American Banker Magazine - June 2020

Digital Banker of the Year

How a twentysomething marketing entrepreneur helped transform a small community development financial institution into a digital leader.

David Howard's leadership of the OceanFirst digital strategy and innovation team that has developed a robo adviser, an Alexa skill and other cutting-edge tools earned him recognition as one of American Banker's digital bankers of the year.

Many of the cultural changes instituted by Hisham Salama, one of American Banker’s 2020 digital bankers of the year, have led to a more agile tech team and higher customer satisfaction scores.

Tyrie has advanced Bank of America’s virtual assistant Erica and rolled out easier-to-use digital products that resonate strongly with customers. Those achievements have earned him recognition as one of American Banker’s digital bankers of the year.

Fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is pressuring banks that have relied on expansion efforts and fee income to produce outsize investor returns.

Past is not prologue, and a successful strategy for becoming a top-performing bank in 2020 is very different from what it might have been just six months ago.

In blue states in particular, governors and attorneys general are taking up the mantle of consumer protection during the coronavirus emergency, effectively adding another layer of regulation to the patchwork of state and federal oversight.

With the pandemic putting Plexiglas in short supply, Joe McDonald called up a local source: a former classmate.

The popular videoconferencing service has been beset by security issues, and some banks have banned employees from using it. Are they overreacting?

Use of banks' mobile apps and websites has risen about a third since the coronavirus crisis began, according to J.D. Power.