The conference Overall Bank Management 2015 took place at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management for the third time on February 26th. The main topic of the conference was how risk management, capital management, and business models of banks are influenced by current regulatory requirements, corporate governance, and the market environment, and what further developments are going to emerge in these fields.
Firstly, the number of experienced and renowned professionals and researchers from the financial sector was impressive. Secondly, the conference offered a great opportunity to gain cutting-edge knowledge of risk management and overall bank management from different perspectives and to discuss how the Basel III regulations will influence the Europe’s banking system. Thirdly, it was insightful to see how the leaders of the banking sphere present their topics and grab the attention of the audience.
Nowadays banks are facing low returns due to low interest rates and increased regulatory capital requirements. The challenge is therefore to establish a sustainable business model in a competitive environment. Sustainable business models need to regain the customers’ trust that was lost since the 2007 financial crisis. That is why banking business models should be based on customers and their desires.
The model is pretty simple: one has to decrease costs and to increase profits.
To do so banks should determine their risk appetite and identify specific risks across the industry. In addition, strong understanding of clients’ needs is important. That is why digitizing and tailoring the product spectrum are the main concerns of the banks.
Furthermore, to decrease costs, banks should build up streamlined automated models, implement new IT technologies, and invest in big data analysis.
The conclusions about the future of the banking system in the report of Stefan Bielmeier, chief economist of DZ Bank AG, were very interesting.
Negative outcomes:
Positive outcomes:
Of course, the main goal of the conference was to share professional experience and viewpoints, but the gathered information was pretty useful for everyday life. For example, CFO of Deutsche Bank AG Stefan Krause had an interesting report “Business Models Under Pressure – Challenges for Policy Development”, in which he showed not only how banks should establish a sustainable business model, but also how to solve problems in everyday life.
Instinctively, when confronted with a problem, we analyse it quickly to find solutions. Our brain compares new situations with old experiences, even if they are different, and makes conclusions. But nowadays the changes in our environment are profound, so to solve a new problem it is necessary to understand exactly what needs to be solved. As was told by American philosopher and educator John Dewey “A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved”.
Another great report, that could be implemented not only in banking, was the speech held by Dr. Thomas Keil, Chairman of the Board for “Working Group Big Data”, BITKOM. He used the examples of PayPal, and targeted marketing, to demonstrate that big data management is important not only in the banking industry. Dr. Thomas Keil stated that increased use of data and analytics strengthens every business model.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you, the reader, for your attention and of course the Frankfurt School Verlag for organising such a high-level information and discussion platform that not only provided cutting-edge knowledge but also gave some important advices for everyday life.
And I will strongly recommend everyone to attend similar conferences to enhance the FS experience.