According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), there were 7,025 FDIC-insured commercial banks as of February 2009, including large global and national banks, regional banks and community or branch banks. Each of these segments has distinct security goals, risks, policies and budgets. Community banks, which generally have under $100 million in assets, make up about 40 percent of the FDIC-insured banks and may present the greatest business opportunity for security dealers and integrators.
Besides efficiency, banks seek technologies that are operator-friendly and unobtrusive. Roy Thurston, senior account manager, Honeywell Security & Communications, Melville, N.Y., adds, “Employees frequently move between branches, so security systems must be easy to operate and consistent throughout an organization’s facilities.”