There is still money to be made from lending. But the future of many banks in Europe still looks bleak: More and more players are entering the lending business and intensifying competition, which has already become tougher as a result of globalization. Whether it’s IT giants like Apple and Amazon or comparison portals that suddenly have their own banking license – they’re all shaking up the market with new offerings. Traditional financial institutions, on the other hand, are paralyzing themselves: with rigid decision-making processes, lengthy processing times, a lot of manual activity, redundant processes and the inability to adapt permanently, flexibly and quickly to market conditions. The simple question of whether a regulated banking product is still up to date causes many a banker to hyperventilate within the first few minutes of a discussion. But in today’s connected and automated world, fossils from the pre-digital age have no chance of surviving.
But there is also good news: Banks still have the opportunity – albeit not for much longer – to turn the tide. By completing the digital transformation, towards an agile financial institution with a service platform characterized by customer-friendly, individualized offers and efficient processes …