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…
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…
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: – …
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…
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…
Within banks, service repeatedly wins out over sales; however, it is a Pyrrhic victory. Ask a commercial banking RM how much time he/she spends selling and to this day the…
Many bank executives view relationship banker training as a sacrosanct area, one that will pay for itself with improved sales, service, and customer and client satisfaction. However, our long-time perspective…
Our client work indicates that, at many banks, the core middle market segment (say $50 million+ in revenue) is suffering from slowed growth and lowered returns. Mid-sized companies now operate…
Virtually all our bank clients, whether the project centers on retail, small business, middle market, or wealth management, are currently focusing on cross-sell — in particular, how to grow non-credit…
At a recent dinner, Tom Brown, the hedge fund manager and former banking analyst, commented that within most banks, the small business segment fails to receive the attention or priority…