Q&A With … Paul Holewinski, Academy Bank

Paul Holewinski is the president and chief executive officer of Academy Bank.

Q. What are you seeing in terms of loan-request volume since COVID hit?

A. Loan volume and applications have been down the last 60 days as businesses try to come to grips with how the pandemic and collateral damage from the shut downs in various areas have impacted their business.  This general slowdown has been counterbalanced at Academy with strong volume from PPP loan requests.

Q. How are you doing business differently in your branches?

A. One of the primary changes is that we have closed bank lobbies except by appointment.  Our drive-thrus remain open and have been busy.  We also have in-store branches in Walmart supercenters located in Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Arizona.  Those branches remain busy and we have stepped up our cleaning protocol and instituted social distancing practices to keep Associates and Clients safe. 

Q. Is tech playing a bigger role in your interaction with consumers?

A. Academy Bank has been a leader in adopting ITM video banking technology and deposit taking ATMs, so we have seen an increase in usage during the pandemic of these self-service contactless banking solutions.  Our Academy Express locations, which are free standing video banking kiosks located in high traffic areas have been busy as well.  The automation and technology investments we made over the last 5 years are really paying off. 

Q. How do you see banking changing in the future as a result of the pandemic?

A. The Pandemic will accelerate the existing trend in banking towards utilizing self service channels such as ITMs, Smart ATMs and mobile deposit capture, for the routine banking transactions.  With so many people utilizing Zoom and web ex applications for everyday face to face conversations, this public adoption will likely continue in banking for higher value products and services such as mortgages, HELOCs and small business loans.  However, banking will still remain a relationship business in my opinion—trusted advisors delivering a great client experience through fast, easy and personal service.