Daniel Kobler: «Banks Are Leaving Too Much Business»

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daniel kobler: «banks are leaving too much business». the high cash holdings represent a huge business opportunity. banks have the means to capitalize on this, but they are not focusing enough strategically on this customer group, says daniel kobler, head of financial services industry switzerland at accenture, in an interview with finews.ch. daniel kobler, an accenture study shows that around 50 percent or chf 900 billion of the investable assets of the affluent population in switzerland are currently unused. why is that? several factors are decisive. on the one hand, it is customer-driven and related to the lack of knowledge on investment topics. additionally, these clients hesitate to invest due to limited personal advice from providers and the absence of human interaction. on the other hand, banks have only just begun to target this clientele more specifically and therefore get to know them better. this delay often results in banks leaving too much business on the table. why this delay? realignments and business expansions are always associated with financial, personnel, and technological costs. moreover, swiss banks are still very successful with their current business models. ultimately, this cautious go-to-market strategy reflects a lack of competitive pressure and a resistance to change. so nothing will change quickly? speed is always relative; but generally speaking, i would say that banks cannot afford to leave this business untapped in the long run. they are, after all, striving for growth. therefore, neo-banks and regulated fintechs are even more aggressively courting customers. it is certainly true that the providers you mentioned have made a footprint in this area. however, the crucial scaling has not yet been achieved. only tapping into this customer segment digitally is strategically too short-sighted; a hybrid approach is required that addresses the full breadth and range of needs of the affluent customer group. this was clearly shown in our customer survey. what is the key to success? the fact is, the more i know about the customer, the easier it becomes to identify touchpoints. therefore, the provider should focus particularly on the «human» aspects of this customer group. conceptually, this can be described in four phases: empathetic, investment-relevant education and training; investment expertise and advice perceived by customers, combined with proactive communication through hybrid channels. ultimately, the offering should be capable of evolving over time to flexibly respond to changing life situations. a concrete example? the aforementioned proactivity and advisory expertise can be exemplified by the life moment approach on the topic of inheritance: as a bank advisor, if i learn that my client is going to inherit, i can discuss several topics with them: investment advice and tax consultancy are two topics, and succession planning may come up if a company is part of the inheritance. and there are many other points of contact. that must involve a lot of effort. it certainly involves more effort than today. on the other hand, the customer is willing to pay for expertise provided that they have gone through the mentioned four phases with the bank. will artificial intelligence (ai) help? ai can certainly be very helpful here. but that won’t happen overnight. individual use cases are already in use in this area, but broad coverage of the entire value chain in the front office will take some time. additionally, some regulatory issues still need to be clarified in parallel, as well as those related to energy consumption. finally, each bank must decide how to handle the freed-up work capacity. there will certainly be tasks that are not yet carried out by bank employees today. what will be the benefits of ai? generative artificial intelligence can improve the quality of advice per se and thus also customer satisfaction and trust in the bank. customer advisors are better prepared for meetings, have more information at their disposal to provide tailored, individual advice. additionally, the reduced time needed for preparation and follow-up allows them to spend more time with customers. however, it's crucial to recognize that while ai will become a valuable tool, it cannot be the sole solution for engaging this customer segment. daniel kobler has more than 20 years of experience in the consulting sector. he was a director and partner at deloitte for 13 years as part of the strategy consulting team for financial services. in 2019, he moved to accenture to become the capital markets industry lead. since september 2022, he has been heading the financial industry area at accenture switzerland and he is also one of the consulting firm's global client executives.

The high cash holdings represent a huge business opportunity. Banks have the means to capitalize on this, but they are not focusing enough strategically on this customer group, says Daniel Kobler, Head of Financial Services Industry Switzerland at Accenture, in an interview with finews.ch.

Daniel Kobler, an Accenture study shows that around 50 percent or CHF 900 billion of the investable assets of the affluent population in Switzerland are currently unused. Why is that?

Several factors are decisive. On the one hand, it is customer-driven and related to the lack of knowledge on investment topics. Additionally, these clients hesitate to invest due to limited personal advice from providers and the absence of human interaction.

«This cautious go-to-market strategy reflects a resistance to change»

On the other hand, banks have only just begun to target this clientele more specifically and therefore get to know them better. This delay often results in banks leaving too much business on the table.

Why this delay?

Realignments and business expansions are always associated with financial, personnel, and technological costs. Moreover, Swiss banks are still very successful with their current business models. Ultimately, this cautious go-to-market strategy reflects a lack of competitive pressure and a resistance to change.

So nothing will change quickly?

Speed is always relative; but generally speaking, I would say that banks cannot afford to leave this business untapped in the long run. They are, after all, striving for growth.

Therefore, neo-banks and regulated fintechs are even more aggressively courting customers.

It is certainly true that the providers you mentioned have made a footprint in this area. However, the crucial scaling has not yet been achieved.

«The more I know about the customer, the easier it becomes to identify touchpoints»

Only tapping into this customer segment digitally is strategically too short-sighted; a hybrid approach is required that addresses the full breadth and range of needs of the affluent customer group. This was clearly shown in our customer survey.

What is the key to success?

The fact is, the more I know about the customer, the easier it becomes to identify touchpoints. Therefore, the provider should focus particularly on the «human» aspects of this customer group.

«Only tapping into this customer segment digitally is strategically too short-sighted»

Conceptually, this can be described in four phases: Empathetic, investment-relevant education and training; investment expertise and advice perceived by customers, combined with proactive communication through hybrid channels. Ultimately, the offering should be capable of evolving over time to flexibly respond to changing life situations.

A concrete example?

The aforementioned proactivity and advisory expertise can be exemplified by the life moment approach on the topic of inheritance: As a bank advisor, if I learn that my client is going to inherit, I can discuss several topics with them: investment advice and tax consultancy are two topics, and succession planning may come up if a company is part of the inheritance. And there are many other points of contact.

That must involve a lot of effort.

It certainly involves more effort than today. On the other hand, the customer is willing to pay for expertise provided that they have gone through the mentioned four phases with the bank.

Will artificial intelligence (AI) help?

AI can certainly be very helpful here. But that won’t happen overnight. Individual use cases are already in use in this area, but broad coverage of the entire value chain in the front office will take some time.

«AI will become a valuable tool, it cannot be the sole solution»

Additionally, some regulatory issues still need to be clarified in parallel, as well as those related to energy consumption. Finally, each bank must decide how to handle the freed-up work capacity. There will certainly be tasks that are not yet carried out by bank employees today.

What will be the benefits of AI?

Generative artificial intelligence can improve the quality of advice per se and thus also customer satisfaction and trust in the bank. Customer advisors are better prepared for meetings, have more information at their disposal to provide tailored, individual advice. Additionally, the reduced time needed for preparation and follow-up allows them to spend more time with customers. However, it's crucial to recognize that while AI will become a valuable tool, it cannot be the sole solution for engaging this customer segment.

Daniel Kobler has more than 20 years of experience in the consulting sector. He was a director and partner at Deloitte for 13 years as part of the strategy consulting team for financial services. In 2019, he moved to Accenture to become the capital markets industry lead. Since September 2022, he has been heading the financial industry area at Accenture Switzerland and he is also one of the consulting firm's global client executives.