KPMG: Banking Execs Focus On Increasing Operational Efficiency

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

In the KPMG Banking Outlook Survey, 69 percent of banking executives are focused on reexamining business models and initiatives that increase operational efficiency and reduce costs. According to the KPMG survey, banks are anticipating modest headcount gains in the year ahead, with 39 percent adding to the payrolls and 32 percent decreasing jobs.

When asked if their bank had re-examined its operating model as part of their growth strategy, 46 percent of banking executives in the KPMG survey said they had already done so.  Thirty-four percent said they were in the process of doing so and 10 percent said they had plans to do so, while only 10 percent said they had no plans to do so.

When asked to identify the three areas where their bank would most increase spending over the next year, 58 percent of the KPMG survey respondents said information technology (IT), followed by new products or services (37 percent), acquisition of a business (32 percent), and business model transformation (20 percent).  Among those respondents who said their bank had significant cash on its balance sheets, the most likely time frame for investment was this year (39 percent) or next year (40 percent), while 21 percent said 2014 or later.

Platform simplification (IT infrastructure, applications) was identified by 58 percent of the banking executives as the most important IT-related project for their bank in the next year, followed by mobile payments (39 percent), leveraging data more effectively for regulatory requirements (38 percent), and creating an integrated view of customer accounts (37 percent).