Andrew Holland has spent much of his career thinking about how financial products can work better for customers

Andrew Holland understands why online banks can be appealing to consumers looking for a savings account. Earlier in his career, he helped build and launch one himself.

But he believes customers today are looking for more than a competitive rate.

“Rate is important, but it’s only one part of the value proposition,” said Holland, who leads managed-rate products and deposit portfolio pricing for U.S. Bank. “We have an opportunity to bring together the breadth of U.S. Bank — our products, digital capabilities, branches and people — to create more value for customers as their relationship with us grows.”

That philosophy is at the heart of the Smartly product suite, including Smartly Checking, Smartly Savings and the Smartly Visa Signature® Card, he said. The products are designed to work together, giving customers additional benefits as they build a deeper relationship with U.S. Bank.

And customers are responding. Since its launch in fall 2024, Smartly Savings has attracted more than $50 billion in deposits, while the broader Smartly suite has grown to more than $84 billion.

A career built on numbers — and opportunities
The Seattle-based Holland’s path to banking began with accounting. After studying the subject in college, he worked at one of the Big Four accounting firms, where he gained experience working with a wide range of companies and management teams.

“It was a fun way to start my career,” Holland said. “I got exposure to a lot of different businesses and leaders, and it gave me a really strong foundation.”

A former colleague later introduced him to an opportunity at Union Bank. Holland joined the bank during the financial crisis, working in mergers and acquisitions and helping integrate smaller companies that had become distressed during the downturn.

His next opportunity came when the bank was looking for new sources of U.S. dollar deposits. The bank decided to create a direct-to-consumer digital bank Holland became part of the team responsible for bringing it to life.

“That was one of the most exciting programs I’ve worked on because we were creating something from scratch during a really fast-paced time,” he said.

The experience gave Holland a firsthand perspective on how technology, product design and pricing can come together to change the way customers bank.

By 2021, when U.S. Bank announced its acquisition of Union Bank, Holland had taken on broader responsibilities, including leading a team of roughly 100 data and analytics professionals and co-leading the bank’s retail deposit business.

The acquisition became another important chapter in his career.

“It was a really transformative time,” Holland said. “I got to take on things that I probably wouldn’t have gotten in an organic way, and it was rewarding to help my team navigate such a significant change.”

Following the acquisition, Holland joined U.S. Bank, where he took on leadership of managed-rate products and deposit portfolio pricing.

Building value for customers
Today, much of Holland’s focus is on continuing to evolve how U.S. Bank serves consumers across their broader financial relationships.

“We’re creating more interconnected experiences across our products,” he said. “When customers have multiple products with us, we want them to see meaningful additional value from that relationship.”

That work extends beyond deposits. U.S. Bank is continuing to explore ways to bring the Smartly approach into areas such as personal borrowing and home lending.

“We’re really trying to make sure we’re holistically bringing the best of U.S. Bank to our consumer clients across their relationship with us,” Holland said. “And even if you’re just starting the relationship, the day-one, dollar-one benefits are great as well.”

For Holland, the opportunity is as much about solving customer needs as it is about competing in a rapidly changing banking landscape.

“U.S. Bank has got a great culture,” he said. “We have a strong leadership team, clear direction and great colleagues, and the pace is rapidly accelerating.”

Outside of work, Holland’s time is largely devoted to his two elementary school-aged children and their sports and activities. He credits his wife of nearly 15 years, Jamie, with making it possible to balance the demands of work and family.

He also brings the same competitive spirit to his life outside the bank that he brings to his work. He is currently training for a trail ultramarathon — a fitting challenge for someone who enjoys pushing himself and testing what’s possible.

“I live and breathe on the competition,” Holland said of the competition for consumer deposits. “It makes it fun to come to work.”