How Bank Independent deepens client relationships and strengthens loan quality with OptimaFI’s offerings

Key metrics

OptimaFI helped Bank Independent boost debit
card adoption and analyze challenged loans quickly

Overview

AUM: $2.9 billion in assets

Locations: Over 30 branches in Alabama

How OptimaFI Helped: Bank Independent needed a partner for strategic insight and operational support in marketing, credit risk, and funding. OptimaFI enabled faster credit insight, deeper customer engagement, improved funding flexibility, and clearer visibility into risk, with reporting strong enough to share with examiners, auditors, and the board.

Solutions: Acquisition, Onboarding, Cross Sell, CD Marketplace, Loan Review, Portfolio Analysis, Stress Testing

Challenge

Building scalable growth

Bank Independent, a community bank based in Sheffield, Alabama, with more than 30 branches statewide, needed to deepen client relationships, strengthen loan quality, and support growth in new markets — all without adding unnecessary operational burden or risk.

As the bank expanded its footprint and focus on disciplined growth, its leadership team recognized the need for a more integrated approach across marketing, credit, and funding.

What success required

• Precision-driven relationship growth
• Improve credit oversight and audit readiness
• Support new-market expansion efficiently
• Funding optionality

Solution

One source for growth, funding flexibility, and portfolio insight

OptimaFI's unique focus on community financial institutions, and its broad solution suite made it the perfect partner for Bank Independent.

The Pay for Performance engagement model offered as part of OptimaFI Growth gave Bank Independent a data-backed way to market to new and existing customers, and ties marketing programs to measurable outcomes.

OptimaFI Credit Risk software solutions enabled Bank Independent to analyze its credit portfolio and obtain audit-ready documentation with a few clicks, while non-brokered CD Marketplace access offered flexibility as funding demand increased.

Kelly Burdette, Senior VP of Marketing & Digital says these solutions are:

“...a great combination for getting customers in the door and maintaining a quality loan portfolio.”

Kelly Burdette,
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Digital, Bank Independent

High-impact Growth marketing

OptimaFI's Growth campaigns were built on the back of an Opportunity Assessment that gave Bank Independent a clear view of how their performance stacks up against peer institutions. This Opportunity Assessment leverages 12B+ normative datapoints and includes strategic guidance built from OptimaFI's decades of experience serving community banks and credit unions.

OptimaFI used the assessment's findings to create and launch:

• Data-backed customer acquisition campaigns
• High-engagement onboarding campaigns
• Targeted cross-sell campaigns

Campaigns used digital channels best suited for each audience, and offered a level of transparency that made it easy to tie outcomes to each program.

“They’re incredibly focused. They know the right customer segment, using highly intelligent data analytics.”

Kelly Burdette,
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Digital, Bank Independent

Quick, reliable source of non-brokered funds

When the bank needs non-brokered CDs, OptimaFI lets it source funds efficiently at competitive rates. Having a ready source of deposits gives Bank Independent more options when liquidity tightens, while avoiding broker markups, transaction fees, and third-party rate stripping.

Comprehensive Credit Risk management solutions

OptimaFI Credit Risk solutions make it easy to assess its financial health and make defensible decisions. Bank Independent uses Stress Tests to test portfolio resiliency, Loan Review software to expedite internal loan reviews, and Portfolio Analysis to generate clean reports in seconds.

“It provides date and time stamping so we can show auditors and examiners exactly how we reached each decision.”

Kelly Burdette,
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Digital, Bank Independent

Results

Marketing campaigns with measurable ROI

OptimaFI's Pay for Performance model transformed the way Bank Independent markets itself. The model reduces risk and ensures accountability, because for the Acquisition and Cross-Sell programs, Bank Independent only pays for realized results.

OptimaFI's granular campaign tracking and attribution make it easy to report progress to the board, and refine targeting or adjust tactics as needed.

“I can put their information into a board-level report to validate the value of everything we’re doing with them.”

Kelly Burdette,
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Digital, Bank Independent

Deeper relationships and wallet-share

One of the bank’s most successful programs is its debit card growth initiative, which helped Bank Independent build deeper, long-lasting client relationships while also increasing wallet share. As a result of this campaign, 721 households activated or began using debit cards. The effort supports the bank’s community initiatives and builds philanthropic ties to local groups.

Exam-readiness

Credit reviews that once took a week of manual work (and required multiple people managing multiple tools) are now completed in less than two days. Examiners and auditors have responded positively to the audit trail. Improved clarity and documentation have strengthened portfolio management and regulatory readiness.