Nery Alaev writes about Fintech and Wall Street.
According to a report by Moody’s, Wall Street banks are beginning to build up defences against a potential incoming onslaught by Fintech start-ups and are using their large user bases and credit underwriting abilities to do so.
I’ve decided to look into this and conclude.
Defensive positions
Wall Street, New York
Commenting on the report, Moody’s analysts stated that:
„We expect banks to retain a place at the center of the financial services industry, working both alongside and in competition with Fintechs to improve the development and delivery of financial services“
The report was covered by CNBC – the articles’ author points out that the banking industry is actually able to resist digital disruption slightly better than other sectors due to strong regulation and a large range of services.
This isn’t to say, however, that there isn’t definite potential for major disruption of banks by the burgeoning Fintech sector, which has grown in size of late.
To counter this, banks are appearing increasingly in the app arena:
„JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo have among the most downloaded mobile applications among financial services firms.“
Is the USA indicative globally?
This trend is pointed out as being spread across America’s demographics, not as an isolated phenomenon of digital-savvy millennials. Banks have also ramped up technological innovation such as card-less ATMs and stronger app capabilities.
From this, it may be accurate to state the banking sector in the USA at least, is resisting Fintech’s rise – is this so for the rest of the world though?
The Fintech sector is growing strongly in Asia, where local banks aren’t as well-established as the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
It may be that the Western world’s banking industry will negate the rise of financial technology – less developed equivalents worldwide may not fare as well.
Nery Alaev
Nery Alaev is the current Director of ESN Investments GmbH, which engages in acquisition and development of commercial and residential property in Germany and Austria.