Banking is Necessary, but Banks are not

In 1994, when Bill Gates said this phrase, what he probably meant is that we don’t need banks to make payments even if we need payments; or need loans, but we don’t need banks to get loans, and all these statements are correct because these are all transactional moments.

In the current economic and technological context, sometimes it is easy to forget that there is more to banks than just executing those transactions. However, when we take a step back, we notice that the role of the banks is much more than that.

Let’s take the example of climate change and sustainable development. The nature of banking means that industry players can influence every aspect of society, including individuals, businesses, and larger organizations. Banks are investors in the real economy and have the opportunity to use all the levers at their disposal to lead impact and change in society.

As explained by the BCG “They [financial institutions] serve as fiduciary stewards, allocators, and distributors of capital across the global economy and directly impact the ability of people to manage their money and build wealth. At the same time, there is a clear and expansive business case for creating solutions to address social issues—including gaining access to new and fast-growing markets, improved financial performance and cost of capital, enhanced ability to attract talent, and reduced reputational and regulatory risk.

In this talk, supported by proprietary research by SBS and Sopra Steria Group, we proposed to talk about the greater role of banks and why even if transactions don’t need banks anymore, society does.