Client Results: Affluent Banking

Following Finalta engagements, our clients have been able to rapidly improve the profit generated from their affluent segments. The case studies below provide examples of how this was achieved.

Optimising portfolio purity

  • Bank G, a leading western European universal bank, was committed to a face-to-face relationship management proposition within its affluent segment. Key to this was understanding the optimal portfolio size, deepening retail customer relationships, and maximum value from the segment.
  • Our Affluent Banking Strategic Review identified that portfolios were considerably larger than average European banks, with lower purity. Benchmark analysis of portfolio size against revenues per customer supported the case for smaller, more focused portfolios. Portfolios were purified and new processes were put in place to maintain purity on an ongoing basis.
  • Our Strategic Review provided a robust, objective and quantitative case for change. Even during a time of budget constraints in the financial crisis, this led to the aggressive recruitment of relationship managers, resulting in a 20% increase.

Initiate change

  • Bank H wished to extend its affluent business beyond its domestic market. It aimed to balance appropriate levels of consistency in the proposition across countries with flexibility to meet local market demand.
  • It asked us to compare its affluent segment proposition with the affluent offerings of selected local competitors in the target markets.
  • Our cross-country Affluent Banking Benchmarking Study allowed Bank H to identify areas of commonality in the bank's affluent proposition as well as the opportunities in each different country.
  • Our work also identified the main actions Bank H needed to take in order to become competitive in each market.

Set improvement targets

  • Bank I engaged us to assess the practices and performance of its affluent banking division. Our benchmarking exercise demonstrated the potential for Bank I to significantly increase its customer acquisition rate.
  • The following year, Finalta worked with Bank I to conduct a follow-on project aimed at better understanding the affluent customer acquisition practices of Europe's top performing banks.
  • The Study was designed to quantify the size of the "issue" and the opportunities for improvement and to identify external best practices from similar banks.
  • We used our benchmarking analysis to identify potential actions Bank I could take to improve its customer acquisition. We also calculated the relative uplift in acquisition rates that could be expected from each. Based on this, Bank I was able to create an action plan for implementation.