Regions Financial Corp. has engaged the services of McKinsey & Co. for a "comprehensive review" in line with its simplification initiative. The Birmingham, Ala.-based company is a "couple of weeks" away from the completion of the consulting firm's planning process, according to a transcript.
Executives spoke about its retail branch consolidations, among other things, at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference. The company has consolidated approximately 163 branches in two years and continues to see opportunities for "2-for-1" and "3-for-1" consolidations, they said.
It is also already using artificial intelligence, with IBM Watson resolving customer service calls on its own and assisting in those that go through to live call-center agents. IBM Watson is also being implemented in Regions' Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering practices.
Regions is evaluating other outsourcing opportunities, management added, and is working on consolidating back-office functions.
The company is streamlining its loan process as well, and plans to offer every consumer loan category through digital platforms. It will also launch Zelle capabilities in 2018.
Reiterating that Regions expects to realize most of its targeted $400 million in cost savings in 2018, CFO David Turner added the company will eventually quantify possible improvements to its stated goal of a "less than 60%" efficiency ratio.
