Account Misalignment Destroys Bank Growth and Profitability
In past months, we have worked with banks, large and small, in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa. When we assess our clients’ portfolios, no matter their geography or size,…
Is Your Organization Passive Aggressive?
October’s Harvard Business Review highlights an organizational issue that impacts a number of our clients. The article, an outgrowth of a Booz Allen Hamilton survey of 30,000 individuals, states…
The Increasing Competition for Commercial Loans, Part 2
In our last newsletter, we discussed some of the key messages arising from the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation’s State of the Industry Report and its potential implications for the…
Commercial Lending: The Competitive Environment Remains
For the past several years, FIC has worked with the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation (ELFF) to prepare its annual State of the Industry Report. Based on surveys of more…
The Continued Destructiveness of Silos Within Banks
Organizational and cultural silos continue to exist within most financial services players. Silos sap energy and distract employees from serving customers and combating competitors; instead, they lead to a focus…
Mastering Risk: The Balance Between Risk and Reward
Last Friday, the Financial Times began a four-part series titled “Mastering Risk,” dealing with issues related to strategic, financial, and operational risk management. The lead-off article of the series (“A…
How Can Banks Achieve Peak Performance?
Each summer, the Financial Times presents a 20-day “Summer School” consisting of daily articles dissecting and discussing key business issues. Last month, one essay focused on the topic of…
Building an Execution-Oriented Organization: "Split up or Stay Together"
In recent weeks, we have had several client discussions around the issue of whether separate dedicated groups should be formed to focus on specific market opportunities; for example: – …
Start with Internal Best Practices
As part of our strategic work, we regularly provide our clients with case examples and analyses of their key competitors. The Value of Best Practice Analysis Our clients want to…
Decommoditization: Differentiating Your Company
Banks and other financial service providers want to differentiate themselves from the increasing number of competitors and position themselves as offering their customers something unique. The benefits of doing so…