Q&A: Changing times in the banking industry
'We invest our hearts and minds to power human potential'
The following article appeared in the July 26, 2023, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, a business-oriented newsletter in Charlotte. Sign up here:
U.S. Bank’s Sekou Kaalund discusses technology, DEI and branch growth
These days, there’s a lot going on in the banking industry — Charlotte’s signature sector.
For some insights, we turned to Sekou Kaalund, who heads U.S. Bank’s 2,200+ branches in 26 states. He’s a Raleigh native who previously spent 15 years at JPMorgan Chase in a variety of leadership roles and before that was at Citi and at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. U.S. Bank has been expanding in Charlotte, with four branches open, two more expected to open this year and a seventh announced in South End.
Kaalund was in town recently and spoke with Ledger editor Tony Mecia about trends in the banking industry. Remarks were edited for clarity and length:
Q. A few months ago, there were a lot of questions about the banking industry. There were some high-profile bank failures. Where do you feel like the banking industry is now in terms of stability?
Whether it’s our regulatory body or different government officials, we’ve heard them say the banking industry is stable. So yes, there were some specific situations, but we’re going to continue to expect higher capital levels.
I think U.S. Bank is uniquely positioned. We have a strong and diverse deposit base. So as you look at the array of all of our customers, our business mix, we serve the mom and pop small businesses. We serve millions of consumers. We serve medium- to large-sized businesses. We serve asset managers, global sovereign wealth funds. We have a really diverse mix across our entire business, and that positions us well to perform through any cycle.
Q. What is U.S. Bank's growth plan? Y'all have been adding branches here in Charlotte. You have more on the way. What’s the thinking on growth?
We have a simple mantra. We invest our hearts and minds to power human potential. That means we’re serving customers. Growing means we’re serving more customers, empowering their potential. So for growth, for us, growth is not just for the sake of growth, it’s how we’re living out our purpose, and living that purpose out by expanding into more communities.
It’s really understanding the needs of the market, and how we then position our physical assets or leverage our deep digital capabilities.
Q. You mentioned digital and technology. That sounds like an important initiative. What do you have planned there?
As we think about our business, we think about human plus digital. It’s not an either/or. It’s both.
Why is that important? We want to be able to meet customers how and when they want to be banked. And so by having a physical presence, that’s great. We will have customers that want to come into the branch. But having digital capabilities, we can also put the power in our customers’ hands to manage and do some of the activities or transactions they want.
Q. People are always asking me, “Why do we still have these bank branches? It seems like you can do all this stuff online.” People wonder why banks are building branches at these intersections in Charlotte in nice locations instead of, no offense, having something cooler there.
Sometimes, people want to come in and talk to a banker. They want to know, “If I have a savings goal, what should I do in terms of whether it’s laddering CDs or structuring my different savings objectives across accounts?” That’s where you’re coming in to have a discussion.
The minute someone needs the bank, we need to be able to be there for them. But as you point out, depositing checks can clearly be accomplished in a digital capacity. We want our customers to be able to leverage that digital technology so that they can do that and engage with us, again, on some of these issues on “How should I think about my investment strategy?”
Q. It’s interesting thinking of that mix between technology and the human interaction. One of the big topics nowadays is artificial intelligence, and how that's going to play out in various industries. How do you see U.S. Bank deploying AI?
At its core, it’s how do you leverage data insights to create a more seamless experience for our customers. I’ll give you a perfect example: With our digital assistant on our app leveraging AI, it’s as simple as being able to tell your digital assistant, “We just had lunch. Send them $20 for lunch.”
It’s really leveraging computer capability to make our lives easier. AI is with us. It has been with us. But the power in my view is how do you continue to leverage data and technology to offer more efficient and effective services for our customers? And that’s how we’ve approached this digital strategy in general.
Q. You've been pretty involved in the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at U.S. Bank. That's obviously been a big corporate focus. What is U.S. Bank doing on that?
One of the reasons I joined U.S. Bank is this notion of this purpose-driven, invest-in-hearts-and-minds power potential.
These efforts really focus on ensuring access across different communities in many historically underserved communities. I’ll give you a perfect example: our business lending program. Historically, some groups have had more difficulty getting access to capital. So what we’ve done is we say, “OK, we understand what has happened that has impacted access to capital. What can we do as a large bank to recognize how you get the capital into the hands of some of these highly deserving businesses?”
One of the things I’m proud of is that women-owned, veteran businesses, diverse businesses — now we can work with them and understand how we help them scale and grow their businesses. Access to capital is one thing. But the other thing we’ve done is created business access advisors. Businesses sometimes may not have the access to the networks that they need to thrive.
Access advisors’ sole job is to help businesses facilitate the access they need within their communities, whether that’s trade groups, or whether that’s within U.S. Bank. You can focus on the capital opportunity by getting capital into these businesses. But you can also focus on how you support communities and help connect those dots for small business customers.
I’m excited about the equity and inclusion because ultimately, it’s not about cutting up a pie smaller. It’s about making a larger pie for all. Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. When you look at the net job growth over the last 25 years, two-thirds of that is really driven by small businesses. So when these small businesses and particularly diverse businesses are hiring, it means we have more taxpayers, and it means we have stronger communities.
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer a free version, as well as paid memberships for full access to all 4 of our local newsletters:
➡️ Opt in or out of different newsletters on your “My Account” page.
➡️ Learn more about The Charlotte Ledger
The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news through e-newsletters and on a website. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
Social media: On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Sponsorship information/customer service: email support@cltledger.com.
Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project