Financial GIS

A Geographic Information System (GIS) can be used effectively in the banking and financial sector to make banks and financial institutions more successful in sales and marketing, regulatory compliance, business continuity planning, and service location and site evaluation. Using geospatial visualization allows banks to gather information and make connections that might be missed by using traditional tables and charts.

Sales and Marketing
GIS affords the banking industry the ability to know where their customers are, what they buy, how much they spend, and their demographic information. By using this data, banks and financial institutions can identify which financial products and services will best fit their customer’s needs. From this information, they are also able to specifically target portions of their customer base for specialized services.

Regulatory Compliance
GIS simplifies federal government compliance requirements such as those outlined in the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). By utilizing GIS, these institutions are able provide the detailed reporting required without dedicating significant time and resources.

Business Continuity Planning
GIS allows banks and financial institutions to make snapshots of where their assets are, the arrangement of their facilities, and the placement of employees. By using these geospatial visualizations, managers can implement what-if situations which allow them to be better prepared in the case of an emergency. Examples can range from knowing the best way to evacuate employees from buildings, to knowing how to reroute operations to get business back up and available so that customers are able to regain access to their finances.

Service Location and Site Evaluation
GIS provides financial institutions with the ability to make effective decisions for future site location. Using data such as demographics, income, buying trends, and locations of competitors, a GIS can be used to generate maps that help users decide the best location for a new branch or ATM.

Financial GIS, Banking GIS, & Retail Banking Research
GIS is a powerful tool for conducting research into location competition, the financial-geospatial landscape, and the network interactions of the banking sector.