Financial Services Industry
The Banking, Insurance, and Pension Funds Industries are facing pressure from different angels: new regulations, digital transformation, changing customer demands and business model disruptions. FiSer Consulting can help with these challenges to achieve successful transformations in line with the future shape of the Financial Services Sector. We are your assurance for delivery.
Trends
The Financial Services Industry is influenced by different trends, ranging from regulatory changes to technological opportunities. At FiSer, we have listed the main trends we see having the main impacts across the different industries.
Banking
The banking and payments industry is facing rapid changes, challenges and opportunities that are reshaping the sector, from new prudential regulations to technological innovation and increasing use of data analytics. We see a frontline of ongoing digital transformation across the entire sector. This implies continuous changes to improve the efficiency, speed, security, and convenience of banking and payments services while reducing costs and enhancing the customer experience.
At FiSer, we understand your challenges and have the banking and payments knowledge together with in-depth transformation expertise that can help with facing this ever-changing environment. Together, we will drive your transformation roadmap to make it a success.
Focus Areas
With the introduction of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), banks must meet increasing demands of the complex regulatory landscape.
Many banks are challenged by the frequency and volume of regulatory updates and find it difficult to maintain a proper overview of its compliance with all rules and regulations. As such, banks are spending an increasing amount of time and effort to control, risk and compliance functions. A quick and efficient implementation of regulations can become a competitive advantage from a cost perspective, but also to prevent fines and regulatory scrutiny. This can be achieved by “compliance by design”, which is a systematic approach to integrating regulatory requirements into tasks and processes.
What do we offer?
- Identification and impact assessments of new regulations
- Program and project management on (recurring) regulatory programs (e.g. SREP, ICAAP, ILAAP, Recovery & Resolution Planning, Basel IV, IRRBB, BCBS239, MiFiD II, PSD2, Deep Dives and Onsite Investigations)
ESG and climate risks affect the way that our economy functions in several ways and are increasingly informing the decision-making processes of banks.
ESG and climate risks impact macroeconomic indicators such as inflation, economic growth, financial stability, and monetary policy transmission. They also affect the value and risk profile of the assets on bank balance sheets. Banks need to have a safe and prudent approach to identifying, assessing, and managing ESG and climate risks, and should transparently disclose the risks they are exposed to.
What do we offer?
- ESG and climate risk maturity scan
- ESG and climate risk stress testing and scenario analysis
- Adjustments of risk appetite statement and risk taxonomy
- Implementation of ECB requirements on climate-related and environmental risks
- Compliance with ESG and climate risk international standards and frameworks (e.g. GRI, SASB and TCFD)
- ESG and climate disclosures (e.g. Pillar 3)
Digital Transformation offers significant opportunities to banks to transform their business models, adjust to changing customer demands and cut costs.
Digital Transformation and new innovative technologies can result in advances in customer experience, operational efficiency, and agility.
What do we offer?
- Digital strategy formulation
- Opportunity scan for new technologies (Blockchain, Robotics, and AI)
- Data quality and data governance improvement
Banking sector consolidation is a means to support a more efficient and competitive European banking sector.
Implementing a successful carve-out, merger or acquisition is a big challenge for banks and has a major impact on its organizations. Since large part of mergers fail or do not achieve the envisioned benefits, it is key to have a clear strategy, program structure and governance.
What do we offer?
- Defining integration and separation strategy
- Designing program structure and governance
- System and process integration
- Target Operating Model (TOM) design
In the Financial Services industries, being most effective in day-to-day processes is paramount to ensure being competitive. Within banking, companies have been operating in low interest rate environments for years. This has resulted in increasing pressure on profitability.
To remain competitive, banks must become more agile and resilient and need to have ongoing cost-cutting programs and investments in (digital) innovations and technologies. Banks that redefine their cost and revenue models are better positioned for long-term profitability. A shift from Net Interest Income (NII) to Net Fee and Commission Income (NFCI) is often necessary to become less reliant on interest rates.
What do we offer?
- Cost-reduction program management
- Product rationalization
- Business line profitability optimization
Risk Models require continuous updates, coming from new legislation, on-site investigations, or new insights
Updates on risk models requires a specific structured approach considering all regulatory and supervisory requirements. This should be shaped in a structured manner to ensure correct execution and traceability of the executed steps.
What do we offer?
- Guidance and impact assessments of model changes
- Program management for creating a future model landscape
- Assistance during ECB on-site investigations and remediation of OSI findings
PSD2, ISO20022, and SEPA rule book updates are recent examples of regulatory-driven transformation for banks, and similar demands keep ongoing.
There is no other choice for banks but to stay compliant. Such regulatory changes are often complex and ambiguous. However, it is also an opportunity to build a next-generation payment system to robust business proposition for more volumes and instant processing. Eventually, that modern payment platform will be a crucial differentiator in the future payment business.
