Name: Piermont Bank at Finovate Fall 2023: Achieving digital acceleration – What do incumbents actually need to do?
Uploaded: 2023-09-18T11:51:59.087Z
Duration: 461.52
Description: At this year’s Finovate Fall conference in New York, FinTech Futures caught up with Rodrigo Suarez, Chief Banking and Innovation Officer at Piermont Bank to discuss digital acceleration.

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ENGLISH

{{00:00:05}}
This is FinTech Futures at
Finovate Fall, and I'm joined by

{{00:00:08}}
Rodrigo Suarez at Piermont Bank.

{{00:00:10}}
Rodrigo, thank you so much for
taking the time out to speak with us.

{{00:00:12}}
a quick introduction to yourself
and your role at Piermont Bank.

{{00:00:16}}
Yeah, thank you for having me.

{{00:00:17}}
I'm Chief Banking and Innovation
Officer at Pierremont Bank.

{{00:00:20}}
We are a relatively new bank.

{{00:00:22}}
We got our charter in 2019.

{{00:00:24}}
And my role and my focus has been
building or growing our FinTech and

{{00:00:28}}
Banking as a Service business, as
well as finding technology partners

{{00:00:33}}
to augment our delivery capabilities
for our core commercial customer

{{00:00:37}}
base, where we mostly serve SMBs
and lower middle market companies.

{{00:00:41}}
Excellent, excellent.

{{00:00:41}}
And you're here speaking on a
panel about digital acceleration.

{{00:00:44}}
As a relatively young bank, as you
mentioned there, how have you approached

{{00:00:47}}
your digital transformation journey
and digital journey in general?

{{00:00:50}}
Yeah I think where we're
different is because we're new.

{{00:00:53}}
We don't really have the legacy
culture, legacy infrastructure that

{{00:00:58}}
many of the larger banks do have.

{{00:01:01}}
So we don't really approach our
projects as digital transformation

{{00:01:05}}
projects if you will, because
they're not really transformational.

{{00:01:08}}
We're really building from the
ground up in what we think is the

{{00:01:12}}
right way and trying to be relevant
given where we see the needs of

{{00:01:17}}
our own customers and end users.

{{00:01:20}}
You mentioned the incumbents there.

{{00:01:21}}
How difficult is it for them with
that legacy systems in place to really

{{00:01:25}}
approach that digital transformation
and really make change and keep up

{{00:01:29}}
with that pace of change as well?

{{00:01:31}}
I think it's challenging for sure.

{{00:01:32}}
And that's one of the
reasons why we started.

{{00:01:34}}
We started the bank in the first place.

{{00:01:35}}
We we thought there was a need for a bank
that was digital first or like a true,

{{00:01:41}}
what we call a hybrid bank because we're
not only digital, we do believe in high

{{00:01:45}}
touch for certain things and for certain
customer segments but we do see that some

{{00:01:51}}
of the larger incumbents struggle and
that's really a function of them having

{{00:01:55}}
years of legacy system process, and
also, frankly, in some cases, a legacy

{{00:02:01}}
culture as well, that doesn't allow
them to innovate or to truly launch new

{{00:02:06}}
digital first propositions effectively.

{{00:02:09}}
We're, as I said, a little bit different,
and that's where I think it's a

{{00:02:12}}
little bit more interesting and fun
to be in the environment that I'm in.

{{00:02:17}}
But I also think there is definitely room
for some of those larger incumbents to

{{00:02:23}}
improve how they tackle their digital
acceleration and we see some examples of

{{00:02:28}}
that which I think is positive because
at the end of the day what matters is

{{00:02:32}}
better delivery models for customers.

{{00:02:35}}
Excellent, excellent.

{{00:02:35}}
Even as a younger, more agile bank
as yourself, given the rate of change

{{00:02:40}}
with digital now and technology
these days, how difficult is it for

{{00:02:43}}
you as well to keep up with that and
make sure that you're getting those

{{00:02:45}}
offerings out and making sure you're
hitting those customer expectations?

{{00:02:48}}
I think it's part of, how the
bank was built to, to begin with.

{{00:02:53}}
So we really make a concerted effort to
remain relevant as we continue building.

{{00:02:59}}
It's challenging for us in the same
way that it's challenging for a

{{00:03:02}}
technology company or a FinTech.

{{00:03:04}}
You always need to be a customer first
and really understand how new channels

{{00:03:10}}
are evolving so that you remain relevant.

