The Question Your Board Isn’t Asking
“At what point does our business model become uneconomic?”
Not “What pressures do we face?” or “What trends should we watch?” – but the actual mathematical conditions under which your NIM goes negative, your deposits flee, your regulatory burden exceeds your franchise value, and your decision-making becomes obsolete.
Most bank CEOs can’t answer this with precision. Neither can their Boards.
That’s not a strategy problem. It’s a survival problem.
What We Do
Bancly answers three questions your Board needs answered — with the same rigor you’d expect from your CRO on stress testing, but applied to strategic viability:
1. When does our business model break? (Not if. When. Under what conditions.)
2. Which strategic decisions can’t wait — and what’s the deadline? (Not discussions. Decisions. With dates.)
3. Can our organization actually move fast enough to matter? (Not aspirationally. Measured against what the future demands.)
We deliver answers in 150 days. Not trend reports. Not scenario stories. Mathematical break points, decision calendars, and metabolic assessments.
The kind of clarity that lets you defend billion-dollar commitments to your Board — or challenge assumptions before they destroy shareholder value.
The Bancly Method
MONTH 1: VIABILITY PHYSICS
We map the four equations that determine whether your bank remains economically viable.
The Spread Equation
At what interest rate does your NIM turn negative? Not “rates are falling” — but “at 2.3% policy rates, retail lending destroys value given current cost structure and regulatory capital requirements.”
The Trust Equation
Under what conditions do customers move deposits? Not “CBDC is a risk” — but “if CBDC offers 1.5% yield with instant access, 15-25% of retail deposits migrate within 18 months.”
The License Equation
When does regulatory burden exceed franchise value? Not “compliance is expensive” — but “full-service license costs $42M annually plus $850M in trapped capital, requiring $95M in licensing-dependent revenue to break even.”
The Intelligence Equation
When do algorithmic decisions outperform yours at lower cost? Not “AI is coming” — but “AI credit models cross performance parity in SME lending by Q2 2027 at 1/40th your current cost-per-decision.”
You receive: A 40-page Viability Stress Assessment that tells your Board exactly where you’re structurally vulnerable, with the precision of an ICAAP stress test applied to your strategic positioning.
MONTH 2-3: DECISION ARCHITECTURE
We identify the strategic forks you face and calculate when each decision window closes.
Your Board debates strategy endlessly. What’s missing is the decision calendar — the specific dates by which choices become irreversible, and the capital/capability requirements of each path.
Business Model Fork: Integrated vs. unbundled vs. platform — what does each require, when must you commit, what can’t be undone?
Margin vs. Volume Fork: Defend NIM or pursue share — at what capital cost, with what market share threshold for success?
Regulatory Positioning Fork: Full-service license vs. narrow banking — what’s the economic value of each, where’s the crossover point?
Technology Sovereignty Fork: Build vs. cloud vs. hybrid — what are the true exit costs, concentration risks, and regulatory implications?
Talent Model Fork: Human-led vs. AI-augmented vs. algorithmic — what’s the capability timeline, cost curve, regulatory feasibility?
We don’t give you scenarios to ponder. We give you forks to decide — with deadlines, path dependencies, and irreversibility points mapped.
Plus quantified P&L and balance sheet implications across six structural forces: technology maturity, regulatory direction, customer behavior, competitive dynamics, economic regimes, and risk evolution.
You receive: A 60-page Strategic Decision Architecture that converts uncertainty into a commitment calendar your Board can govern against.
MONTH 4-5: ORGANIZATIONAL METABOLISM
We assess whether your bank can actually execute at the speed required.
Most strategies fail not because the direction was wrong, but because the organization couldn’t move fast enough. Your competitors aren’t making better decisions — they’re making them faster.
We measure four organizational speeds:
Sense Speed: How long from signal to decision-maker? (You: quarterly. Required: real-time)
Decision Speed: How long to commit to strategic forks? (You: 18-24 months. Required: 90 days)
Execution Speed: How long to build new capabilities? (You: 3-5 years. Required: 6-12 months)
Learning Speed: How fast do you update beliefs? (You: annual strategy refresh. Required: quarterly hypothesis testing)
Then we design interventions: early warning dashboards, 90-day decision gates, capability SWAT teams, normalized failure protocols — the governance changes that make your bank fast enough to survive its future.
Plus integration into your existing Board, ExCo, and Risk Committee rhythms. Foresight becomes governance, not a workshop.
You receive: A 40-page Governance & Readiness Framework that shows whether you can move fast enough — and what to do if you can’t.
What You Actually Get
140 pages across three documents. Not 350. Not comprehensive in the McKinsey sense. Comprehensive in the “answers the questions that determine survival” sense.
Mathematical precision on break points. Not “pressures exist” but “spread fails at 2.3% rates.” Not “AI is a threat” but “algorithmic decisioning crosses parity Q2 2027.”
