Financial Services

Our experienced finance experts supply managers and decision-makers with insights into the latest trends and key developments in the world of financial services, both B2B and B2C. These span disruptive industry developments, such as FinTechs, cryptocurrencies and platform business models, as well as global trends like the sustainability focus and the new opportunities that big data brings. With our interdisciplinary team of finance, technology and data experts, we are continuously developing unique and proprietary solutions for use cases right across financial services.

Retail Banking

Increasing regulation and digitalization coupled with persistently low margins have raised the competitive pressure in retail banking across the globe in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic further ramped up the pressure on financial institutions. Customers themselves are increasingly demanding new types of advisory services and solutions along with individualized contact and personalized offerings. And FinTechs are coming in with innovative offerings in many areas, like current accounts and financial investments, leading to a further acceleration of the digital transformation and the rise of new trends like cryptocurrencies/digital assets and the demand for sustainable investment opportunities. Our expert consultants can help you turn these developments to your advantage.

Consumer Finance

With the way people shop having pivoted towards e-commerce and m-commerce and payment methods and habits changing, consumer finance is also undergoing a transformation. Customers expect to be given a choice of ways to shop online fast and easily with payment in installments or on credit. Flexible payment methods such as BNPL (buy now, pay later) are booming and are going to have a massive impact on the financial services sector in the upcoming years. Banks need to rethink their customer journeys and will have to partner with integrated payment solution providers to offer better customer experience alongside improved merchant experience.

Likewise in private mortgage lending, where platform solutions are now dominating large parts of the market and driving innovation: here too, financial institutions need to work out what their strategy should be and adopt a clear positioning. Our financial consulting experts can guide you in the right direction.

Payments

The global payments industry is in the midst of a radical transformation. Changing customer behaviors, new technologies and new competitors combine with an increase in regulation to put pressure on incumbent banks and traditional service providers alike. State-of-the-art payment options and cashless payment instruments will become even more relevant in the future, opening up additional revenue potential. Yet most banks still lag behind Big Tech on innovation, normally limiting themselves to providing certain financial services or parts of the payment infrastructure. Financial institutions will need to adapt their strategy to stay relevant in this key market of the future, either by evolving their offering – building their own solutions – or by partnering with or acquiring other payment providers. Our financial services consultants will help you navigate through the maze of choices.

Cryptocurrencies

Crypto and digital currencies have generated a great deal of interest in the market, with some of them being traded as alternatives to traditional currencies. The market has grown rapidly since the first Bitcoin transaction in January 2009. Even central banks are looking into issuing digital currencies. However, there is still no standardized regulation. Virtual currencies built on a blockchain basis not only offer an explosion of innovation for the financial services industry, they also open up new use cases for companies across the economy. Nevertheless, cryptocurrencies come with a raft of new challenges, including operational and regulatory compliance risks as well as financial reporting considerations. Banks, financial service providers and other companies should already be gearing up for the challenges ahead because the importance of cryptocurrencies and crypto tokens will only continue to grow, transforming global markets and the business models players operate today. Our experts in financial consulting can help you make the right strategic decisions.

Corporate Banking

Corporate banking has long been a stable source of income, but since the COVID pandemic it is increasingly feeling the effects of a lack of digitalization within products and processes. Being more complex and multi-layered than retail banking, the corporate banking business continues to be largely built on services that demand specialist expertise, global networks and a high level of risk provisions. Developments like sustainable finance, the growth of the platform economy and FinTechs' incursions into corporate banking also bring new demands. Financial institutions have no option but to act fast and push ahead with the digital transformation in corporate banking. Secure your competitive advantage by consulting with our financial services experts who can help you double down on your strengths like product expertise and longstanding client relationships in the face of the competition and build new client loyalty that lasts.

Commercial Real Estate Finance

Real estate has been booming for years on the back of low interest rates. But with high inflation forcing central banks to raise interest rates, a downturn is on the cards. Government plans to increase capital requirements for banks are also in the offing and alternative providers of real estate finance like insurance companies and debt funds are gaining significance. New players and new instruments increase both the complexity and the competition in the market. Our expert consultants can help you future-proof your business by accelerating your efficiency gains and scaling your business model faster with digital processes.

