The Washington-based Institute of International Finance, the global association of 340 financial institutions, has warned in a report of the dangers associated with the different implementation schedules that have been set for various jurisdictions with regard to the Basel II capital accord.
“We believe that adoption of inconsistent versions of the [Basel II] accord could ultimately disrupt the successful implementation of Basel II, undermine its basic fabric and create serious level playing field issues,” said Daniel Bouton, chairman of the IIF Regulatory Capital Committee and chairman and CEO of Société Générale, in the report. “As yet, there has not been clear guidance as to how the practical implications of staggered implementation will be addressed. It is important that international regulators coordinate their efforts in order to provide clarity in these areas swiftly.”
Stressing bankers’ concerns, Mr Bouton’s report noted: “The complexities of implementation by different jurisdictions at different times are not just limited to this lack of parallelism between the EU and the US.
“The issue features in our more general concerns about home-host issues: the more discrepancies there are between jurisdictions, the more critical supervisory cooperation and flexibility will be, as international groups try to implement what was supposed to be a global accord across borders,” the report said.
EFMA & FINALTA REPORT: Branch Productivity In Europe
The European Financial Management and Marketing Association and Finalta conducted a survey this year of the key issues to improve branch productivity. Seventy-six banks from 24 European countries, representing 23% of banks in Europe and 46,000 branches, took part and Finalta estimates that 20% of European branches are unprofitable. The key findings announced recently are:
- While most banks believe branch productivity has improved in the past three years, 22% have seen either no improvement or a decline.
- Branch manager leadership and sales adviser effectiveness are the most critical drivers of branch productivity but most respondents have limited satisfaction with their present performance.
- CRM is the next most important factor and has low current levels of satisfaction, especially in Eastern Europe. In total, 41% of banks are unsatisfied with their present CRM capabilities.
- 25% of banks believe that 90% or more of their individual branches are profitable. However, less than 70% of branches are profitable for 21% of participants.
- Finalta estimates that 20% of European branches are presently unprofitable.
- 43% of banks do not believe their sales closure performance is particularly effective and 30% consider their prospect identification ineffective.
The single biggest challenge, especially for larger banks, is changing the attitudes and skills of staff, the report said.
