In our view, six key enablers set the direction for banks to leverage the Flat World Forces and achieve the strategic shifts required to win in the Flat World.
What we are witnessing today is the emergence of a
new and qualitatively higher level of globalization. Trends like the
opening up of emerging economies
...
accelerated cross border M & As within financial services; a reverse capital
flow from emerging markets like India and China into the global markets; a
growing demand for cross border financial services from the global citizens
of the Flat World as well as the hordes of businesses that are localizing and
global regulatory convergence as seen through regulatory initiatives like Basel
II, Sarbanes Oxley, IAS and so on – are creating hitherto unexplored
and unprecedented opportunities for growth.
Emergence of several new customer segments across the world is creating tremendous
opportunity for banks to grow rapidly and gain new market share.
...
While old loyalties are fast dying, new ones are being created. To maximize this opportunity, banks are
redefining their segmentation strategies, leveraging advanced analytics and dynamic
micro segmentation and relationship based pricing; launching several new innovative
products like product bundles, offset accounts, global mobility accounts, cross border
payments, and so on; creating new lines of businesses – Islamic banking,
In a world where service is increasingly seen as a hygiene factor, where new players
and new products emerge seemingly out of nowhere,
...
and where commoditization of
products is the order of the day, the winning banks in the Flat World are investing in
creating differentiation through continuous innovation.
Every dimension of a bank’s business today demands an unprecedented shift in speed
and agility. The forces flattening the banking world
...
– globalization, demographics,
technology and regulation – demand the highest level of agility from banks. Agile banks
are able to respond to competitive pressures and regulatory challenges quickly and can
proactively identify and seize emerging opportunities.
The flattening of the world is throwing multiple opportunities for banks to dramatically
reinvent their operating model leading to reduced complexity,
...
greater standardization
and lower cost. It’s also an imperative for survival and success in the Flat World
The Flat World context brings with it a host of risks; from risks on the compliance front
with a growing host of regulations,
...
to market and currency risks in an integrated global
economy, to the political and cultural risks intrinsic to a fast globalizing world, to the
technology risks in a world where technology has almost make or break power over
an organization, to the risks inherent in any such transformational journey, as is the
case with the aim of achieving strategic shifts required to compete in a Flat World.