How One Bank Grew Its Profits without Increasing Overhead

Based in central Massachusetts, Rollstone Bank & Trust operates eight bank branches plus a Commercial Lending and Wealth Management Center. The wealth management side of the community bank, operating under the direction of Senior Vice President Melissa Maranda, provides investment services, trust services, and estate planning. Historically, Maranda has operated her division with no more than 5 full-time employees, and thanks to Rollstone’s partnership with the Accutech Business Process Outsourcing team, the bank has been able to grow its wealth management services without having to increase its overhead.

The Challenge

Rollstone has prided itself on blending “new banking ideas with good old-fashioned customer service” since it was founded in 1846. But with a staff of five people, administrative or operational issues that come up over the day can distract a team from focusing on its customers and growing its business.

Addressing internal needs–processing paperwork, locating information for an auditor, and all the other, administrative matters–would add up and easily consume five or ten hours of the team’s time every week.

Rollstone decided to outsource its back-office operations, but its service provider went through three acquisitions. Each time the service provider was purchased, the quality of service deteriorated.

The Solution

While pursuing an agreement with Accutech to use the Cheetah Wealth ManagementTM Platform, Rollstone explored Accutech’s BPO services. But their previous poor experiences left them hesitant about continuing down that same path. Rollstone’s team was reluctant because the old system they were used to was cumbersome.

Those sentiments changed once the Rollstone staff met the Accutech team, who answered a series of questions about the staff, client services, reporting, and how everything was managed. After the presentation, the sales team walked into Maranda’s office, individually, to tell her the move would be “like going from a Hyundai to a Cadillac,” according to Maranda.

Rollstone pairs Accutech’s outsourcing services with the Cheetah Wealth Management platform and its accompanying Accunet client portal for a fully integrated and efficient front office, back office, and end client solution. Rollstone is able to use Cheetah on the frontend, and when they have questions or issues, Accutech’s BPO is there on the backend.

The Results

Since converting to Cheetah Wealth Management and BPO services two years ago, Rollstone experienced a 21% growth in client accounts, an average account growth of 20%, and 45% growth in total assets under management.

1. Fewer Distractions

Since partnering with Accutech in March 2019, Rollstone Wealth Management Services has become profitable. No longer occupied by back-office needs, the Rollstone staff has been able to focus their time on their customers and attracting new business.

2. Limited Overhead

When a member of the Wealth Management Staff retired, Rollstone did not need to replace the position because Accutech was able to handle those responsibilities. Maranda’s team can get as much, if not more, done.

3. Saved Time

One clear example of how outsourcing to Accutech has saved time has been with the auditing process. Previously, the entire process of preparing materials and following up with the audit would take weeks. Accutech is able to complete that work in days.

4. Complementary Services

Pairing Accutech’s back-office support with Cheetah Wealth Management, which includes its Accunet client portal, has been what Maranda calls a “double whammy.” Rollstone benefits from the efficiencies of both by leveraging the other. Cheetah helps with the customers’ needs on the front end of the business, while BPO is there to support on the backend. And client information is immediately accessible through Accunet.