Is Bigger Better? Credit Unions Moved Quickly to Reduce Branch Access As the Coronavirus Crisis Worsened

FRIDAY MAY 8, 2020 VOL. 185 No. 89 AMERICANBANKER.COM Follow us on Twitter @AmerBanker As states reopen, will credit 5 union branches follow suit? Is bigger better? Credit unions moved quickly to reduce branch access as the coronavirus crisis worsened. The Pre-pandemic, customers of the six largest retail banks — Chase, harder decision will be when and how to begin Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and PNC — were more lifting those restrictions. Page 7 active users of digital channels than customers of regional and midsize banks N26’s $100M funding spotlights % of customers with high levels of digital engagement 6 a rush to digital models amid coronavirus pandemic See story on page 7 The strength of the post-coronavirus recovery will determine if that’s enough for 50% the digitally focused challenger to battle well-capitalized banks. Page 9 40% Citigroup spins off 30% 7 proxy-voting startup Proxymity, backed by eight major players 20% including JPMorgan and State Street, lets 10% investors vote virtually on corporate matters, a service that has grown more popular 0% during the coronavirus pandemic. Page9 Above $250B $55B to $250B Less than $55B How Fannie Mae’s advance cap of deposits* of deposits of deposits 8 has impacted the market so far Source: J.D. Power (*excludes Truist Financial) Some benefits are materializing from Fannie Mae’s pledge to limit servicers’ exposure to principal-and-interest advances the way Freddie Mac does, dailybriefing Parting words from Beth but counterparties of both GSEs remain 3 Mooney: ‘Rebuild trust exposed to other concerns. Page 10 through your actions’ Is the coronavirus giving banks In an exit interview with American Banker, Libra Association names 1 an excuse to spy on employees? the former KeyCorp CEO reflected on a 9 Stuart Levey as CEO Financial institutions have been monitoring trailblazing career, shared her thoughts on ahead of regulatory push workers’ productivity at home with tracking leadership and described what it’s like to The former Treasury Department official software and webcams. Now they’re mulling retire in the middle of a pandemic. Page 5 would be the first CEO of the digital currency whether to mandate contact-tracing apps, association, which is seeking payment COVID-19 testing and other practices that Old-school email could help licenses in the U.S. and Europe. Page 11 could raise further privacy issues. Page 2 4 midsize banks close digital gap Regional and midsize banks, which PPP is a compliance Coronavirus prompts continue to trail the biggest banks in 10 minefield for banks 2 renewed calls for postal digital engagement, could attract younger Regulators need to give more detailed banking, faster payments consumers by reaching out with more advice guidance on the coronavirus relief program Millions of Americans have yet to about financial basics, according to J.D. for small businesses so lenders don’t get receive their stimulus checks, leading Power. (See chart above.) Page 7 trapped in underwriting mistakes down the progressives to demand reforms improving road, Vivian Merker and two of her Oliver underbanked consumers’ access to the Wyman colleagues write. Page 11 financial system. Page 3 FRIDAY MAY 8, 2020 AMERICANBANKER.COM PAGE 2 limits, according to Trina Fairley Barlow, a Slack messages and emails. WORK FROM HOME partner at Crowell & Moring in Washington. “From a legal perspective, a company has “Employers should let employees know every right to monitor their employees in what their policy is around employee almost any way they want to,” Kropp said, Is the monitoring, whether their work activities can including reading personal email, if it is sent be monitored and what sorts of things might on a company laptop. “They don’t have the coronavirus be monitored, to reduce any expectation of right to take pictures of you in the bathroom.” privacy,” she said. Barlow noted that employers should Activities outside of work are a little dicier. make clear to workers what the company’s giving banks But for people whose jobs require them to monitoring policy is so employees do not travel and go place to place, GPS monitoring have an expectation of privacy in their emails an excuse of their location is OK, Barlow said, especially or instant messages. if the employer has reason to believe that “I conduct investigations, and I find that the employee was doing something job- employees aren’t grasping this with respect to spy on related that was harming the company, such to instant messages in the way that they do as providing confidential information to a with email, because a lot of times that’s where employees? competitor. you find all the information,” she said. “The farther you are away from monitoring Employers should be monitoring only By Penny Crosman activity that could reasonably be related to for