Banks Get a Glimpse of the Post-Coronavirus Future
The pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital banking by two years, says McKinsey. The finance industry needs to seize this opportunity.
Cash isn’t king anymore.
Photographer: Robert Alexander
Like all businesses upended by the pandemic lockdowns, banks were forced to reorganize with little time. They managed to shutter large parts of their branch networks and to send most of their employees to work remotely. So far, the experiment has been largely free of glitches — and instructive.
By redeploying armies of staff, lenders were mostly able to adapt to the unprecedented surge in client inquiries that accompanied the rollout of emergency state-backed loans and mortgage holidays. On top of that, banks also got a glimpse of their digital future. Now comes the hard part: hanging on to the most useful changes as the lockdowns ease.