Savings banks—Manage finance, risk and compliance
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Challenges
Managing stricter risks and regulations in times of upheaval
Low interest rates, complex regulations and rapid digital transformation are putting pressure on savings banks in their core areas and pushing them to realign their business model. We know how savings banks can succeed in positioning themselves strongly for the future. Our holistic approach covers all relevant topics: from strategy to planning and bank management to regulatory reporting.
Cost pressure on the rise
Low and further declining margins in the interest-rate and lending business continue to increase cost pressure on savings banks. Also, less and less income is generated from money market and capital market transactions. Savings banks must be able to understand every product, every type of product and every business segment in detail and precisely control their profitability. This is a mandatory basis for strategically defining objectives and aligning customer and proprietary business.
Regulatory requirements are becoming more complex
In addition to the difficult conditions on the financial markets, savings banks must also consistently integrate stricter regulatory requirements into their management processes. The professional implementation of supervisory requirements is a basic prerequisite for audits by the supervisory authorities and can minimize the need for additional capital requirements for savings banks.
Digitalization requires a willingness to adapt
Digital innovations are changing customer behavior and workflows within institutions. They offer savings banks a number of opportunities to increase efficiency, which they should definitely take advantage of. One of these opportunities is the automatic creation of data within an institution—from customer contact to regulatory reporting. Methods, processes and reports can be standardized across all savings banks. With the help of new, agile methods, institutions can organize and develop themselves more efficiently.
Regulatory requirements are becoming more complex. And much more extensive.
Insights
Changes in the financial markets and new customer behavior are forcing every savings bank to evolve the methods and technologies it uses to manage the entire bank. In addition to bank management tasks, savings banks must review their investment activities on money and capital markets in order to manage risks in customer business more reliably and better exploit the potential of proprietary business.
Savings banks will have to deal with the implementation of new supervisory requirements for some time to come, even though the publication of new rules may have passed its peak. The institutions must now implement these requirements in the revised OSPlus-Banksteuerung bank management system, which will be successively designed and implemented by S Rating und Risikosysteme (SR) and Finanz Informatik (FI).
Almost all bank management tools will change as a result. Managers and employees are confronted with entirely new challenges in bank management. Further training, retention and recruitment of employees are critical cornerstones of an institution’s future viability.
Solutions
zeb helps savings banks to optimize integrated strategy and planning processes. We answer existential questions such as these: Is the business model future-proof? What is the optimal level of costs? How can institutions set up an efficient sales management that takes account of changing customer behavior and the use of digital channels? What precautions can be taken to efficiently manage capital requirements?
To react to changes in customer behavior, savings banks must adjust or realign their revenue and cost management, risk controlling and regulatory reporting. zeb assists in introducing omni-channel management, i.e. the measurement of sales performance via the respective channels from branches to online banking. We support our clients during regulatory audits and their follow-up. The same applies to the implementation of standardized processes to analyze new regulations. All the while, we keep an eye on cost efficiency and financial impact.
In order to systematically optimize the asset structures of a savings bank, we introduce new asset allocation processes, closely integrate corporate strategy and risk controlling and ensure that integrated performance and risk management and regulatory requirements are taken into account. Aside from handling methodological and procedural issues, we also use agile and innovative methods to further develop the organizational structures in bank management.
