The Banking Scene: Today’s banking challenges and the search for a new ethos
Banks are constantly transforming; we all know that, we all talk about that. The Banking Scene, a community for the industry, sparked much discussion over the past few months about today’s banking challenges and the search for a new ethos in the industry.
The Banking Scene Conference 2023 Brussels will take place on 16 May
Our first events this year in Luxembourg and Amsterdam demonstrated that digital transformation and unexpected events affect the industry more than ever and are more fundamental than before.
Yet, the context in which banks do transformation seems different. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed this, but where previously the basis for digital transformation was fear, today I believe it is much more about hope and opportunity.
Banks used ‘to do digital transformation’ as a fear of missing out. They developed digital banking, set up innovation departments and organised hackathons under pressure from new entrants and fintech companies. They did digital out of fear of losing clients, or fear of legacy cost structures. They did digital for many other reasons, but primarily out of fear.
So what has changed? What makes me think that transformation in the industry is different today?
In essence, banks are there to realise dreams. They facilitate daily transactions to make life easier; they enable families to become homeowners; they safeguard income and grow businesses with financial solutions.
We sometimes tend to forget this, but that is what banking is about: to realise dreams.
Luckily today, the industry realises this more than ever before. Banks are taking the initiative to improve digital and financial well-being, sometimes at the expense of shareholder value. They contribute to a greener society, perhaps not always as fast as some people hope, but they do. Even digital transformation is understood to augment the existing workforce rather than eliminate jobs.
Banks look to creative solutions to make life easier for their clients and their environment. Call me naïve as much as you want, but I believe digital transformation today comes with a sense of urgency to do good.
Transformation today starts with the hope for a better world, and we are just at the start of this evolution. An evolution that requires a new ethos in banking.
Of course, there will always be exceptions, rotten apples. You read the news and experienced the stress. The banking industry is shivering again, and the debate on the new ethos in banking is more pressing than ever. How can banks keep realising those dreams?
As Jerry Grbic, CEO of the Luxembourg Banking Association ABBL, shared in January: “Part of the banking sector had lost his ethos, causing irreparable damage to the whole industry. So what do we do about this? How can we restore and consolidate trust? Or from a more positive angle, do we see opportunities or areas where we can put into practice the lessons learned?”
These are vital questions for the industry going forward. That is essentially the debate we will continue on Tuesday 16 May at The Banking Scene Conference 2023 Brussels, with C-level bank executives from Benelux and beyond, including the CEOs of vdk bank, Beobank, Clearbank, the European Banking Federation and many more, as well as international thought leaders like Leda Glyptis, Andrew Vorster and Ghela Boskovich. Payments leaders are also welcome at the payments stage to hear about all the new developments in the wonderful world of payment innovations.
