As banks struggle to meet investor expectations around return on equity, they are under pressure to cut costs and increase revenues.
Transformational change is needed across the industry and within individual institutions if banks are to deliver sustainable returns. To assist banks as they consider how to respond,
we have developed the Delivering sustainable returns series, which tackles a range of specific issues facing the industry. The series is based on industry and customer surveys, as well as EY analysis and experience across a range of markets.
Our first piece focuses on business banking, often referred to as small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking, and the opportunity for banks to redesign the front offi ce to meet evolving customer needs more effectively.
For the purpose of this report, we defi ne the SME segment as any company with annual revenue of US$1 million to US$50 million.
We offer insight into the overall opportunity in the SME segment, the rapidly changing customer needs and the evolving competitive landscape, highlighting how redesigning the front offi ce can help banks realize the opportunities this segment offers.
We will follow up later in the year with the results from our fi rst global commercial banking survey, which we hope will provide further insight into companies across a broad range of developed and emerging markets.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the issues raised in this paper and the implications for your organization.