Thursday, June 21, 2012


Vendor Contracts
I continue to do a lot of work in this area, as banks often have contracts with terms and conditions that they don't fully understand, in part because they haven't carefully read what they are signing. The contracts that you have in place now are important, because they dictate what you can and can't do in terms of buying new products from third parties, or discontinuing the use of certain products, and they commit you to fees and penalties for changes and early termination that can be significant. Make sure you know exactly what you've committed to, especially with your larger contracts, such as core accounting and item processing, so that your decisions are in line with those contractual relationships. Finally, don't forget that when new contracts are considered (whether for an add-on product, or a complete renewal or new relationship) that you must carefully review those, and consider the terms and conditions so that you improve your position relative to your older contracts.