With an extensive background in market analysis and international business trends, Priya Jaiswal is a recognized authority in banking and finance. Today, she offers her expert perspective on a pivotal moment for community banking: the strategic technology overhaul at Oklahoma’s Blue Sky Bank. We’ll explore how this institution is leveraging a partnership with Jack Henry to modernize both its dominant commercial services and its retail offerings, aiming to fuel expansion while maintaining a personalized, community-focused approach. This discussion will delve into the tangible impacts of these new digital tools, the strategic decisions behind such a significant investment, and the broader implications for the future of community banking.
Since commercial banking accounts for 80% of your business, how will the new LoanVantage and Treasury Management solutions address key client challenges? Can you walk us through a specific workflow, like loan origination, that will improve and what the tangible benefits will be for customers?
That 80% figure really tells the whole story; for a bank like Blue Sky, the health of their commercial clients is the health of the bank itself. The adoption of Jack Henry’s LoanVantage and Treasury Management is a direct response to the friction their business clients face. Imagine a small business owner applying for a loan. In the past, this was likely a paper-heavy, slow-moving process that felt disconnected from the rest of their banking. With a modernized platform like LoanVantage, the entire loan origination workflow becomes streamlined and transparent. This means faster decisions, clearer communication, and a much less frustrating experience for the business owner who needs capital to grow, not to be bogged down in paperwork. It transforms a major pain point into a smooth, efficient process that builds loyalty.
While your primary focus is commercial, you’re also deploying the Banno Digital Platform for retail clients. How does this new platform align with your goal of a “holistic” banking approach, and what specific features do you expect will have the biggest impact on your personal banking customers?
It’s a very savvy move that directly supports the “holistic” vision Hayden Blackford mentioned. It’s easy to forget that a commercial client—say, a CEO or a small business owner—is also a retail customer. They have personal checking accounts, mortgages, and savings goals. Providing them with a clunky, outdated retail app while offering sophisticated commercial tools creates a jarring and inconsistent experience. By implementing the Banno Digital Platform, which other modern institutions are also adopting, they are creating a single, seamless digital ecosystem. The biggest impact for personal banking customers will be the feeling of having a modern, intuitive, and reliable banking app in their pocket, one that matches the quality of service they receive on the business side. This cohesion is what “holistic banking” truly feels like to a customer.
This technology overhaul is a significant investment for a bank managing $1.3 billion in assets. What was the decision-making process for choosing Jack Henry over other providers, and how does this partnership specifically enable your plans to expand your 15-branch network into new territories?
For a bank of this size, a decision like this is monumental; it sets the course for the next decade. The choice of Jack Henry appears to be rooted in the need for a comprehensive, integrated technology partner rather than piecing together solutions from multiple vendors. A unified platform that includes core processing, commercial lending, and retail digital is incredibly powerful for growth. When you’re planning to expand beyond your current 15-branch footprint, you cannot be held back by technology that is difficult to scale. This partnership provides a solid, scalable foundation. It means that when they open a branch in a new territory, they can “plug it in” to a proven, efficient system from day one, ensuring a consistent and high-quality customer experience no matter the location.
Hayden Blackford mentioned this plan will help meet community needs with a personalized approach. Can you provide a concrete example of how the new core processing and digital tools will allow your team to offer more customized financial advice or products to a small business owner?
This is where the real magic of modern core processing happens. Previously, a banker’s understanding of a client might be fragmented across different, siloed systems. With an integrated core from Jack Henry, that banker can now see a complete 360-degree view of a small business owner’s entire financial life. They can see the business’s cash flow from treasury management, their recent loan activity, and even their personal mortgage details. This unified view is a game-changer. It allows the banker to move from being reactive to proactive, perhaps noticing a cash flow pattern that suggests a need for a specific line of credit or identifying an opportunity to help the owner with a personal investment, all based on real data. That’s how personalization moves from a buzzword to a tangible, value-added service.
What is your forecast for community banking technology over the next five years?
My forecast is that the trend we’re seeing with Blue Sky Bank will accelerate dramatically. The idea that community banks can survive on relationships alone is a thing of the past. The future is about “high-tech, high-touch.” Over the next five years, the most successful community banks will be those that invest in powerful, integrated platforms like Jack Henry’s to automate the back-end and deliver a seamless digital experience on the front-end. This technological foundation won’t replace the personal touch; it will amplify it. It will free up bankers from manual tasks to focus on providing the tailored, insightful advice that big national banks simply can’t replicate at scale. Technology will become the essential enabler of the core community banking mission, not a threat to it.
