Quarterly earnings seasons come and go, and larger publicly traded banks fulfill their regulatory reporting requirements with a standard earnings release. Some also produce a quarterly report, which affords the CEO the chance to speak more directly to shareholders in updating them on the bank’s initiatives, goals, strategy and community involvement.

Meanwhile, smaller community banks – typically privately held banks and many that trade over-the-counter – sit idly by quarter after quarter, missing the opportunity to speak to their stakeholders simply because they aren’t legally required to do so, or don’t think it’s necessary.

Not communicating in a formal way with stakeholders on a quarterly basis is a lost chance for community banks to build stronger relationships, increase trust, foster goodwill and demonstrate their commitment – all of which are cornerstones of community banking.

Notice the word “stakeholder,” not shareholder. A bank’s stakeholders include every group that has an interest – a stake, in some way – in its activities and success, beyond just its owners. Other stakeholders include: employees, customers, directors, the communities in which the bank operates, its prospective customers, potential employees, etc.

Benefits to Stakeholders

Each of a bank’s various stakeholder groups derives a different, but no less important, set of benefits from a Stakeholders Report:

    •  Shareholders get a broad-based look at all the activities and initiatives taking place in the bank that

        coalesce into its financial success – reinforcing their investment decision.

    •  Employees & directors get positive reinforcement of the bank’s core values that underpin its everyday

        operations. Demonstrating to them on a regular basis that the bank “lives its values” creates an

        atmosphere of teamwork and perpetuates the bank’s culture.

    •  Customers feel good about supporting a bank in which “real” people are working hard for them and are

        contributing to their community.

    •  Prospective customers & potential employees form a favorable impression of the bank and its place in

        the community by learning about its internal and external activities and the way it operates.

Producing a Stakeholders Report

Format & Cost: A regular quarterly “stakeholders report” need not be overly fancy or expensive. It can be produced in the form of a newsletter, printed on relatively inexpensive paper stock, use black-and-white photos – and still be quite effective.

There remains a sizeable portion of banking customers – especially older, more affluent ones – who prefer paper communications. For this reason, in addition to having copies on hand in branches for walk-in traffic and for your officers to use in new-business sales kits, printing still makes sense for a document like this.

However, an electronic version of the same document should also be posted to the bank’s Web site, and customers should be allowed to sign up to receive the document via e-mail, if that is their preference.

Contents: A stakeholders report should be a digest of the bank’s quarterly activities, community involvement, goals and strategy. It should mix in articles on products, services, special events in the life of the bank, and customer stories. And the tone doesn’t have to be dry and boring. It can – and should – be entertaining and engaging. Regular features could include:

    •  a message from the CEO that discusses the bank’s activities and highlights for the quarter

    •  “how to” articles that educate customers on banking products and services, avoiding scams such as

        phishing, etc.

    •  customer-focus articles that tell how the bank works with businesses or individuals in providing top-

        notch customer service and banking solutions

    •  bank news that fills in stakeholders on important initiatives, new products and services, new employees,

        community outreach projects, etc.

    •  financial highlights that tell how the bank performed that quarter (even if you’re not required to report,

        stakeholders are interested in your financial progress)

Producing a quarterly report for stakeholders allows community banks to build stronger relationships, increase trust, foster goodwill and demonstrate their commitment. Community banks should strongly consider this valuable communication tool.