2021 Household Balance Sheet: Banking Strategy Special Feature

New Boss. New Direction: Strategic Renovation at Major International Banks

The combination of a global pandemic, historically low interest rates, advances in technology and demanding shareholders have created a global business environment that has required major banks, insurers, asset managers and other participants in the financial services sector to look in the mirror and question their strategic focus. Another driver of change has been the arrival of a new breed of chief executive officers.

Investor Economics supports the development of strategy by our clients through important publications such as the Household Balance Sheet Report. In a new whitepaper, we shine the spotlight on global banking strategy and the swift changes that have been taking place in the direction of a number of banks as the result of the challenging environment and the new leaders at the sample of banks that we reviewed. It seems that, despite the press releases that talk about “business as usual”, there is nothing normal about the strategic renovation that has taken place over the last two years among this cross-section of major banks.

The lessons from the analysis are many and the issues at play and the decisions taken will resonate not only with senior banking executives in Canada but also with C-suite occupants at many financial institutions who have the responsibility to look well beyond annual budgeting and planning to the strategic horizon.