to experienced third parties in such situations. Several banks outsource their redundant and non-core functions to third parties. Doing so lets them focus on core activities with the help of outsourcing.
Read on to understand more about Outsourcing Banking Services.
What Exactly Are Outsourcing Banking Services?
Banks often search for third-party service providers to outsource some processes. These third parties complete the outsourced functions on behalf of the banks. Third parties get cracking on these outsourced tasks outside the bank’s premises. For instance, a bank outsources its customer support department to a third party. The third-party service provider will deploy its resources and employees to complete the customer support processes on behalf of the bank. The bank will pay the third-party service provider in exchange for its services. Besides customer support, banks outsource data entry, IT services, document management, loan processing, regulatory reporting, accounting, and other functions.
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Pros of Outsourcing Banking Services
There are numerous benefits of outsourcing banking services for financial institutions, such as:
Reduced In-House Costs
Banks will incur more costs to perform all tasks internally. On the other hand, banks can save a fortune by outsourcing a few tasks. For instance, banks need not hire employees for non-core functions. They can outsource such functions to such vendors. Besides recruitment and training costs, banks can save on the technology and resources for certain tasks. The outsourcing partner will deploy its resources to complete tasks on behalf of the bank.
Increased Focus on Core Functions
Banks can increase their focus on core responsibilities by outsourcing non-core tasks. The core functions of an investment bank include M & As, capital raising, corporate finance, asset management, and risk management. The investment bank must recognize non-core functions such as customer support, accounting, and document management. When employees within an investment bank focus more on non-core functions, they might need more time to focus on core responsibilities. As a result, the investment bank might fail to attract or retain clients. This problem can be solved by outsourcing non-core functions to a reliable third party.
Scalability Benefits
Banks scale their operations based on customer demand. Banks also upscale or downscale based on market conditions. When customer demand increases, banks hire more employees, install more digital platforms, and adopt technology widely. For instance, a retail bank might hire more underwriters as loan applications increase. Alternatively, banks can outsource some processes for enhanced scalability. Third-party outsourcing firms have the resources and workforce to scale operations based on market conditions or customer demands.
Improved Turnaround Time
Redundant or tedious tasks often reduce the efficiency of bank employees. As a result, the turnaround time increases for different services. For instance, the loan processing time can increase because underwriters are busy with tedious paperwork. On the other hand, underwriters get more time to process loan applications after outsourcing document management tasks to a third party. When redundant functions are outsourced, employees’ productivity for core tasks increases.
Improved Regulatory Compliance
Financial institutions must follow certain compliance norms set by the regulatory authorities. There are chances of bank employees overlooking compliance norms due to increased burden. Financial institutions violating compliance norms face possible penalties or sanctions. Third-party outsourcing firms are well-versed with the regulatory norms. They help the banks maintain compliance without putting too much pressure on in-house employees.
Stepwise Guide to Outsourcing Banking Services
Follow these steps for outsourcing banking services and improving efficiency:
• Start by identifying your needs and objectives. Identify non-core functions that you can outsource to third-party vendors to improve efficiency. Some banks might choose to outsource a few core functions as well.
• Banks can issue RFPs (Request for Proposals) to attract responses from different vendors. Choose an outsourcing partner that aligns with your business strategy.
• Conduct a background check on the outsourcing partner to make the right choice.
• After outsourcing certain tasks, track the overall efficiency. Banks can use performance metrics like turnaround time or ROI to evaluate the effectiveness of the outsourcing partner.
Conclusion
Financial institutions can improve their efficiency by outsourcing banking services. A bank can gain an edge over its competitors by reducing the pressure from internal employees. Third-party services providers allow banks to scale their operations as and when required.