A decision calendar with dates. Not strategic options. Strategic forks with deadlines and irreversibility points. The governance tool your Board has been missing.
Honest metabolic assessment. We’ll tell you if you’re too slow. Most consultants assume execution capability. We measure it.
Board-ready presentations. Designed for governance, not management theater.
150 days from kickoff to final Board presentation. McKinsey takes 12-18 months for comparable depth. We’re 5x faster because we’re not writing to impress — we’re writing to force decisions.
Why This Matters Now
Your Board asks questions like:
“Should we invest $200M in AI?”
“Do we need to exit certain segments?”
“Should we pursue a narrow banking license?”
“Are we moving fast enough?”
You give answers based on business cases, consultant recommendations, and management intuition.
What’s missing: The mathematical precision on when your current model fails, which decisions can’t wait, and whether your organization can execute.
Without that precision, every Board discussion becomes: more analysis, more debate, deferred decisions.
With that precision: Your Board can govern. Your strategy has forcing mechanisms. Your organization knows the clock is ticking.
Proof
Since 2022, we’ve completed 12 Strategic Mapping engagements with banks from $15B to $400B in assets.
Regional Bank, $28B in assets
We calculated their spread equation would break at 2.8% rates — 18 months out.
They exited three low-margin segments and automated 40% of operations.
Result: NIM stabilized. Cost-to-income dropped from 68% to 59%. ROE improved 180bps.
Mid-Tier Bank, $120B in assets
We identified license equation stress — compliance costs rising faster than revenue.
They pursued narrow banking license for digital arm while maintaining full license for core.
Result: Regulatory capital freed. Product launches 30% faster. Board confidence restored.
Large Bank, $380B in assets
We diagnosed intelligence equation risk — decision quality lagging, talent gaps widening.
They committed $200M to AI decisioning, restructured for speed, installed 90-day gates.
Result: Decision latency cut from 9 months to 6 weeks. Early entry into two new segments.
These weren’t “transformation programs.” These were precision diagnostics that forced decisions before the window closed.
What Happens Next
Step 1: 90-Minute Diagnostic (Complimentary)
We pressure-test your viability equations with your CEO, CFO, and CRO.
You’ll leave knowing:
- Which equation is most fragile
- Which strategic fork is most urgent
- Whether your decision windows are still open
- If your organization can move fast enough
No sales pitch. Just honest assessment. If you don’t need us, we’ll tell you.
Step 2: If We Proceed
150-day engagement. Three deliverables. Board presentations. Methodology transfer.
Investment:
- Regional Bank ($10B-50B): $550,000
- Mid-Tier Bank ($50B-200B): $800,000
- Large Bank ($200B-500B): $1,100,000
- Universal Bank ($500B+): $1,500,000
ROI context: One prevented bad acquisition saves $50M-500M in destroyed value. One early strategic pivot improves ROE by 200-500bps. One avoided regulatory blindside saves $20M-200M in compliance costs.
Our fee is less than 5 basis points of your annual revenue.
The cost of being wrong is orders of magnitude higher.
Step 3: Optional Implementation Support
6-12 month execution partnership to ensure strategy doesn’t get shelved:
- Decision-forcing sessions at strategic forks
- Metabolic acceleration interventions
- Capability building and governance embedding
- Continuous intelligence and scenario updates
Fee: $500K-900K depending on scope and duration.
Most strategy fails in execution. We stay to ensure yours doesn’t.
One More Thing
Your Board has a fiduciary duty to oversee long-term strategy and risk.
But most Boards lack the tools to do it effectively. They debate trends endlessly. They ask for more analysis. They defer decisions.
Not because they’re incompetent. Because they lack the precision instruments.
Viability physics. Decision calendars. Metabolic assessments.
These are the instruments your Board needs to actually govern your bank’s future — not just react to its present.
We built them specifically for banking. They work.
Schedule Your Diagnostic
90 minutes with your executive team. Complimentary. No sales pitch.
We’ll tell you which viability equation is breaking, which fork can’t wait, and whether you can move fast enough.
If you’re in danger, you’ll know. If you’re not, we’ll tell you that too.
How Bancly Delivers Foresight
We combine disciplined foresight, banking expertise, and governance clarity. We transform weak signals into strategic narratives, connect scenarios to financial KPIs, and equips boards with decision-grade clarity they can act on.
Why Banks Need Foresight
When disruption moves faster than planning cycles, intuition is no longer enough. Foresight gives CEOs and boards the visibility required to protect earnings, steer risk, and stay competitive before the market forces their hand.
Explore Our Past Work
A look at how we have helped banks navigate uncertainty, strengthen governance, and make sharper strategic decisions. Real-world examples of how Bancly has helped banks align boards, and turn foresight into measurable strategic outcomes.
