BUSINESS

Customer Perspectives: Boosting Customer Service and Profitability at First Citizens' Bank

Apr. 19, 2006

Founded in 1898 and headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., First Citizens Bank operates 337 branches in more than 200 cities and towns in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Maryland. The bank's parent company, First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ: FCNCA), has more than $14 billion in assets.

As one of the largest financial services companies in the U.S., serving a wide variety of clients, from small businesses to professional services and retail, fast access to accurate information is critical. That's why they choose Cognos business intelligence to provide timely reports, deep analysis, and notifications of key business issues as they happen.

Focusing on fast and efficient service

With a focus on fast, efficient service, and a growing client base, First Citizens associates were increasingly challenged when it came to reporting on, or simply accessing, customer information.

Historically report creation was complex. As bank associates and internal teams had requirements for multiple report types, this meant several proprietary reporting solutions, resulting in a complex, multi-tool IT environment. For First Citizens, an easily accessible information management solution with a simple-to-master interface had become a critical requirement.

Rich and varied data sources

To tap the potential of its rich and varied data sources, enhance operations - and by extension, customer relations - and to reduce the burden on IT and end users, First Citizens undertook an extensive search for a business intelligence solution vendor that could meet each of these requirements.

After a thorough comparison of products in the marketplace, First Citizens' search ended with Cognos. According to Senthil Kumar, Data Architect at First Citizens, the deciding factor was the superior reporting capabilities and Web-based architecture of Cognos BI software.

The First Citizens rollout of Cognos Business Intelligence, including reporting, analysis, and event detection capabilities, began in 2004 and the internal user base grew to encompass its Credit Risk Management, Corporate Finance, Marketing, and Field Banking divisions.

Given the mix of users in each group, training was a key first-step that was managed easily through a curriculum developed internally by the Corporate Education department.

Integration with IBM

Another critical factor favoring Cognos was its ease of integration with existing IBM infrastructure, including IBM DB2 UDB, WebSphere Application Server, and pSeries and xSeries servers. Cognos BI's open, distributed architecture, works seamlessly on the platform and enables users to view the information they require with the simplicity and familiarity of Web surfing.

And by having one simple interface that presents all information, users benefit from ready access to all of the information and tools they require for the task at hand.

Single user environment provides consistent data

With implementation complete, First Citizens achieved a single, unified user environment for accessing all client information and BI functionality. The solution also eliminates the need for several different reporting tools, accomplishing historical requirement for a multi-tool environment, and helping to enhance consistency throughout First Citizens.

"Cognos BI gives us powerful new tools to increase efficiency and better serve our customers," said Kumar. "Among its many features, it allows us to produce customized reports from our databases that will help us to better understand and respond to customer demands."

The solution provides First Citizens with self-service business and production reporting from a single environment, and extended accessibility through secure extranet distribution available to branches and associates across the organization.

Instant information to anticipate customer needs

And access is key. First Citizens is seeing the benefits of instant access to reports with important customer information, and ad-hoc reports for self-guided analysis, which have helped to speed-up business and market responsiveness.

By combining comprehensive reporting, deep analytical capabilities, and timely monitoring that shortens the time between a business event and appropriate action, First Citizens has the ability to anticipate change before it becomes a challenge.

Finally, from a customer retention perspective, the insight provided through its BI solution is helping First Citizens identify new ways to reach and service customers and create and results-oriented marketing campaigns, loyalty programs, and other key initiatives for their growing client base.