Insights for Feb-24
I was lucky enough to attend The Cards & Payments Awards last week. It was fabulous to see the levels of creativity and innovation that the payments industry continues to deliver every year. Congratulations to the teams behind all winners as delivering these new solutions require the best of all of us. This level of change is not only at the customer level but also at the corporate level – I suspect that a number of firms in the acquiring space will be updating their “relationship status” on their social media pages: Worldpay’s separation from FIS has been completed Credit Agricole and Worldline are coupling up and Barclays are considering their options.
However, this level of change is not restricted to payments and there are lots of interesting activities across financial services and in this copy of the newsletter we talk about:
1. Target operating model in financial advice – The next frontier of value creation (part 1)
2. Internationalisation of commercial insurance broking (podcast)
3. Improving access to lending for the financially vulnerable: An urgent call to action for the consumer lending industry and its ecosystem
4. …and revealing our ‘Strictly Come Presenting Winner’
1. Target operating model in financial advice – The next frontier of value creation (part 1)
"Operating model" is a big buzzword in the financial advice industry right now, but few firms (big or small) are doing it right. In a two-part article that is the start to our 2024 wealth management series, Matt Lonsdale and Bronswe Cheung will explore how advisers can use a well-designed (but still practical) operating model to drive efficiency, compliance and commercial performance.
Authors: Bronswe Cheung Matt Lonsdale
2. Internationalisation of commercial insurance broking
In this episode, we explore the next wave of consolidation in commercial insurance broking and the dynamics driving this global trend. Our host, Marcela Santacoloma, is joined by L.E.K. experts who offer valuable insights into the international consolidation thesis and its significance.
L.E.K. Partners Sam Halliday and Gigi Wong shed light on the drivers behind the consolidation of insurance brokers in domestic markets and the shift towards international expansion. They discuss the value-creation opportunities and shareholder perspectives involved in this strategy. Delving into the intricacies of direct and best practice synergies, they highlight the critical enablers of successful integration in a cross-border buy-and-build strategy.
Featuring: Sam Halliday Gigi Wong Marcela Santacoloma Valencia
3. Improving access to lending for the financially vulnerable: An urgent call to action for the consumer lending ecosystem
In our latest Executive Insights, we examine the state of the consumer lending industry and availability of credit. We find a non-standard credit population of c.16-17m UK adults, a substantial increase from recent history, even from the cyclical high following the GFC. And we identify the scope of potential solution areas that the industry and its ecosystem could explore to improve access in ways that are sustainable for both borrowers and lenders.
Author: Peter Ward Bronswe Cheung Amit Gujar Young Lu
Recommended by LinkedIn
4. Our most recent ‘Strictly Come Presenting’ winner… Xiaohan!
Each month we have a presentation from a member of the consulting team on a topic related to financial services, we then give a rating across key criteria to the presentation, and at the end of each quarter we give a prize to the presenter with the highest average score. Xiaohan won the Q4 2023 ‘Strictly Come Presenting’ with an insightful and (timely) presentation on ‘The Red Packet and the Rise of the Super App (WeChat). The presentation centred on how WeChat’s creation of the ‘digital red envelope’ (the tradition of giving money to friends and family in red envelope on Chinese New Year but digitalised) was a critical success factor in WeChat becoming the superapp that it is today.
The presentation (delivered yesterday) was timely as we celebrated Chinese New Year with a mini buffet and red envelopes (see below).
Popular publications
L.E.K. capabilities
Connect with our thought leaders
Ashish Khanna, Peter Ward, Eilert Hinrichs, Sam Halliday, Bronswe Cheung, Pretam Singh, Douglas King, Richard Mould, Gigi Wong, Sam Shinner, Clayton Souza, Felipe Ahouagi
The L.E.K. financial services team helps clients develop fact-based, practical, winning strategies for our dynamic sectors. Our work for investors, shareholders and leaders brings insight and a rare breadth of experience and perspective to drive strategic decision making.