Banking Review: Summer 2009

PricewaterhouseCoopers' Banking Review shares a Canadian perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the banking and capital markets sector. This edition features the following articles:

• Harnessing the profit-building power of customer segmentation
• Collateral damage: Ontario sales tax harmonization
• Driving efficiencies and value from internal audit
• Enhancing performance through controls optimization

Harnessing the profit-building power of customer segmentation
Financial institutions’ customer acquisition strategies are taking a one-two punch as the economic turmoil shrinks both their customer base and marketing budgets. The troubled economy plays no favorites as it spreads job losses, delinquencies, and foreclosures across a formerly robust customer landscape. This changing economic outlook is testing the mettle of many banking industry professionals as they seek to attract and retain profitable customers and disengage with those that do not offer value under their operating model.

Harnessing the profit-building power of customer segmentation (54 KB) Download the full PDF article.

Collateral damage
On July 1 2010, both Ontario and British Columbia will replace their outmoded PST with a tax imposed on an almost identical base to the federal GST. This bold move improves the competitive edge of these two provinces, and is long overdue. For suppliers of goods and services in every sector except one, overall compliance cost will be reduced, and PST savings will further reduce the cost of doing business. The financial sector is the unlucky one for which the change is not positive.

Collateral damage (542 KB) Download the full PDF article.

Driving efficiencies and value from internal audit
In a climate of economic uncertainty and increasing cost pressures, internal audit budgets and plans are likely to face robust challenges in 2009. Effective planning of internal audit spend has become more important than ever. Internal audit functions should take the initiative to help their boards and audit committees understand how their investment in internal audit is utilized and how this compares with peers and high-performing functions. This global survey was designed to help that understanding, providing insights and data on internal audit spend within the banking and capital markets sector.

Driving efficiencies and value from internal audit (133 KB) Download the full PDF article.

Enhancing performance through controls optimization
The expectations of key stakeholders have increased. Boards of directors, audit committees and regulators expect that banking institutions achieve best practices on governance and controls. They want banks to reduce volatility, predict issues and communicate these issues to them proactively. All while reducing costs.

Enhancing performance through controls optimization (60 KB) Download the full PDF article.

Banking Review: Summer 2009 (1.29 MB) Download the entire PDF.