New technologies support a Corporate customer experience

In the first blog of this two-part series, we looked at how banks—faced with new competitors and a rapidly evolving environment—are taking new approaches to the corporate banking market. The disruption in the market is directly attributable to the emergence of new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain, but banks that can harness these technologies can not only become more efficient but can develop new offerings and attract new corporate clients. Blockchain, for example, can help banks reinvent the front, middle and back offices and consolidate middle and back-office resources, while big data and AI can support the middle office in its quest for insight.

The bigger prize, however, will be for banks that can use these new technologies to deliver an Open Banking experience: cross-bank and cross-client views that are coordinated with the historical vertical views of cash management and trade finance, value-added services delivered through superior insight, with service partners or with platform partners.

The more successful banks will differentiate themselves with an outstanding user experience, innovative new services, and an emphasis on the intellectual property needed to draw value from data and risk management expertise. In addition, top banks will develop effective digital marketing approaches dedicated to current and prospective corporate clients.

We believe the gulf between banking “stars” and laggards will widen and that this will be reflected in their respective share prices. We are entering a new world characterized by a “corporate customer experience”; in this environment, banks’ organizations will evolve, with the creation of more transversal roles and more client-centricity. We envision banks appointing heads of coverage and/or client experience who have a full view of the customer, and who supervise individuals with similar transversal roles, such as head of large corporates or head of small caps.