Kimberly Dee is executive vice president and head of the retail branch network for Citizens Financial Group Inc. She has more than 20 years of experience in the finance industry, including multiple leadership positions at Citizens. She has a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from Boston College. She spoke with PBN about trends in retail banking and what’s next for the industry.
PBN: How has retail banking changed for Rhode Island consumers over the last two years?
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DEE: Rhode Island has followed similar trends to the rest of the country in terms of retail banking over the last two years. As we continue to transform our branch network, we are focused on our retail colleagues to deliver advice for our customers. Each branch has products and capabilities that they can offer our Rhode Island customers to help them throughout all of life’s journey.
PBN: Has the pandemic accelerated the bank’s digital banking offerings?
DEE: Prior to the pandemic, Citizens was undergoing branch transformation work as we looked to transition our branches into advice centers. The pandemic accelerated a shift to digital for many users, but we want to become the destination for advice for all of our customers to take a very personal approach for those big life moments, such as buying a home or planning for retirement.
Technology is an enabler, not an “either/or” in the customer experience. It provides greater choice for customers in how they interact with us, but it also supports deeper, more personalized conversations and the opportunity to visualize financial concepts within the branch experience.
PBN: What other changes does the bank anticipate for retail customers in the near future?
DEE: As we continue to see a shift to digital for transactional activities, we anticipate to provide additional experiences for our customers to bank when and how they want to engage with us across all channels. There will be a growing need to serve customers in person and through video capability.
Banks will continue to evolve their self-service capabilities as well, i.e., intelligent teller machines, self-service kiosks and chat capabilities. But most importantly, the branches of the future will be designed to better assist and consult with our customers to help them plan for their holistic needs.
PBN: How has customer service changed over the pandemic?
DEE: Throughout the pandemic, Citizens has consistently put its customers first, particularly in retail banking. We’ve been there for our customers across all channels, creating a customer experience that works for everyone.
Citizens uses technology to create consumer choice as they determine the “when, where and how” of banking so that customers can choose the channel they want for any given interaction. Citizens also offered a variety of programs that helped our customers through this very difficult time, such as our small-business grant program.
PBN: What makes citizens different from other banks in the retail space?
DEE: At Citizens, we deliver a distinctive customer experience through our talented colleagues who offer a very personal approach through an advice-led experience. Our colleagues go above and beyond to deliver top-notch advice and customer service. We train our colleagues to be well versed in all of our customer’s needs, and they are able to leverage our diverse product suite to help assist customers.
At Citizens, we have a differentiated consumer lending franchise that spans the entire consumer life cycle. We offer everything from student checking accounts and student loans to auto loans to mortgages and then wealth management as consumers plan for retirement. We also offer business banking services for small businesses, and we can serve as a one-stop shop for most of a consumer’s financial needs.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
