FS Viewpoints library

Life insurance carriers should reduce the overall number of plans offered before replacing the underlying systems supporting incentive compensation. Without simplification before system transformation, carriers will re-platform legacy problems and miss out on many possible benefits.

In this publication, we focus on the execution and investigation on how to operationalize these goals through the use of PwC’s Policy Administration Delivery Framework.

After decades of relying on agency distribution, life insurers are unprepared to keep up with changing consumer buying habits and behaviors. The number of life insurance agents continues to decline as more consumers turn to the Web for insurance. Insurers must adapt their go-to-market strategies toward direct distribution or risk losing market share.

Shifting demographics create new sources of growth for wealth management firms if they can understand preferences and priorities of wealthy individuals and if they can comply with regulatory demands and competitive pressures in local markets.

Regulation, industry consolidation, low economic growth, and risk aversion are squeezing financial institution profit margins. Leading institutions are changing their client relationship strategies to earn “trusted advisor” status. Voice of the customer (VOC) analyses can determine the business changes needed to attain “top provider” status.

The financial crisis and new capital and regulatory rules have forced asset managers to reduce fees and have increased the challenges for sell-side firms participating in the cash equities and fixed income execution to custody value chain. Find out how firms are changing their business models to adapt to these market changes.

The new economic landscape is driven by strict capital requirements, narrow net interest margins, depressed commercial lending, and fee limitations. Institutions are asking how they should best deploy their capital. In our view, they should also be focused on what resources they need to best serve their customers. Wealth management presents an attractive prospect for lending, deposit growth, and fee income. The needs of the wealthy span those of their household, their businesses, and their extended family. Financial institutions serve those needs via mortgage and small business lending, deposit and cash management solutions, investment advice, and other services.

The rise of the digital consumer and the high-cost infrastructure of physical banking locations are leading to a declining ROI for branches. Evolving the branch network to align with changing consumer and economic realities can help banks boost ROI and position themselves for the future.

Hedge funds are searching for ways to boost fund value, increase ROI, and ensure the sustainability of their businesses. In our view, few have the level of institutionalization in place to succeed.

Gaining an Information Advantage is no longer about generating insights. It is about making effective, efficient decisions and integrating information into everyday operations.

Regulatory changes present an opportunity for property and casualty (P&C) and life insurance companies to reexamine and risk management strategies, processes, and infrastructures for measuring performance and analyzing risk.

The E&S market holds promise for insurance carriers with three key factors: Less rigid regulatory environment, market fragmentation, and operational synergies.

Missing the forest for the trees? Adapting underwriting intensity to boost insurance property and casualty sales

Financial institutions should develop an individual conflict-of-interest management process based on governance and organization, policies and procedures, analytics and reporting, and technology and data.

Consolidation in banking, insurance, and asset management impact profitability and drive the need for scale while economic risk is high. Alternative approaches are available for buyers and sellers in all deal environments.

Insurance industry regulatory compliance presents an opportunity for insurance companies to invest in enterprise risk management (ERM), risk modeling, accounting and valuation applications.

Traditional revenue generators are not growing to overcome new capital and regulatory requirements. Financial institutions are implementing continuous expense management programs to focus on efficiency in budgeting and reporting systems.

Retention problems for private banks in China increase the demand for experienced entry-level talent and is crucial to expanding the customer base to a wider demographic.

The eurozone debt crisis was triggered in April 2010. Operational risks remain for US firms operating in the eurozone.

Restructuring, regulatory reform, globalization, and changing consumer demands require financial institutuons to have flexible operating models to respond to market changes.

As banks race to develop mobile banking apps that satisfy consumer demands, how can they guard against the security breaches that could damage their reputation and prompt customers to flee?

Financial services customers want bundled products, customization, 24/7 access, and consistent interaction. Financial services should align IT strategy with business strategy.

Banks should replace traditional pricing with data driven approach that includes customers' needs, preferences, behaviors, purchasing patterns, and price sensitivity.

Finance leaders face accounting, regulatory, and management challenges. By reducing costs and releasing capacity, Financial institutions applying lean practices can experience cost reductions

New regulations will require financial institutions to re-examine and align their customer and product portfolios across capital management, funding, and risk.

Financial institutions must expand their services to global markets to survive. As banks are making plans to globalize, many fail due to poor project execution.