a legitimate reason, like fraud, securities May 06, 2020 their job, having people follow the person worries or productivity issues, and the During a quarantine, when managers around on Saturday mornings to the grocery monitoring should be disclosed. can’t walk around and observe workers, store and to their friends’ homes on the off banks, like all companies, rely on technology chance that they might go see a competitor, Monitoring software that tracks to monitor employees as best they can. They it’s problematic.” computer activity track productivity, watch for signs of fraud Barlow and Brian Kropp, chief of research According to Gartner, in the past eight and even look for signs of burnout and stress. in the Gartner HR practice, both pointed out weeks 16% of companies have bought Some monitor employees’ instant that employers can also watch employees software to track their remote employees’ use messages and emails, one legal expert says. outside of work if they have reason to suspect of their computer and applications. Some use monitoring technology from theft, sexual harassment or that someone Banks are buying such technology in companies like InterGuard, Teramind and who has filed for disability is not disabled. four areas: time clocks, video monitoring, Time Doctor that keep an eye on workers’ “Those tend to be more about individuals sentiment analysis of communications, and computer and app usage, keystrokes and and individual behavior rather than a security and fraud monitoring tools. overall productivity, according to a major systematic thing to apply across the board,” “In the financial services space, as their research firm and a software executive. Kropp said. employees have gone remote, companies Still others have employees turn on their have been pretty aggressive at buying that web cameras in the morning and leave them Reading instant messages, emails sort of technology,” Kropp said. on all day, so they can be seen at all times. Another way to monitor employees working Part of the reason for this, he said, is that And companies are thinking about remotely is by reading communications like the financial services companies were the COVID-19 monitoring when employees return to work: measuring body temperature, watching for social-distancing rule violations, Established 1836 One State Street Plaza, 27th floor, New York, NY 10004 even potentially ordering blood tests to make Phone 212-803-8200 AmericanBanker.com sure contagious people go back home. But how much employee monitoring is Editor in Chief Alan Kline 571.403.3846 Copy Editor Neil Cassidy 212.803.8440 OK, and when does it cross a line? Managing Editor Dean Anason 770.621.9935 Reporters/Producers Private eyes watching you? Executive Editor Bonnie McGeer 212.803.8430 Laura Alix 860.836.5431, Kate Berry 562.434.5432 In late February, Credit Suisse’s chief Washington Bureau Chief Joe Adler 571.403.3832 executive, Tidjane Thiam, was ousted by Executive Editor, Technology Miriam Cross 571.403.3834 the bank’s board after he admitted that Penny Crosman 212.803.8673 Jim Dobbs 605.310.7780 private investigators hired by the bank had BankThink Editor Rachel Witkowski 571.403.3857 been spying on two executives, the head John Heltman 571.403.3847, Allissa Kline 716.243.2679 Community Banking Editor Paul Davis 336.852.9496 of wealth management and the head of Hannah Lang 571.403.3855 human resources. Thiam claimed he had no Contributing Editor Daniel Wolfe 212.803.8397 John Reosti 571.403.3864, Gary Siegel 212.803.1560 knowledge of the surveillance. Digital Managing Editor But as extreme as that case seemed, Christopher Wood 212.803.8437 Jackie Stewart 571.403.3852, Kevin Wack 626.486.2341 physical surveillance of employees is not off- For up to date and complete coverage go to AmericanBanker.com FRIDAY MAY 8, 2020 AMERICANBANKER.COM PAGE 3 least prepared to have their employees move about a weekly or daily call or chat where you workplace, for their own safety. to working from home because they were too check in with people?” Clearview AI, the controversial facial concerned employees might commit fraud. Through a webcam, employers can get a recognition technology startup that has One thing banks are looking at is lot of non-work-related information about been enabling police officers and companies productivity: Are people really working from employees’ homes and children. to quickly identify suspects by matching home, or are they watching TV all day? “That is certainly a time where you would photos and videos from phones and security “The early evidence is at least for the jobs think about, is there a less intrusive means?” cameras against images on the internet, is where it’s easy to measure performance, like Barlow said. “What are you seeking to trying to pivot to contact tracing. However, it claims processing, performance is just about accomplish by that?” There are laws in some is getting pushback from Washington.

Load more