Best practices, peer reviews and challenges in SME banking from around the world

As financial institutions around the world seek to improve their services to small businesses, there is an increasing need to be constantly in touch with new tactical initiatives developingin many different parts of the world that can be applied to local needs.

The world’s first small business council will meet in Seattle, Washington, in the United Sates 2-4 August 2016, and will feature both leading players in financialintuitions as well as small businesses themselves who will be present to share and brainstorm from real experiences.

This Council will be made up of senior practitioners of leading institutions from around the world, as well as a panel of expert advisers and facilitators to share and gain from each other’s experiences. The Council will be supported by global research data and case studies.

While the United States is home to some of the most aggressive initiatives to support small business customers, specific innovations from peer economies around the world are also relevant. As such, the Council will be made up of members from around the world.

Chaired by 2 of the America’s most experienced small business banking trainers, the Council’s annual meeting is designed to examine current practices and developments in risk management, customer service, marketing, distribution, technology innovations, payments, operations and other infrastructural issues based on experiences from around the world.

Co-chairmen Robert J. Hogan and James R. Devine have between them about 50 years’ of experience in running smallbusiness banking as well as consulting and training best financial institutions both in the US as well as in emerging markets. As co-chairs of this program, they will facilitate the strong peer interaction as well as learning in the council.

They will be assisted by research managers from The Asian Banker who will provide case studies and data support to facilitate the quality of interactions by insuring that the participants are equipped with in-depth knowledge of current developments from around the world.

The first session of international small business council will be held in Seattle, Washington which is a hotbed of product innovation and home to many successful small businesses. We will be using this opportunity to talk with both financiers as well as small businessthemselves and study specific examples through closed dialogue and site visits.