The consumer and commercial financial services industry has undergone significant changes in recent years — customers have become more well-informed than ever and demand personalized experiences, regulations have become more stringent, and disruption caused by fintech (financial technology) startups has significantly reduced profit margins. Simply put, financial businesses, such as banks, credit bureaus, credit card companies, and lenders are being challenged from all sides.
Regulation remains the primary driver of change for institutions providing commercial and consumer financial services. Leading financial institutions are hiring thousands of new employees to ensure compliance, as well as paying millions of dollars in penalties for past actions. As a result, profit margins have shrunk considerably, and many financial institutions are finding their consumer business lines not worthy of the regulatory risks and costs.
In their quest for a more personalized experience, consumers are breaking away from banks and working with fintech companies to experience the convenience and ease offered by contactless transactions. As a result, organizations providing consumer financial services have come to the realization that fintech is the future of consumer finance, and therefore, they are devising partnership models and strategies to remain competitive.
While the consumer finance sector has seen an influx of new players, firms providing commercial financial services have faced different challenges over the past few years. Institutional customers are demanding tailored products at a lower price with improved services. Therefore, commercial banks and other financial institutions are facing a pressing need to transition from a product-focused organization to a customer-focused organization to better serve their clients and retain their market share.
To respond to the challenges posed by today’s highly competitive financial landscape, firms operating in the consumer and commercial financial services sector need to upgrade their risk management strategy as well. They need to develop an in-depth understanding of all the risks they face and redesign their operating model accordingly to provide customized experiences to their customers while keeping their operating costs low.
At Allen Austin, we help firms operating in the consumer and commercial finance sector to address the leadership gaps resulting from the complexities of today’s dynamic and highly competitive environment. We partner with financial services companies of all sizes to help them attract, develop, and retain the best leadership talent that is capable of addressing all the challenges in a strategically sound manner.
As a leading executive search firm, Allen Austin has extensive experience in identifying candidates with the right attributes for successful leadership. Adopting a systematic approach towards executive search and leadership development, we deliver proven results to each of our clients.