What do we offer?
- Identification and impact assessments of new regulations
- Program and project management on (recurring) regulatory programs (e.g., PSD2, SEPA RB 2023, and ISO 20022)
To stay competitive, banks must balance maintaining legacy systems, which is cumbersome and increasingly costly, combined with investing in new technologies. Decommissioning legacy payment infrastructure can help banks to reduce costs.
Banks can often reduce their IT costs and improve operational efficiency and service by replacing legacy payment applications with newer, more modern solutions. On the other hand, it is a challenging process that includes data migration, system integration, testing, business continuity, and staff training. Therefore, it is essential for banks to carefully plan and execute the decommissioning process to ensure a smooth transition to newer platforms while also maintaining business continuity and minimizing risk.
What do we offer?
- Defining related migration strategy
- Designing program structure and governance
- Execution system and process integration
Successful implementation of new payment schemes such as SEPA Instant Payments and Immediate Cross Border Payments can provide businesses with a range of new opportunities to improve customer experience, optimize transaction costs and cash flow.
Enhancing bank’s payment product offering with new payment schemes helps attract more volumes and generate more revenue. Nevertheless, that may require changes to existing processes and infrastructure.
What do we offer?
- Conducting a feasibility study to determine the applicability of the new payment scheme in terms of business needs, costs, benefits, and risks associated with the implementation
- Designing program structure and governance
- Program implementation
Want to learn more about Banking Example Cases? Check out our client cases, latest news, and publications.
Get the lowdown by contacting Dirk Worm
DIRK WORM
Managing Partner
Dirk has close to 30 years of experience in Financial Service industry, particularly in the field of Treasury & Financial Markets and Risk & Finance. Dirk’s consulting skills lie in advising, managing, and delivering strategic company-wide change initiatives at board level across business and technology. Key strengths are his structured and consistent way of working and being resourceful to achieve goals.
Contact:
Email: d.worm@fiser.consulting
Insurance
The insurance industry is undergoing constant changes. Whether it is new major legislations, or threats from new entrants; the insurance and pensions industry cannot permit itself from keeping a status Quo.
At FiSer, we understand the industry and have wide experience in guiding the changes relevant for the industry.
Focus Areas
Risk Models require continuous updates, whether this comes from new legislation or new insights.
Update on Risk Model(s) requires a specific structured approach, in some cases also involving a legislative (e.g. DNB) alignment. It is important this is shaped in a structured manner to ensure the correct execution and traceability of the executed steps.
What do we offer?
- Guidance and impact assessments of specific model changes
- Governmental (DNB) alignments
ESG and climate risks affect the way that our economy functions in several ways and are increasingly informing the decision-making processes of Insurance & Pension administration companies.
ESG and climate risks impact macroeconomic indicators such as inflation, economic growth, financial stability, and monetary policy transmission. They also affect the value and risk profile of the assets on bank balance sheets. Insurance & Pension administrators need to have a safe and prudent approach to identifying, assessing, and managing ESG and climate risks, and should transparently disclose the risks they are exposed to.
Mainly in the pension realm, the (end) consumers increasingly expect more transparency on their specific investments. Companies need to be able to offer this transparency. Therefore, categorizing these changes, and once defined, implementing the required changes need to be conducted in a clear and well-defined manner.
What do we offer?
- ESG and climate risks maturity scan
- ESG and climate risk stress testing and scenario analysis
- Adjustments of risk appetite statement and risk taxonomy
- Implementation of ECB requirements on climate-related and environmental risks
- Compliance with ESG and climate risk international standards and frameworks (e.g. GRI, SASB and TCFD)
- ESG and climate disclosures (e.g. Pillar 3)
- Enabling the data flow(s) required to facilitate clear ESG insights
In the Financial Services industries, being most effective in day-to-day processes is paramount to ensure being competitive. Efficiency is key and remains one of the key differentiators in the market.
Optimalisation is usually desired; but most companies have a hard time in achieving the optimalisations. Therefore, identification of the key improvements areas and defining an executable plan is needed to ensure the desired efficiency improvements are achieved.
What do we offer?
- Process redesigning
- Cost-reduction program management
- Product rationalization
- Business line profitability optimization
In the past period, Technology has evolved rapidly. And if there wasn’t a clear architectural guideline, this can lead to a scattered and sub-optimal landscape.
Understanding which technology is available and how it can affect the day-to-day processes is vital to ensure the correct optimalisations are achieved. This requires a clear view on how the technology can fit into an existing landscape and where the potential pitfalls might lie. Following this, a clear defined plan needs to be setup to ensure the execution is conducted in.
What do we offer?
- IT assessments / scans
- Solution Architecture
- Digital strategy formulation
- Opportunity scan for new technologies (Blockchain, Robotics, AI)
All companies will replace their existing (core) landscape at some point in time. This can be speed up by new legislation or new business opportunities.
