Marquette Savings Bank

Case Study

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Marquette Savings Bank Takes the Guesswork Out Of Cash Management with logicpath’s C3 Financial

Who: Marquette Savings Bank, an $813 million institution headquartered in Erie, Pa.

Lisa Lopez, vice president and manager of Deposit Operations for Marquette Savings Bank..

What: logicpath’s C3 Financial cash management solution helped Marquette Savings Bank achieve its goal of better managing its cash inventory and improving efficiencies in the bank’s cash management processes.

The Challenge

One of Marquette Savings Bank’s initiatives was to improve its cash management operations by aligning cash inventory with customer demand. The bank was not using any type of tools to determine its cash needs – it was simply guessing on how much cash the bank should keep in its branches. In addition to better forecasting its cash needs, the bank was hoping to improve overall efficiencies in its cash management processes.

“There was always this underlying fear of running out of cash in the branches, so we set our cash limits high to make sure we had plenty of cash on hand,” said Lisa Lopez, vice president and manager of Deposit Operations for Marquette Savings Bank. “It became painfully clear that this was not the most efficient way to manage our cash. We had no insight into cash cycles, so it was challenging for our back office to guess our cash needs.”

The Solution

To improve its cash management efforts, Marquette Savings Bank implemented logicpath’s C3 Financial cash management solution. Using historical data, C3 Financial provides Marquette Savings Bank with accurate branch order recommendations to help maintain appropriate cash inventory levels.

C3 Financial’s forecasting engine anticipates Marquette Savings Bank’s cash needs by predicting future customer activity. Prior to implementation, logcipath clearly laid out all the steps Marquette Savings Bank would need to take to setup the forecasting process so the implementation would run as smoothly as possible.

“It took about 90 days to gather the data we needed in order to forecast properly, and then we tested that data to make sure we were on the right track,” said Lopez. “Even though there was some manual work for the branches upfront, they were willing to do the work because they knew it would result in significant process improvements.”

Marquette Savings Bank did not run into any major implementation challenges and reports that it was very impressed with the amount of support it received from the logicpath team. logicpath helped trained one representative from the bank’s IT staff and three representatives from its operations department on the system, and then those staff members were able to train the remaining employees. Marquette Savings Bank also held an introductory call with its entire staff so they could have an overview of C3 Financial.

The Results

Since implementing C3 Financial, Marquette Savings Bank has reduced the amount of average monthly cash on hand by 23 percent, equating to $500,000 by aligning its inventory with actual demand, which provides significant reinvestment opportunities. The bank has also minimized security risks by keeping less cash on hand at the branch.

C3 Financial also completely streamlined and centralized Marquette Savings Bank’s cash order processes by allowing its staff to submit orders through the application and consolidating orders in to one file, which can be easily uploaded to the Federal Reserve Bank’s FedLine® Web.

“The largest return on investment by far has been in time savings,” said Lopez. “Previously, our staff spent hours determining cash needs and then sending cash orders to the Federal Reserve Bank. Now, this process is completely automated and enables bank employees to focus on other aspects of our business.”

Additionally, C3 Financial’s reporting tools are incredibly helpful for the bank’s branches, as well as its security officer and retail officer. Now, they can easily see whether the bank’s cash limits are in line with actual usage and quickly pull reports for an audit if needed.

“We knew C3 Financial would be instrumental in improving cash management efforts, but once the implementation was complete, the benefits far exceeded our expectations,” said Lopez. “C3 Financial has completely taken the guesswork out of the forecasting cash needs of the bank, reduced the labor involved and mitigated risks associated with high cash levels.”'


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About Marquette Savings Bank

For over a century, one thing has stood the test of time and that is Marquette Savings Bank’s “Hometown Touch.” It’s what has set Marquette apart from the beginning and what customers still experience today – where people who know you still answer the phone and where the customer still comes first. Today, Marquette has 126 employees in 12 locations serving Erie and Crawford counties. Assets are now approximately $813 million and we plan to keep them working for us right here in our community, where the hometown customer is our only customer. www.marquettesavings.com.

About logicpath

Atlanta, Ga.-based logicpath provides software solutions and analytics to financial institutions and retail organizations. logicpath proudly services the needs of more than 1,500 clients in 50 states and Canada by providing “Smart Solutions That Make Dollars and Sense.” logicpath is the designer of C3 Financial, a web-based cash forecasting and management software. logicpath also pioneered Deposit Reclassification, a retail sweep program designed to eliminate reserve balances. logicpath solutions improve earnings, efficiencies, risk management and operations. For more information about logicpath’s solutions, call 1.877.495.0687.