European Retail Banks - An Endangered Species? : Survival Strategies for the Future (Methods and Principles in Medicinal Chemistry)

Rating:
Summary: Insightful!
Review: In most industries, those advocating change initiatives (usually consultants) only need to run around warning that the sky is falling in order to be heard - and indeed in many industries the sky does look a bit shaky. Apparently, that claxon-sounding process is a bit more complicated in the banking industry, where no one wants to suggest that something might be, um, unsound. Kern and Dombret have adapted the phrase "a less rosy future" to describe their concerns regarding the issues that European retail banks face today. Make no mistake, however, despite their delicate and responsible phrasing, Kern and Dombret see an immediate need for banks to undergo a serious transformation. The traditional market activities of banks - the value chain - must be broken up into more specialized parts, and banks must find a market segment they can serve, and then adapt to serve it. While the topic is a bit specialized, we strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the future of banking.