{{00:03:13}}
It's an ongoing effort, I would say,
even if we don't struggle with some of

{{00:03:17}}
the legacy that some of the larger banks
struggle with, we do need to make sure

{{00:03:21}}
that we're on top of new and emerging
technologies and new customer needs,

{{00:03:26}}
and have the ability to effectively
and quickly build or partner with

{{00:03:31}}
companies to address those needs.

{{00:03:34}}
And which areas in particular have
you been focusing on recently?

{{00:03:38}}
We have been focusing, because we're
new, mostly in enhancing and continuing

{{00:03:43}}
to make our existing model more robust.

{{00:03:46}}
As I mentioned initially,
we work with FinTechs in our

{{00:03:50}}
Banking as a Service model.

{{00:03:51}}
So for us, that has meant building the
right infrastructure and the right model

{{00:03:57}}
to work with those companies and enable
them to offer differentiated propositions.

{{00:04:03}}
A lot of it recently has been...

{{00:04:06}}
How do we get things done faster, more
efficiently, how do we work at this speed

{{00:04:10}}
at which, with which those companies work?

{{00:04:13}}
And in our core commercial side,
we mostly work with lower middle

{{00:04:18}}
market companies and SMBs.

{{00:04:20}}
So the focus has been also like, how
do we make faster lending decisions?

{{00:04:24}}
How do we build more robust treasury
management solutions for those customers?

{{00:04:30}}
So more of what we started doing
and Still continuing to be true

{{00:04:35}}
to that initial value proposition.

{{00:04:37}}
There are a few things that are
new that I can speak to as well.

{{00:04:40}}
We have launched a capital call
line product with a company

{{00:04:45}}
called AngelList, for example.

{{00:04:47}}
But it's.

{{00:04:47}}
It's really a continuation of what
we started doing from the start.

{{00:04:50}}
Excellent.

{{00:04:51}}


{{00:04:51}}
We're here at Finovate for a
lot of companies demoing today.

{{00:04:53}}
Is there any companies that you've got
your eye on here whilst you're over here?

{{00:04:56}}
Or is there anything else you can
tell us in the pipeline at the

{{00:04:59}}
moment that you've it's the first
day I really, I just got here.

{{00:05:02}}
So I'm going to walk around,
see some of the demos.

{{00:05:05}}
I'm really excited about the
new things that are popping up.

{{00:05:08}}
No specific company.

{{00:05:09}}
I can probably give you a better
answer tomorrow or on Wednesday.

{{00:05:12}}
But very interested in seeing some of the
new things that are popping up, especially

{{00:05:17}}
around AI and some of the hot topics.

{{00:05:19}}
There are new things that are emerging
technology wise, so I'm looking

{{00:05:23}}
forward to learning about them as well.

{{00:05:24}}
Excellent.

{{00:05:25}}
It's been quite a tough year for
financial services as well over

{{00:05:27}}
the last year, just in general.

{{00:05:29}}
As a relatively new bank as well,
how has that impacted you, and how

{{00:05:32}}
difficult has it been to, to make
sure that you can continue growing,

{{00:05:34}}
continue scaling in the current economy?

{{00:05:37}}
Yeah it is a challenging climate for sure.

{{00:05:39}}
There was a recent article in S& P,
I believe, that described how digital

{{00:05:45}}
first, FinTech focused banks are
faring compared to some of the other

{{00:05:50}}
banks on a peer comparison basis.

{{00:05:52}}
We're actually in that article, so
we've fortunately been one of the few

{{00:05:56}}
banks that have continued growing and
that have fared reasonably well, even

{{00:06:01}}
given the tough macro environment.

{{00:06:04}}
We're continually pushing to keep that
happening, but I see there are more

{{00:06:09}}
challenges and more things that we'll
need to do to overcome them for sure.

{{00:06:12}}
Excellent.

{{00:06:13}}


{{00:06:13}}
And just to finish off then, what
technologies at the moment would you say

{{00:06:16}}
are the most important for banks are some
of the technologies that we have been

{{00:06:22}}
talking about for years, and maybe the
most relevant one, especially for some

{{00:06:27}}
of the other more traditional banks are.

{{00:06:31}}
Technologies that allow them to abstract
away from their legacy core systems.

{{00:06:35}}
Going back to the discussion we
had on legacy systems and legacy

{{00:06:40}}
infrastructure, I think that's
definitely a relevant one, even if

{{00:06:43}}
it's been popping up for a long time.