Regulatory, market, and operational needs impact commercial lending processes and systems. Banks should focus on data strategy.

The transition to registered swap dealer status for OTC market participants under Dodd-Frank will impact systems, policies and procedures.

Rising deposit levels caused by expanded money supply, customer deleveraging and low loan rates impact market competitiveness.

Mobile services have put over $20 billion in play for FS industry participants. If traditional players don't keep pace, tech innovators will prevail.

Insurance companies expanding to international markets and should develop a growth strategy tailored to their business goals and organizational profile.

Many challenges accompany the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market regarding valuation, capital requirements, and counterparty and liquidity management.

Financial institutions are building new IT organizational models that assess business objectives and are adapting the model as needed.

Poor upfront planning and alignment with key business drivers often means Policy Administration System (PAS) transformation programs are delivered late or over budget.

Anti-corruption is driving companies to change their behaviors. An effective anti-corruption program should reassess risks and be supported by top leadership.

A credit risk dashboard aids in identifying credit risk and helps financial institutions make better business decisions.

Insider trading can destroy client, investor, and public trust. Financial services firms are implementing robust compliance, supervisory, surveillance, and control measures to prevent and detect insider trading.

US-listed Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) is growing faster than traditional investments. Asset managers and financial services providers are updating their ETF operating models.

Meeting new regulatory expectations means applying risk mitigation, compliance and control methods, and instilling an effective risk culture where the right people do the right thing at the right time.

A review of IT organizations in financial services and discussions with bank CIOs reveal that firms benefit when their IT organizations innovate and are aligned with their business groups.

Market forces are eroding financial institution profitability. Banks are adapting to be customer-centric while improving profitability and enhancing competitiveness.

Retail banks are striving to outperform competitors while grappling with regulatory challenges and shifts in consumer behavior, including opportunities created by mobile phones and social media.

Regulatory and structural changes in the financial services industry impact risk management strategy.

Restoring confidence in the securitization market requires a focus on rebuilding investor confidence through transparency, enhancing accountability, and balancing risks, rewards, and costs of securitization.

A review of post-financial crisis risk management at leading financial institutuons.

Lenders need sophisticated operational capabilities to meet current regulatory demands; business process management (BPM) can offer key benefits.

Budgeting and planning processes can be costly and time consuming with little return on investment. Many financial institutions are achieving measurable benefits from transforming the process.

Banks should begin to develop strategies to anticipate Basel III rules, especially since some of the standards will be challenging to meet.

The financial crisis and the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act caused tighter credit for consumers and increased expenses for card issuers to comply.

We analyze the compliance, risk, and control challenges that high-frequency trading strategies present

An analysis of the bank branch network of the future, and strategies to improve the branch network and individual branch design to increase revenue and maintain margins.

Increased savings and reduced lending affect structural changes for US financial institutions.

A liquidity risk management process can help balance liquidity considerations and allow for revenue growth.

This report offers our firm's point of view on the potential for claims transformation as an overall strategy to reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction and a framework for driving a successful transformation of claims operations

Financial services firms can look toward exception prevention to reduce costs and increase controls and transparency.

PwC's report provides our firm's point of view on the challenges in failed bank acquisitions and a framework to address operational and accounting challenges associated with a failed bank acquisition.

The credit crisis has created demands on hedge funds that are affecting requirements for prime brokers. Prime brokers should create a cost-effective operational infrastructure.

Problems in banks’ business models and support structures illustrated by the financial crisis can now help them prepare for the post-crisis business environment.

The causes and effects of the sudden failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. in 2008 will be discussed and debated for years but certain valuable lessons have already been learned from it.

Financial services companies should reevaluate their global clearing and settlement relationships and determine whether a self-clearing, hybrid, outsourcing, or joint venture model is most appropriate.

The recent financial crisis created consolidation, unique buying opportunities and risks in the banking industry. To capitalize on current conditions, investors and acquirers will need a new approach.

The insurance industry is experiencing regulatory changes requring them to review and improve compliance and risk functions to comply with the changes.

Changing market conditions have overturned preference for and the suitability of sourcing locations for financial institutions. This leaves the US in a relatively better position for consideration as a low-cost location than it has been in years.

The Treasury Financial Stability Plan will subject banks to a "comprehensive stress test" to assess banks' ability to support lending and capacity to absorb losses in a crisis.