Information network technology in the banking industry

The banking and thrift industries are experiencing a technological metamorphosis. New technologies such as advanced computer operating systems, wide and local area networks (WAN, LAN), and the Internet, are becoming significant strategic areas for financial institutions. The impact, composition, and trends of information technology on the banking and thrift institutions within a seven‐state region of the southeastern United States are examined. Bank characteristics such as asset size, number of employees, number of full service locations, areas of lending, and return on assets are evaluated in relation to the status, scope, and experience with computer network systems. Research indicates that a number of bank composition and operations variables behaved statistically independent between size variables (assets, number of employees, and number of branches) and WAN access. The survey data also indicate that return on assets and network system variables are independent. Therefore, networks systems have not had a direct impact on the bottom line.