Banking Study Reveals Lessons Learned in 2020

2020 was an unprecedented year for everything, and banking was no exception. It’s no surprise that both the short- and long-term effects of the pandemic will significantly impact the infrastructure and competitive landscape of the entire industry going forward.

We found an interesting study that examines these impacts and offers some expert perspectives on the threats and opportunities they present.

For its 2021 Banking and Capital Markets Outlook study, Deloitte garnered input from 200 industry leaders about emerging lessons from COVID recovery efforts and how they may serve as a catalyst for business transformation. In it, they note that banks, remarkably, managed to keep operations running smoothly, successfully deploy technology and demonstrate unprecedented agility and resilience. And, that learnings should be used going forward to create more agile, flexible organizations, teams and processes.

The report addresses the notable effect in scale and speed of several “megatrends” and offers perspectives on how lessons can be applied to digital customer engagement, talent, operations, technology, risk, finance, M&A, and sustainable finance.

The key takeaways for banks from the study include:

1. Need to enhance resilience across capital, technology and talent.
2. Look to institutionalize lessons learned.
3. Accelerate digital investments and encourage adoption.
4. Elevate customer engagement.
5. Make hard decisions on talent models.
6. Act on a unique opportunity to become purpose-driven, global leaders.

Also covered in the report are strategic and operational considerations for three business segments in 2021 – Retail Banking, Payments and Wealth Management – and projected effects on loan losses and ROE recovery.

This is the time of year to look to the past, identify lessons learned and apply them to ensure a better, brighter future. It has never been more important to do so. Studies like the one referenced here don’t have all the answers, but do provide a framework for some critical thinking about how to proceed towards the light at the end of the tunnel.