Turning the Ship: Why TM Leadership Can't Wait
Building a strong Treasury Management program isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s more like turning a ship. Once you set a new course, it takes steady effort, clear direction, and patience before you feel the momentum shift.
We were reminded of this recently during a recent call with a prospective client. They’ve already rolled out several Treasury Management services over the years and have several Treasury Management Officers. But like many banks, they realized that to truly strengthen their program, they need two things: a solid Account Analysis platform and a dedicated Treasury Management Manager to bring it all together.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. A lot of banks are in the same position: they’ve built good individual pieces of a program, but those pieces aren’t yet working as one system. Services exist, but pricing may be inconsistent. Sales teams sell what they know rather than what’s most strategic. Operations keep things running, but no one owns the overall direction. When that happens, growth slows, and customers start to notice uneven experiences.
That’s where leadership makes all the difference. Every successful Treasury Management program we’ve seen shares one key trait: clear ownership. A Treasury Management Manager isn’t just another title; it’s a role that creates focus. This person connects Sales (Lending), Operations, IT, and Risk. They track projects, evaluate systems, and keep initiatives moving forward when daily demands threaten to pull everyone off course.
A good TM Manager becomes the voice of the department inside the bank. They know what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next. They coordinate pricing decisions, standardize product delivery, and partner with marketing to tell the bank’s TM story more effectively. They work with vendors to evaluate technology, and they make sure the customer experience reflects the bank’s strategy.
Without that leadership, projects can drag out for months or even years. Everyone’s working hard. Without clear ownership, progress happens in fits and starts.
Even with the right person in place, it still takes time to build momentum. Transforming your TM program isn’t a quick win; it’s a multi-year journey. Depending on your starting point, it can take 18 to 36 months to reach a level of maturity where everything runs smoothly with pricing, delivery, analysis, and reporting all aligned with your goals. That’s not a bad thing. It simply reflects the complexity of integrating TM across multiple departments, systems, and customer segments.
The key is to start now. The longer your program goes without clear leadership, the harder it becomes to align priorities, measure progress, and sustain forward motion. If you’ve already identified someone who can take on the TM Manager role, give them the authority and tools to lead. If you haven’t, it may be time to start defining the position.
It’s also worth re-evaluating your Account Analysis system while you’re at it. Many banks are still relying on outdated tools that don’t support modern reporting, pricing, or profitability analysis. A good system will give you the visibility to make better decisions about your customers, your pricing structure, and your product mix.
So, as you plan your next steps, remember that transformation takes time. Once the right person is in place and the right tools are supporting them, you’ll start to see the ship turn. Slowly at first, then steadily, and finally with real momentum.
If you’re already on that journey, keep going. You’re building something that will serve your customers and your institution for years to come. And if you’re still deciding when to start, the answer is simple: sooner is better.
- Marci and Tim
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