Financial institutions leveraging Cloud Banking: Interview with Cam Sterrett, Area Vice President & General Manager, nCino Canada

By Edlyn Cardoza

In the digital era, digital banking services can be reshaped with cloud technology, making banking convenient and more accessible for customers. Although, for several banks, the technology that supports it is far from simple. Digital banking on the technology front represents an increasingly complex set of connected systems across disparate platforms. The digital teams need cloud technology that breaks down barriers and can respond to a rapidly evolving market by streamlining integration and deployments. Other benefits of cloud technology are offering new digital features in customers’ hands. 

Capital markets and banking leaders are increasingly recognizing the importance of Cloud technology. It is a destination for financial service firms and banks to store applications and data and access advanced software applications via the internet. 

Enhancing customer satisfaction in the digital world, nCino is a global leader in cloud banking. The nCino Bank Operating System® empowers financial institutions with scalable technology to help them achieve revenue growth, greater efficiency, cost savings, and regulatory compliance. Transforming how financial institutions operate through innovation, reputation, and speed, nCino works globally with more than 1,200 financial institutions. 

IBS Intelligence sat down with Cam Sterrett, Area Vice President & General Manager, nCino Canada, to discuss the importance of Cloud technology and digital banking. 

How is nCino helping Financial Institutions through its Bank Operating System?

nCino’s Bank Operating System® is a secure cloud-based solution that transforms how financial institutions operate, go to market, and interact with their clients digitally across commercial, small business, and retail banking. The end-to-end platform spans business lines and combines customer relationship management (CRM), customer onboarding, account opening, loan origination, deposit accounts, workflow, credit analysis, enterprise content management, and instant reporting capabilities, facilitating a seamless interaction between employees and clients. The platform integrates with the bank’s core and transactional systems while replacing point solutions and manual-based processes.

How does nCino ensure regulatory compliance via its digital banking platform?

The nCino Bank Operating System helps financial institutions reduce regulatory, credit, and operational risk through workflow and automation, data reporting, standardized risk rating calculations, and financial modelling. For example, the content management, automated workflow, digital audit trail, and snapshot functionality within the nCino Bank Operating System help our customers more effectively and efficiently prepare for regulatory examinations.

Recently, CIBC selected nCino’s platform to deliver an enhanced client experience. What does this bring for nCino?

The CIBC partnership further establishes nCino’s presence in the Canadian market and adds yet another prominent bank to its portfolio. CIBC is one of Canada’s top banks, meaning nCino is working with 4 of the top 6 banks in Canada. This presence represents a significant shift toward digital solutions among legacy Canadian financial institutions. It also showcases how banks and FIs are increasingly turning toward cloud and other digital solutions to provide a better customer experience and stay competitive within the market.

What does the acquisition of SimpleNexus mean for nCino?

Since day one, our vision has been to be the worldwide leader in cloud banking with a mission focused on transforming financial services through innovation, reputation, and speed. This strategic acquisition aligns with that vision and mission by combining SimpleNexus’ leading mobile and web-based homeownership platform with nCino’s best-in-class Bank Operating System to extend end-to-end capabilities and strengthen our competitive position as the single digital banking platform of choice. This acquisition: 

i. Accelerates nCino’s objective to be the comprehensive Bank Operating System across all asset classes 

ii. Provides an integrated mortgage lending experience across internal and consumer-facing platforms 

iii. Delivers transparency and efficiency across lending processes 

iv. Leverages the experience and technology of an industry leader to accelerate nCino’s mobile and consumer-facing technology innovation

According to you, how will cloud banking shape financial institutions in the next few years?

Cloud banking has and will continue to be a major force in helping to transform the financial services industry. The pandemic drove continued radical shifts in how financial institutions conduct business and adjust to shifting client behaviour, and we anticipate digitisation and consolidation will continue at a record pace. In 2021, we witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of financial institutions adopting cloud solutions to replace legacy banking systems, which is a trend around which we expect to see continued momentum throughout 2022. 

Financial institutions will continue to adopt new technology – particularly cloud solutions that enable them to not only streamline their operations but seamlessly address regulatory compliance as well. As regulatory issues become more complex and burdensome, the industry will continue to look to cloud technology providers, such as nCino, to help with regulatory compliance. And, financial institutions will allocate more capital toward product advancements and partnerships and continue to consolidate and manage tech adoptions.

The adoption of AI solutions, which will drive the financial industry forward over the next decade, will also heighten financial institutions. For example, we see the successful implementation of two of our products (nCino’s Portfolio Analytics and Automated Spreading solutions) on nCino’s nIQ platform. 

What does nCino have planned in their pipeline for the new year? What should your clients be looking forward to in the future? 

We are excited about acquiring SimpleNexus, which closed earlier this month. With this acquisition, we will be creating additional opportunities and driving greater value for new and existing customers and are looking to enhance nCino’s mobile and point-of-sale offerings across additional lines of business.

nCino will continue to focus on our presence and growth internationally in the new year. In 2021, we saw great progress from the teams we have and have been able to build out in the local markets, crossing key implementation and adoption milestones for many customers, including in Europe, Australia, and North America, and adding customers in each of the new European markets we entered. In 2022, we will continue to see these markets expand.

Finally, specific to Canada, nCino expects to see continued adoption of cloud-based software as a service across the Canadian financial services sector. Canadian banks and credit unions continue to look at digital transformation as critical to meeting their client expectations and maintaining an edge in a competitive market. The nCino Bank Operating System provides Canadian FIs with the foundation they need to address a rapidly evolving market and ensure a best-in-class customer experience.