Top VIP executives from Europe’s leading retail banks assembled for the sixth annual European Retail Banking Forum in March this year in Vienna, Austria.
This high-level event included a number of keynote presentations, a series of workshops and a busy schedule of pre-arranged business meetings.
The conference programme was developed in conjunction with the Financial Services Club and delivered a diverse speaker panel made up of high-level bank representatives and industry experts.
Innovation was a major theme of this year’s event with different industry perspectives highlighting current trends, tools and technologies. Pekka Jarvinen, Vice-President R&D at Nordea Bank and James Gardner, Head of Innovation and Research at Lloyds TSB delivered insightful case studies on how innovation is being cultivated and utilised in their organisations. Cisco, IBM, The Little Light on the Left, IDC Financial Insights and Senteo also provided a wealth of information and practical case studies on how innovation can drive success.
Other key topics included improving online security, understanding the top opportunities for retail banks in the 21st century, assessing the implications of mobile on bank services and creating retail opportunities for branch networks.
Alongside the busy conference programme the delegates enjoyed a number of networking opportunities. The Friday evening dinner hosted by Hewlett Packard was fantastic, set in the glamorous ambience of the chic, rooftop Sky Bar, which offers dazzling, panoramic views over Vienna. Since returning from the event, several organisations have reported that contact has been on-going between suppliers and buyers. Over 70% of supplier organisations estimate that they will procure business worth up to $1 million as a direct result of attending, while one in five estimate the value to be upwards of $20 million. |
