Supercharged banking relationship manager

The role of the relationship manager in commercial banking

Commercial banking clients look to their banks for financing, commercial lending, global trade, and cash-management products. However, successful partnerships often come down to effective banking relationship managers and personalized banking client services.

The commercial banking market hinges on human relationships, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. In a recent Deloitte survey, 70% of commercial banking clients indicated a desire for human involvement in an increasingly digitized business environment. 

Businesses that use commercial banking services are often global and complex, relying on their banking relationship manager (RM) to connect them to or customize solutions that best fit their needs. Deloitte’s research shows that 81% of banking clients said their relationship manager is their preferred point of contact—and they value the services of a senior manager or influencer. 

Meanwhile, some relationship managers are exploring emerging technologies to generate insights and tools, from customizing client solutions to accelerating the curation of products and services following an initial client meeting. Our research shows 82% of commercial banking relationship managers are asking for more of this support.

Investing in these technologies can help banks improve banking client services, address turnover in client and RM assignments, adapt to the expectations of tech-oriented clients, and ultimately build a competitive edge.

A modular approach to turbocharging relationship managers

Turbocharging the relationship manager with better analytics, insights, and tools can offer high returns―but changes to technology infrastructure are often costly and time-consuming. A modular approach can help banks put these ideas into action far faster and at lower cost. Three tools can bring these strategies to life: APIs, artificial intelligence (AI), and alliances, which we think of as “AI+.”

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1. APIs are often a crucial starting point for sourcing quality data from multiple legacy systems. Integrating external data sources can allow banks to deliver insights-based actions such as pricing strategy, impact on credit due to currency volatility, or impact on client discussions due to adverse media findings.
2. Generative AI is another arrow in the modular-tech quiver. This technology can be used to generate reminders, to calculate predictive analytics, or to offer guidance to the RM. It could proactively assess client needs, using media headlines and signals from financial statements to anticipate financing decisions. It could even help with lead generation or prequalification in prospecting, shifting RM focus to activities that go beyond administrative tasks.
3. Alliances are the third zone to explore. For some banks, existing vendor or partner technology may contain data that would be useful in painting a full picture of the client’s status and needs. Existing sales and servicing technologies like a CRM (customer relationship management tool) already contain crucial data for such efforts. Putting this data to work does not need to be complex and costly.

Three ways to think about turbo-charging banking RMs

Using these three toolkits―APIs, AI, and alliances―commercial banks should be strategic about the functionality that they develop to work toward a “turbocharged” RM of the future. Here are three workflows that demonstrate upside in the investment:

1. Boost tech-driven functionalities in the RM’s day-to-day workflow
   
   When considering a strategy for investing, remember the core nature of the RM at the bank. These are cases where the RM knows the company’s near- and long-term goals, the various personalities in management and decision-making, and the political and logistical challenges of the organization. Armed with the right information, the RM can be a true adviser. 
2. Ramp up the role of emerging tech across the full spectrum of the client’s experience
   
   Another way that new tech can help deepen relationships is to better capture the client’s touchpoints across other functions at the bank, creating more continuity in both the client’s experience of the bank and the RM’s knowledge of those interactions. A full-spectrum view can help the RM see opportunities to expand products and services and combine offerings or identify issues. 
3. Turbocharge team managers with emerging tech
   
   APIs, Generative AI, and alliances can also be used to deliver strategic insights at a team manager level―both for the RM looking to manage their own efficiency and process and to managers evaluating regions or teams of RMs. For example, real-time data could show an RM new metrics about their relationships in aggregate. Likewise, team managers could use these insights to assess performance trends across RMs, regions, or sectors.

Invest in the relationship managers of the future

Commercial banking revenue and growth will continue to be deeply dependent on relationships, as banking services and lending products are complex and customized to commercial clients. Modular technologies and tools, including APIs, Generative AI, and alliances, can be potent boosters to relationship managers when used in a strategic and future-oriented way. Banks that use these tools thoughtfully have the power to boost the effectiveness and reach of their RMs, deepening client relationships and delivering more of the most powerful service they can offer: advice.