There is a concern that new regulations will deter banks from taking risks in the transaction banking space. BNY Mellon treasury services’ global head of sales and client management, Alan Verschoyle-King, explains why this would be bad for the industry.
The transaction banking industry has long been expecting change as the repercussions of the global financial crisis and subsequent wave of regulation have taken hold. This is the year, says Alan Verschoyle-King, BNY Mellon treasury services’ global head of sales and client management, when that change is apparent. In this podcast, he explains how a number of factors are creating a perfect storm of change for the industry and how there has been a change in the approach to risk.
There is a danger, he says, the industry is moving away from the concept of understanding and managing risks to an environment of risk avoidance. The nature of transaction banking is about understanding risks and taking them, and there will be implications for clients if banks move to a situation where they want to avoid taking risks altogether.
Based in London, Mr Verschoyle-King is responsible for the client-facing parts of the treasury services business at BNY Mellon. He finds himself in this position after a long career in banking, but he nearly had a career as a lawyer. After earning a law degree, Mr Verschoyle-King was not impressed with what he saw when he went for interviews for graduate positions at law firms. He did not have a plan b, and so decided to study finance instead.
From there, he was hired by Citi on a graduate training programme, where he was first exposed to transaction banking. What he likes about this business, he says, is the people. Mr Verschoyle-King describes himself as a genuinely inclusive 'people person', and likes to have a diversity of thought and hear different points of view from his team. Also, he says, he gets satisfaction from seeing people in his team do well and fulfil their potential.
