The prevailence of a financial institutions brand correlates directly with
the level of trust a consumer has in their institution. The greater the trust
in the institution, or so the theory goes, the more a given consumer will
consolidate his finances into that institution. It is very important
to financial institutions to boldly display their brand on all their products
to further this trust and revenue stream. In addition, financial institutions
make most of their profit from the top 5% of their customers, most of whom are
in their prime earning years or retired. One way these institutions are trying
to retain customers until they reach those years by focusing on trust and branding.
The most popular PC based home banking products work against the bank in this
regard. Essentially all banks look the same throught these products, and bankers
do not like being considered a commoditiy. They hope to remove the middle-man
and ship branded product directly to the consumer. Paradoxically, the banks
have had bad luck in the past with the business of manufacturing and distributing
software, so they don't want to be in that business. They would be much happier
slapping their brand on a deserveing financial application.
Banks hope to use their branded software to attract new customers and reduce
costs. They hope to attract clients by offering new services to the electonic
commerce market and to reduce costs by offering their own payment mechanisms.