Banking Career in the Digital Age

Banks and other financial institutions are undergoing a steep transformation with the rise of technological innovations, digitization and high net worth individuals (HNIs). This transformation requires learning and adaptation to new technologies and business models, leading to the evolution of workforce in the BFSI industry. According to the Accenture Banking Technology Vision 2018 report, 83% of Indian bankers believe that AI will work alongside humans in the next two years — a higher than the global average of 79%. In the same report, 93% of bankers in India agreed to use data to drive critical and automated decision-making.

Essentially, candidates looking to chart a career path in banking through the digital route should know that there is a growing demand for skills to understand and manage these technologies in this sector.

Let’s look at some of the major technological/digital trends of the BFSI sector and how you can be ready for them.  

Increase in demand for digital/technical expertise

Financial products and services have seen tremendous transformation due to the emergence of digital banking and the changing customer behaviour. Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and robotics process automation (RPA) are already permeating into the day to day operations of banking systems such as retail services, customer interaction, payments, transactions, etc. According to Gartner, digital transformation requires banks to focus on change management at the fundamental, organizational and cultural level. Financial experts also suggest an on-going evolution in job profiles and creation of more jobs due to the digital shift. Therefore, it is an opportune time for candidates to explore a career that offers an exposure to a mix of financial, digital and technical expertise. The Digital Learning program offered by MGA for BFSI is designed to focus on real-world problems of the BFSI sector and to equip professionals to be job ready for the new-age banking rol.

Use of big data and analytics

The increased use of digital technologies has resulted in the creation of an incredible amount of data. Modern financial firms realize that they need to make sense of this huge volume of data available to them in order to leverage it for their growth. From fraud detection to managing customer responses, or to risk modelling for investment firms - big data and analytics are becoming an integral function of financial businesses. Global financial institutions are hiring data scientists and analytics experts to help them create business solutions for calculating customer lifetime value (CLV), fraud detection, funds management, and much more. Data analysts are being recruited to design a personalised marketing solution for customers based on the unique needs and interaction with each customer. According to the Annual Survey on Data Science Recruitment in India 2018, banking (23.6%) is one the top industries holding most opportunities for data scientists. With an increasing number of financial firms and professionals turning to L&D to fill this wide skill gap in the sector, courses such as the MGA online certification program for professionals working in banks are gaining prominence.

Change in the role of leadership

In the rapidly changing business environment, financial firms are looking to develop and discover leaders who are highly adaptive and flexible to change. A futuristic leadership that can efficiently carry out change management without compromising on business goals is the key to success in the evolving BFSI sector. It’s the top management that sets the tone of being receptive to new skill needs, new processes, new management style, etc. for the entire organization to follow and hence, a strong leadership with a clear vision is essential in the transformational phase. According to the views of the Bank Governance Leadership Network (BGLN) participants, ‘finding the rights leaders’ will be a major focus for financial firms during the workforce evolution in the digital era. From rethinking the talent strategy to investing in leadership development, banks and other financial institutions are taking focused measures to find leaders who can drive transformation for their organizations. This is where uniquely designed leadership development solutions such as the one offered by MGA for BFSI come to help. MGA’s Leadership Development Solution for Banks and Insurance Companies introduces its participants to concepts such as strategic thinking, employee motivation, VUCA world, emotional intelligence and much more.

As far as the challenges of the technological advancements in BFSI industry go, they are both technical and mindset-related in nature. Therefore, for professionals in the banking industry, it is required to not only upgrade their hard skills but also adapt to new thinking styles to excel in the field.

Source:

• livemint.com
• business-standard.com
• analyticsindiamag.com
• ey.com