Captive Finance and Leasing

Being affiliated with automotive OEMs, captive banks and leasing companies are dependent on the development of the automotive sector and the financial services industry, both of which are currently undergoing their most radical transformation in decades. While automakers are turning themselves into mobility service providers and developing new electric vehicle generations, financial services companies are grappling with low margins, complex regulation, legacy IT systems, changes in customer behavior and innovation pressure exacerbated by FinTechs. Customers, too, increasingly expect to be presented with "one-stop shop" solutions and more flexible offerings such as pay-per-use or subscription models. Leasing and captive finance providers must adapt their product and service portfolios to the new demands and become more agile to remain relevant to younger generations of customers going forward. Besides requiring more customer centricity and flexibility, this will also necessitate the use of new, digital sales channels. Our financial services consultants can help you build all this into your organization.

Asset Management

Despite operating in a part of the financial services sector that has been in a consolidation phase for years, most asset managers are still suffering from an excessively high cost base and the impact of FinTech innovations, increasing regulation and changing investment behavior on the part of their clients, who are moving towards low-margin passive products. Added to that, there are new challenges to contend with, like managing alternative investment opportunities, such as ESG-compliant investments and digital assets, or dealing with rising inflation and New Work. As asset managers, you will need to use AI and blockchain to realign your products and investment strategies to remain competitive going forward. Moving into additional sales channels will also allow you to optimize resources and serve existing clients and approach potential new ones with greater efficiency. Our financial consulting experts will show you how.

Wealth Management

The high net worth individuals market has changed dramatically in recent years. Like all financial services, the wealth management business has major challenges to deal with owing to new and stricter regulation, pressure on margins, legacy IT systems, changing client needs, and new business models coming from FinTechs (such as platform models and robo-advisory). Direct contact with clients remains one of the keys to success in this segment. However, wealth management is yet another area of banking where financial institutions need to digitalize processes and drive forward partnerships with other players in order to make the product range more attractive, enable efficiency gains and provide clients with a more personalized service. Our experts in all aspects of financial services will give you the guidance you need.

Global Markets

Global markets have seen an unprecedented transformation over the past decades – everything from digitalization to high-frequency and algorithmic trading to new regulatory compliance frameworks. Players in this market, from stock exchanges to investment banks, need an agile mindset and organization, end-to-end digitalized business processes, and a clear strategy to attract and keep the best talent in order to be able to compete in this highly dynamic environment. Our financial services experts can help you achieve it.

Development Banks

Development banks have an important role to play in advancing specific public policy goals or supporting wider social and economic development in the countries they operate in. But megatrends like digitalization, globalization, climate change and migration or the COVID-19 pandemic, energy security and energy grid conversion are giving rise to new priorities and changing the market environment for development banks. Even though your development mandate means you are not in competition with other financial institutions, you will still need to adapt your business model to the new reality in order to continue to fulfill your public mission. Our financial services consultants can show you how.

Central Banks and Regulators

Central banks apply their monetary policy to ensure price stability and help stabilize economic development. Now central banks are facing their biggest challenge in decades: containing the rapid rise in inflation worldwide. And expectations are high – from the business community and policymakers alike. What central banks need to do now is strike the right balance between stabilizing the economy and fighting inflation.

Furthermore, digitalization represents a major opportunity for central banks and regulators in the context of enabling better operations, supervisory processes and so on, but it is also a challenge for them to keep pace with the ever faster speed of change in the market. The possible introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) is not the least of the items on the agenda with potentially far-reaching implications that central banks will need to manage. Our financial services experts can guide you in the right direction.

Insurance

Change has been a constant in the insurance sector for years, with providers operating against a continuously evolving backdrop. Insurers must prepare for a phase of general economic consolidation and adopt a more visible role in social sustainability and social protection. What this means is that insurers need to have the capability to react flexibly and must be well prepared for change. Our expert consultants can help you digitalize your products and processes faster, adapt your product portfolio to new client needs and be ready to invest in partnerships. With the benefit of our guidance, you too can ensure a stable business model going forward.

Reinsurance

COVID-19 was the third most expensive event in history for the global reinsurance industry after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. But industry players are also having to deal ever more often with risks stemming from artificial intelligence or cybersecurity loopholes. These social and technological developments and the consequences they bring make the early detection and quantification of potential losses increasingly complex for reinsurers. Our financial services consultants can help you use big data and agile teams to improve your analytics capabilities. Benefiting from our expert guidance, you may also find that partnering with alternative investors can enable you to accelerate your product innovation and diversify your offerings to include primary insurance products and new ancillary services.