The biggest surprise was how hard it was to find anyone who actually understood how the system works. I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of people have never met an actual banker. All of the people you interact with at your local bank branch are either sales people or technicians. They know about as much about banking as the guy working the Jiffy Lube knows about cars.
Not only that, but getting a meeting with someone who understands how banking actually works under the hood is nearly impossible. In fact, even finding such a person is nearly impossible. Not only do the front-line people in banks not understand how their industry works, they don't even know who does understand.
There is also a huge disconnect between banking and IT. I once had half a million dollars go missing for two weeks because of a wire transfer snafu. No one could figure out where the money was. The only reason it was recovered is that the person to whom the money had been wired incorrectly noticed and sent it back.
Not only that, but getting a meeting with someone who understands how banking actually works under the hood is nearly impossible. In fact, even finding such a person is nearly impossible. Not only do the front-line people in banks not understand how their industry works, they don't even know who does understand.
There is also a huge disconnect between banking and IT. I once had half a million dollars go missing for two weeks because of a wire transfer snafu. No one could figure out where the money was. The only reason it was recovered is that the person to whom the money had been wired incorrectly noticed and sent it back.