Review: Amsterdam Banking Forum

Integrated Approach Is The Way Forward For Banks

Amsterdam Banking Forum Another Big Success

On June 5, the day before Money20/20, The Banking 50 organised the 2023 edition of the Amsterdam Banking Forum. More than 125 banking and finance professionals from all over Europe gathered in the Dutch capital to discuss the current state of banking, and there the sector is going.

McKinsey & Partners kicked off the event with a macro-economic and banking sector outlook for Europe. They highlighted that currently universal banks are organised around banking products. Looking at the future, top banks will become a network of platforms around the 5 arenas following client needs:

  • Everyday Banking
  • Complex Financing
  • Investment Advisory
  • Mass Wholesale Intermediation
  • BaaS/Whitelabel

Wiehann Weerts, Director at Monocle Solutions emphasised the importance of getting the basics right in banking. In order to harness yourself for the frequent regulatory changes and challenges, banks need to strengthen their data foundation.

Keynote speaker Edwin van Bommel, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at ABN AMRO Bank shared his bank’s strategy for the future: A personal bank in the digital age based on three pillars:

  • Reinvent the Customer Experience
  • Support our customers’ transition to sustainability
  • Build a future proof bank

For a panel discussion on Digital Assets, Edwin was joined by Monica Millares from BigPay and Dolf Diederichsen from Hyphe. Key takeaways from that discussion were:

  • Millennials are worried about ‘future financial safety’, creating an appetite for digital asset-backed pensions and savings products
  • Banks need to collaborate with one another to create markets for tokenised assets
  • Yes of course blockchain and DLT technology bring efficiencies to investment rails, but don’t forget the importance of transparency as a key benefit
  • MiCA regulation is the bedrock for all of the above, and more

The afternoon session was dedicated to innovations, with a deep-dive panel discussion on innovation and sustainability in banking in general and in payments specifically. Regulation again featured high in the keynotes and discussions, hence Wisselbanck and The Banking 50 organise an event in September, BANLEX, which is fully dedicated to the European regulatory outlook.

Moderator Ara Abrahamyan, summarised the session as follows: “Innovation and technology are transforming the banking industry at an unprecedented pace. As we have heard from our panelists today, there are many exciting developments taking place in this space, from new payment systems to advanced analytics tools. However, with these opportunities come challenges, such as ensuring security and privacy for customers.”

The day’s final session, dedicated to Leadership and Transformation, was moderated by Morten Kriek, co-founder of The Banking50 and Wisselbanck, and kicked-off by Fons Trompenaars. Fons is the world’s foremost expert in cross-cultural leadership, the only Dutch member of in the Thinkers 50 Hall of Fame. Olaf Biemond from De Nederlandsche Bank (Dutch Central Bank), who was responsible for implementing an agile approach at the Dutch regulator, argued that agile is not a methodology, but a mindset. And any agile transformation is a cultural transformation. Knab’s CTO, Krista den Uijl added that as a leader, one needs to inspire by creating a common goal and a collaborative work environment to ensure a successful transformation journey.

To summarise the key outcomes:

  • As banks we all want to do the exciting stuff, new technologies, AI, Digital Assets etc., but we should not forget to get the basics right. Use regulation as an enabler for your business, not an obstacle;
  • Put the customer first when creating new products; Customer Experience is a key ingredient to your bank’s success;
  • Transformation is a journey; agile, digital, cultural and any other transformation projects requires the proper mindset, and needs to be guided through inspirational leadership;
  • Apply the integrated approach; in stead of innovation v regulation, people v tech, it is “and, and” (Our BANKLEX event on September 8 will be preceeded by an executive program on Integrated Leadership on September 7. Click here for details).

For full details on each presentation and panel discussion, please keep an eye on all our social media channels. When you are interested in becoming a member, please contact us. Our next event is on June 22, where we will go into more depth on how to lead transformation projects in banking. For details and registration, click here.

The Banking 50 is an executive business community for leaders in banking and finance. We are a finance and technology HUB based in Amsterdam for financial market players worldwide.

Events in 2023/24:

The Banking 50 Membership Card allows you to participate in all The Banking 50’s meetings and conferences without any additional charge.

On photos in the album you can see orange membership cards, we just started to hand these out physically, all members will be placed on site. If you want to join send us email to register@thebanking50.com

The annual fee for The Banking 50’s membership card is €5,000 Euros. Cost for half a year (6 events in 6 months) is €3,500 Euros.

For bankers special price apples. The annual fee for The Banking 50’s membership card is €1,000 Euros. Cost for half a year (6 events in 6 months) is €500 Euros.

Amsterdam Banking Forum Gallery

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