Face-to-face opportunities worth seeking out

Editor's note: This column was included in the Oct. 3 version of The Pulse, a weekly BankBeat newsletter sent to subscribers..A nearby branch of my bank has been completely transformed since covid. Gone is the marbled, dark and echoey 66,000-square-foot, multi-story building; in its place is a one-story, 6,500-square-foot bank filled with light, color, free beverages, and lots of bilingual banking professionals. Sadly, customers cannot talk to any of these wonderful helpers without first whipping out their smartphones and scanning a QR code to enter the service queue. For me, it was a positive first impression that quickly tarnished..In a conversation held last week on financial inclusion and the perceived tension that being inclusive somehow compromises safety and soundness, Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, admitted that walking into a bank can be very intimidating for people who exist outside the traditional financial system. Bankers often assume people know how to navigate their institutions, he said. "Banks may not even realize they are not making it easy for their less experienced customers or potential customers to access the services they have to offer.".By contrast, "walk into a payday lender and it's like McDonalds," Kashkari said. "Every product is up on the board. You can see it; you can understand it. Only one of those environments is geared toward and serving people who don't have experience in the banking sector. ."If we make the bank more user friendly with those with less experience," Kashkari added, "there's no safety and soundness implications. It's just about creating access.".Next Monday, the Bank Holding Company Association is providing bankers unprecedented access to Kashkari on Day One of its Fall Seminar. Kashkari opens the BHCA's M&A-focused event with candid observations on the state of community banking, and he will converse with bankers on whatever relevant topics live top of mind. I am eager to hear how Kashkari responds to bankers' inquiries..The 50-minute session, moderated by BHCA President John F. Healey of Crown Bankshares of Edina, Minn., will be livestreamed by the Fed. But like using QR codes, a livestream (or a recording of one) can be a diminished experience when compared to being in-person. .Facetime is what we all crave, in business, with our colleagues and friends, from our bankers, and even from our chief regulators. Kashkari is smart, insightful and a dynamic speaker. I encourage you to join me to hear what he has to say about the state of the industry. And as a side benefit, you can network with a couple hundred of your banking peers. .There's still time to register and same-day, walk-up registrations are welcomed at the Westin Hotel Edina.