Financial Services

Sector overview

The UK is the world's leading financial services market. However, with many new entrants to the sector, and advances in communications and business technology supporting new business models, the retail banking industry – now divided into large multinationals on the one hand, and small niche providers on the other – is going through a period of dramatic transition.

Overseas competition and the relentless rise of Internet-based services have driven down margins and are challenging established providers, who are under unprecedented pressure to develop new products, services and channels to market in order to stay ahead.

And the market is no longer local. With the home banking industry reaching saturation point, industry leaders are turning to customers outside the UK to grow their businesses. Only the strongest financial organisations can succeed on a global scale, so with globalisation comes continuing consolidation and a steady reduction in the number of individual banks.

Ironically, globalisation may have exposed these organisations to greater risk, and in particular, made them more vulnerable to the destabilising effects of the Credit Crunch – itself, an agent of further rationalisation as weaker banks and building societies are acquired by stronger competitors.

Against this back-drop, financial services companies have to contend with a new breed of informed consumer, with access to unparalleled choice, and the ability to compare prices, and transfer products and providers, with ease. What's more, they can no longer rely on brand loyalty or customer inertia to deliver profits year after year.

In addition, these companies are having to come to terms with increasing regulatory pressure from the FSA, Office of Fair Trading, the Banking Code Standards Board and US regulators embracing consumer rights, business practice, prudent balance sheet management, and money-laundering.

To function effectively in this dynamic environment, banks, insurers and other financial service companies have embraced and now depend on IT systems for the gathering and distribution of information, to improve operational efficiency and enhance competitiveness – and, of course, to facilitate customer transactions and relationship building.

As criminal organisations become more determined and technically sophisticated, the development of robust systems to protect the ever-growing interactive consumer base becomes a vital imperative for the banking community.

To survive and succeed in this highly dynamic environment, financial service organisations must not only undergo continuous structural change, they must also equip themselves to manage and implement strategic and operational change.

Driven by the need for new thinking, practical outcomes – and above all, results – retail banks, insurers and other financial services organisations who lack the necessary skills and experience in-house, but are understandably reluctant to increase headcounts, are looking increasingly to Randstad Interim Executives to facilitate that change.
Having the ability to call on the best people, at exactly the right time, gives our clients the flexibility they need to compete effectively in today's turbulent markets.

Sector experience

To meet the demands of the retail market, Randstad offers a dedicated Financial Services Interim Management practice with over 20 years' industry experience across the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific. To date, we have delivered over 1500 successful assignments.
Not surprisingly, over this period, we have developed a portfolio of clients that includes the major high street banks, building societies and insurance providers (including in house and independent insurance companies, and companies serving the re-insurance market). Our portfolio includes smaller firms too, who find the ability to source the skills they need just when they need them, helps provide operational and financial stability.

Our intimate knowledge of the sector enables us to understand the impact of regulatory control such as Basel – and the raising of risk management to the top of the agenda. Equally, we recognise the urgency to create innovative products, and the high priority given to enhancing the customer experience and improving retention.

At Randstad Interim Executives, we have built a strong team of Interim Financial Service Professionals with proven track records and who collectively have in-depth experience and up-to the-minute expertise across all the relevant disciplines.

Their strategic strengths, leadership skills and operational ability equip them to undertake professional roles ranging from Board-level assignments to Project Management roles.

Randstad Interim Executives financial services assignments

Typical interim management assignments we have placed recently include:

• Marketing Lead – campaign management retail bank
• Programme Director – product launch credit cards
• Finance Partner – insurance, development of MI,
• IT risk and compliance – life and pensions, retail bank Basel – content expert
• HR Change Management – OD, restructuring
• Lead Business Analyst – six sigma, process re-engineering business banking
• Project Manager – regional restructuring, disposal
• IT Security Professional – cards
• Acting COO – insurance
• CFO – insurance, Germany
• Sales Transformation – wealth management
• Outsourcing Lead – off-shoring review and partner selection

Randstad Interim Executives are also highly effective in project management roles – ideal, where a project is short-term and there is no need for a permanent appointment. Recent and on-going projects include:

• Credit Cards - replatforming programme - replacing old platform for card payments/services and replace with new platform enabling rapid expansion of customer base.
• Retail Banking - regulatory programme - Anti Money Laundering - to implement controls and compliance to AML regulation
• Building Society - Faster Payments programme -to reduce the time taken for 'low value' payments made person-to-person and business-to-business - which normally take three working days using BAC - to near real time, essentially as if the two accounts were in the same bank.
• Insurance Company - Motor Repair Centres - seeking to expand its motoring operations, achieve economies of scale and deliver a consistent and high quality service to all customers.