Will the banks survive the current changed economic climate?

Protocol said:
If you want lower retail bank interest rates, then we need to have more competition, not less.
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The reality is the banking has become a commodity industry and an unconsolidated one at that. Banks can't continue to give away their services for free, whether online or bricks and mortar. The next phase is a pan European consolidation down to about 7 or 8 big European banks, plus may be 20 or so second tier. This pandemic may kick if off or we may have to wait for something else but it is the only make banks profitable again. Given it 20 - 30 years and the banks in most of the smaller member EU states will be trade names, nothing more.
 
Jim2007 said:
Would be an idea to spend sometime learn the history of banking...
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Yes I get all that. Just to be clear, I was merely adding an observation in addition to the views expressed in the opening post.
I rarely enter a bank branch now, and when I do most of the services are automated.
I rarely use my credit card now either, certainly paying off any balance within the month when I do.
I simply don't get why they still get away with extortionate interest rates on credit cards. How they apply charges to accounts for any arbitrary reason.
I don't really need my wages paid into a bank account anymore, I could have it sent to my Paypal account, Google pay, Apple pay or a private wallet on my phone. I could set up direct debit charges from these accounts, pay online or use my phone.
And I don't see why ordinary joe public cannot have access to funds at rates equal to what are available to private commercial retail banks.
Commercial retail banks are heading for near extinction in my opinion. At best, they will only be a remnant of their former themselves.
 
Jim2007 said:
Absolutely not true. Irish banks T1 ratios and Basle III compliance is among the best in Europe and there is no sign of an significant change in that situation.
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They wouldn't be alone, of course, if there was another banking crisis. But they are exposed, due to their size. Too small to be considered systemic to the European banking system, but too big to be allowed to fail by the Irish financial system.
BoI, in particular, is exposed to the UK market. More than 40% of it's business is in residential mortgages, commercial loans, car finance and other unsecured loans.
If Brexit is a disaster, if there is a substanitial second wave of Covid, if sterling goes down the toilet. They could be looking at substantial losses. Maybe they have the capital to absorb such losses, but time will tell.
Maybe it would be better for Irish banks to realise that they are little banks, and just look after the Irish economy, instead of launcing themselves around the world, in these unstable and highly unpredictable times.
 
WolfeTone said:
The ECB sets the interest rate for Eurozone in consideration of the prevailing economic conditions and other known indicators (including any costs associated with newly acquired branch maintenance )
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Not sure why you feel the need for a roll-eyes there. I don't get how you think zero competition is somehow better for the consumer.
 
AIB to cut 1,500 jobs and vacate three Dublin offices - RTE
AIB to cut 1,500 jobs, close some branches - Independent.ie

"Customers are now interacting with the AIB banking app more than 1.54 million times a day, compared with 40,000 daily branch visits.

The bank said it has seen a 27pc increase in digital daily usage among customers aged over 65, and a 9pc increase in digital adoption among the over 40s."

"With 80pc of its staff working from home since the start of Covid-19, it is planning to vacate a further three of its six remaining Dublin head office locations as leases come up for renewal over the next few years. "

"Mr Hunt said Covid-19 has “dramatically changed the operating environment, presenting both challenges and opportunities and accelerating the trends of digitalisation, changing ways of working and sustainability."
 
People hear automation and they think of robots making cars but that's old news; manufacturing has been automated for decades. Automation now is AI and machine learning and that will wipe out mot of the jobs in banking and insurance and financial services generally.
What happens to solicitors when you can do your Conveyancing through Google maps and a pin number?
What happens to GP's when Apple or Samsung have medical diagnostics tools that we have in our homes backed up by doctors in India? If you facetime your GP she can be anywhere in the world.
There's already an AI reading brain scans in seconds which is far more accurate at picking yo tumors than any doctor.

Banking is ripe for change because it is flabby and inefficient but that'll just be the start of it.
 
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