Legacy replacements touch the very core of an organization, as it is not only about IT, but more importantly, it affects main core insurance / pension processes. Having a clear understanding of these processes is vital and key of ensuring a clear and manageable roadmap from current to target.
What do we offer?
- Defining target architectures
- RFI / RFP orchestration and guidance
- Program and project management
- Business analysis / Release Train Engineers
One of the biggest new legislative frameworks in the pension landscape, affecting the full range of pension administrators.
The current situation is quite complex as choices will need to be made by the pension funds / employers, but prior to that, pension administrators will need to get themselves ready.
Understanding the current setting and the new legislation (and the potential impact of it) will be vital to be ready for the future to come.
What do we offer?
- WTP Impact assessments
- WTP program and project management
- IT implementation
- Business analysis
Want to learn more about Insurance Example Cases? Check out our client cases, latest news, and publications.
Get the lowdown by contacting Mischa Wesdorp
MISCHA WESDORP
Managing Partner
Mischa is the founder of FiSer Consulting and brings over 20 years of experience in the Global Financial Services Industry where he has been employed mostly by large international Dutch based banks, as well as Dutch based insurance companies. In his career, Mischa acquired an all-round understanding of Risk, Lending and Payments.
Contact:
Email: m.wesdorp@fiser.consulting
Pension Funds
The redesign of the Dutch pension system has been subject of discussions and negotiations for many years. With the Future of Pensions Act the Dutch pension system will undergo massive and fundamental change. Next to this new legislation, digital transformation (PensionTech), increased importance of sustainability and management of data quality are key factors accelerating the transformation of the Pensions industry.
At FiSer, delivering and managing this change is where we can help. With our in-depth knowledge of the industry combined with our transformation expertise we will help you drive your transformation roadmap to make it a success.
Focus Areas
The Future Pensions Act (Wtp) forces every employer to think about the future pension agreement with its employees. The transition to defined contribution agreements with age-independent flat premiums means that almost all pension schemes will have to be changed in the coming period. This has implications for both employers and pension administration organisations and funds.
The Wtp represents a huge transformation of our pension system. Almost all organisations will have to adapt their pension scheme, its funding and their (core) administration systems to the new legislation.
What do we offer?
- Identification and impact assessments of new regulations
- Program and project management on (recurring) regulatory programs (e.g. SREP, ICAAP, ILAAP, Recovery & Resolution Planning, Basel IV, IRRBB, BCBS239, MiFiD II, PSD2, Deep Dives and Onsite Investigations)
Recognizing the complexity of implementing the SFDR (1/1/2021) in the pension context (RTS 1/1/2023), industry stakeholders actively participating in workshops, forums and public consultations aimed at addressing challenges and identifying opportunities for effective ESG integration.
Dec 2023:
The European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) feedback to the European Commission’s consultation on rationalisation of reporting requirements. “AEIP fully supports the Commission’s ambition of improving transparency in financial markets regarding sustainability. To best achieve this ambition, we suggest that a significant revision of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is required.”
What do we offer?
- ESG and climate risk maturity scan
- ESG and climate risk stress testing and scenario analysis
- Adjustments of risk appetite statement and risk taxonomy
- Implementation of ECB requirements on climate-related and environmental risks
- Compliance with ESG and climate risk international standards and frameworks (e.g. GRI, SASB and TCFD)
- ESG and climate disclosures (e.g. Pillar 3)
For years, pension funds and pension administrators have been in a transition phase towards a ‘new’ pension system. These organisations have had to think about, among others, strategic options for the future. However, the years of debate about the new pension system have made it more difficult than expected to bring disruptive apps and other developments in artificial intelligence and robotics to the market.
Recently, though – driven by programs like ChatGPT – there is a new wave of urgency on the topic of PensionTech.
What do we offer?
- Digital strategy formulation
- Opportunity scan for new technologies (Blockchain, Robotics, and AI)
- Data quality and data governance improvement
Want to learn more about Pension Funds Example Cases? Check out our client cases, latest news, and publications.
Regulatory Roadmap
Banking & Payments
Insurance & Pensions
FiSer Consulting "Your Assurance for Delivery"
Has a proven track record for complex transitions that will be delivered within time and quality. Why us?
Strong content background in types of Financial Services companies, Financials products (e.g. Equities, Fixed Income, Forex, Derivatives, but also Payments and Loans) and Specific Financial Services functions (Trading, Operations, Finance, Risk Management)
Deep knowledge of different areas of the financial institutions and of the upcoming regulations in the Financial Services industry (i.e. PSD2, Basel, AML)
Extensive experience in international complex project and program management and excellent partner between Business and IT landscapes
An experienced team of consultants with in-depth knowledge of the financial services areas and processes, and an extensive track record of delivering large scale international projects with structured approaches