{{00:06:45}}
And the other one that, probably
everyone will mention is just how

{{00:06:49}}
can we better leverage AI to deliver,
truly robust banking, where it's not

{{00:06:58}}
just You know, a better chatbot, but
something fundamentally different.

{{00:07:03}}
Thank you so much again, Rodrigo, for
taking the time out to speak with us.

{{00:07:06}}
Hope you enjoy the conference.

{{00:07:07}}
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.

This is FinTech Futures at
Finovate Fall, and I'm joined by

Rodrigo, thank you so much for
taking the time out to speak with us.

a quick introduction to yourself
and your role at Piermont Bank.

I'm Chief Banking and Innovation
Officer at Pierremont Bank.

And my role and my focus has been
building or growing our FinTech and

Banking as a Service business, as
well as finding technology partners

to augment our delivery capabilities
for our core commercial customer

base, where we mostly serve SMBs
and lower middle market companies.

And you're here speaking on a
panel about digital acceleration.

As a relatively young bank, as you
mentioned there, how have you approached

your digital transformation journey
and digital journey in general?

Yeah I think where we're
different is because we're new.

We don't really have the legacy
culture, legacy infrastructure that

So we don't really approach our
projects as digital transformation

projects if you will, because
they're not really transformational.

We're really building from the
ground up in what we think is the

right way and trying to be relevant
given where we see the needs of

How difficult is it for them with
that legacy systems in place to really

approach that digital transformation
and really make change and keep up

And that's one of the
reasons why we started.

We we thought there was a need for a bank
that was digital first or like a true,

what we call a hybrid bank because we're
not only digital, we do believe in high

touch for certain things and for certain
customer segments but we do see that some

of the larger incumbents struggle and
that's really a function of them having

years of legacy system process, and
also, frankly, in some cases, a legacy

culture as well, that doesn't allow
them to innovate or to truly launch new

We're, as I said, a little bit different,
and that's where I think it's a

little bit more interesting and fun
to be in the environment that I'm in.

But I also think there is definitely room
for some of those larger incumbents to

improve how they tackle their digital
acceleration and we see some examples of

that which I think is positive because
at the end of the day what matters is

Even as a younger, more agile bank
as yourself, given the rate of change

with digital now and technology
these days, how difficult is it for

you as well to keep up with that and
make sure that you're getting those

offerings out and making sure you're
hitting those customer expectations?

I think it's part of, how the
bank was built to, to begin with.

So we really make a concerted effort to
remain relevant as we continue building.

It's challenging for us in the same
way that it's challenging for a

You always need to be a customer first
and really understand how new channels

are evolving so that you remain relevant.

It's an ongoing effort, I would say,
even if we don't struggle with some of

the legacy that some of the larger banks
struggle with, we do need to make sure

that we're on top of new and emerging
technologies and new customer needs,

and have the ability to effectively
and quickly build or partner with

And which areas in particular have
you been focusing on recently?

We have been focusing, because we're
new, mostly in enhancing and continuing

As I mentioned initially,
we work with FinTechs in our

So for us, that has meant building the
right infrastructure and the right model

to work with those companies and enable
them to offer differentiated propositions.

How do we get things done faster, more
efficiently, how do we work at this speed

at which, with which those companies work?

And in our core commercial side,
we mostly work with lower middle

So the focus has been also like, how
do we make faster lending decisions?

How do we build more robust treasury
management solutions for those customers?

So more of what we started doing
and Still continuing to be true

There are a few things that are
new that I can speak to as well.

We have launched a capital call
line product with a company

It's really a continuation of what
we started doing from the start.

We're here at Finovate for a
lot of companies demoing today.

Is there any companies that you've got
your eye on here whilst you're over here?

Or is there anything else you can
tell us in the pipeline at the

moment that you've it's the first
day I really, I just got here.

So I'm going to walk around,
see some of the demos.

I'm really excited about the
new things that are popping up.

I can probably give you a better
answer tomorrow or on Wednesday.

But very interested in seeing some of the
new things that are popping up, especially

There are new things that are emerging
technology wise, so I'm looking

It's been quite a tough year for
financial services as well over

As a relatively new bank as well,
how has that impacted you, and how

difficult has it been to, to make
sure that you can continue growing,

FinTech Futures

Event Session

At this year’s Finovate Fall conference in New York, FinTech Futures caught up with Rodrigo Suarez, Chief Banking and Innovation Officer at Piermont Bank to discuss digital acceleration.