Inside the Frederick Wal-Mart, Provident Sales Manager Lisa Smyka talks with Andy Huntley, Store Co-Manager, and Provident customer Nicole Brooknis, who shops and works at Wal-Mart.



Offering customers the ability to get everything they need from their bank—what, when, where and how they want it—is what makes Provident the choice for people seeking superior convenience, products and services in the mid-Atlantic region. Provident’s more than 400,000 customers enjoy superior access and the opportunity to bank on their own terms through an integrated network of 98 branches, including 42 in-store offices open seven days a week, 165 ATMs and banking by mail, telephone and the Internet with real-time access to accounts 24 hours a day. As a result, accessibility to Provident has notably deepened during the past 12 months.


Through consistent execution of its proven retail expansion strategy begun in 1993, Provident continues to capitalize on its successful “hub and spoke” growth model that combines in-store banking locations with traditional branches. Between September 1999 and December 2000, Provident opened 24 in-store locations in Northern Virginia as well as in the greater Baltimore–Washington metro area through partnerships with Shoppers Food Warehouse, Wal-Mart and Metro Food Market.


Long-term growth has short-term benefits Having opened its first in-store branch in 1993, Provident remains an aggressive leader regarding in-store banking, and this has proven to be a successful growth strategy. On average, Provident’s in-store branches achieve profitability after 18 months of operation.


Provident gained 12,000 new customers when it acquired Harbor Federal Savings Bank in August 2000 and added five traditional branch locations in the Baltimore metro area and Anne Arundel County in Maryland.


Sales and service: Matching peoples’ needs to financial solutions While customer acquisition remains important, the Bank is embarking on a sales initiative in 2001 to increase existing customer satisfaction, loyalty and product sales. Using in-depth market research data, the bank is fine-tuning recruiting efforts, sales training, incentive programs and comprehensive marketing strategies to capitalize on opportunities at the individual customer level.

e-commerce

A growing business for Provident

While many use more traditional channels, an increasing number of bank customers are choosing electronic methods to do everyday banking. More than just a profitable sector of business that produces robust fee income streams, research has shown that electronic banking customers are more likely to have multiple accounts and services, are more highly satisfied and remain customers longer. By 2000 Provident had:
• 7,775 Internet Banking accounts, growing by an average of 950 accounts per month, with 26% using Bill Pay services
• 180,971 MasterMoney Cards issued to 58% of the retail checking base, resulting in $8.0 million in fee income
• 424 total online consumer loan applications for $11 million and $3 million in closed loans
• 111,687,975 Provident ATM transactions —a 14.3% increase over 1999