The following article was adapted from a podcast hosted by Tearsheet featuring Galileo Chief Product Officer David Feuer and Valley Bank COO Russell Barrett.

When New Jersey-based Valley Bank needed to update its banking core to better serve evolving consumer demand and support an ambitious expansion plan, the bank faced a dilemma: how to modernize its core while maintaining critical consumer trust. 

Valley Bank was able to successfully perform this balancing act–completing the ambitious core conversion in just 16 months. For banks considering a core modernization of their own, Valley’s experience offers valuable lessons, as explored in a recent webinar discussion between Valley Chief Operating Officer Russell Barrett and David Feuer, Chief Product Officer of Galileo Financial Technologies.

Challenges and Strategies Behind Core Banking Modernization

The Galileo Financial Technologies Podcast

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Why organizational alignment is a must

As Barrett explained, Valley Bank’s need to upgrade their core was motivated by two fundamental drivers: growing customer demand for modern financial tools and services and the desire to transform organizational culture from a legacy mindset to one better suited for today's digital-centric banking landscape.

3 Ways Banks Can Overcome the Tech Modernization Hurdle

To ensure organizational alignment, Valley Bank took an unconventional approach by managing the entire project internally rather than relying heavily on external consultants, Barrett noted. The bank established an organizational change management team that visited all 227 retail branches to ensure every associate understood the transformation's impact on their role. 

“Change management begins and ends with that principled alignment at the top, and then making sure that the culture understands that one of the key pieces is to swim in the same direction, which then goes to setting the guiding principles on how you’re going to go through something like that,” said Barrett. 

How to modernize tech while maintaining customer trust

Along with bank-wide organizational alignment, another priority was ensuring the bank maintained customer trust throughout the core modernization process. In this respect, modern consumer attitudes toward change helped make this goal more achievable, Feuer noted. While traditional banking emphasized stability and consistency, newer generations view trust differently. 

Adapt or Become Irrelevant: Incremental Core Modernization vs Full Transformation

"This next generation actually trusts things that are ever-evolving, ever-changing, and they view that as a form of customer sensitivity," Feuer said–adding that the challenge for banks is maintaining security and reliability while demonstrating this customer-focused agility. In fact, the importance of security, reliability and trust will be just as critical in banking’s digital future as it was in its brick-and-mortar past, the Galileo CPO emphasized.

Valley Bank’s Barrett agreed, noting that in the years ahead, banks that wish to remain competitive will need to balance three critical elements: strong customer relationships, deep community involvement, and engaged employees. 

"Banking's heritage always ties back to communities,” Barrett said. “The future of banking isn't just about technological advancement; it's about using technology to strengthen these fundamental relationships while adapting to evolving customer needs.”

Want to learn more?

Contact us to find out how Galileo can help your bank get core modernization right.