And what bits of the survey catch the eye as, well, a bit out of the ordinary? Here are four:
One: Graham Beale, chief executive of Nationwide Building Society, says there’s an appetite from the tripartite regulators (Financial Services Authority, Bank of England and HM Treasury) to boost the mutual sector with one or two more “big-ticket” players to sit alongside his own Swindon-based giant.
He says it’s early days so far, but the model being considered is in the Netherlands, where Rabobank is a collective of around 150 institutions. “We’re at the very early stage of exploring opportunities in the UK to mirror such arrangements,” he told the CBI/PwC surveyors.
There may be the start of something bigger form the merger of the Co-operative Bank and Britannia Building Society, says Mr Beale. The same could come from Yorkshire and Chelsea getting spliced.
So give them a hearing, but don’t give yourself any prizes for guessing the top findings:
- Too much regulation is bad, and the financial crisis has given regulators an opportunity to boost their interference.
- Any kind of regulation from Brussels seems to be bad, and intended to do down the City of London.
- Asia is the Next Big Thing, and China in particular. Chinese banks are going to edge into the world top 10.
- UK banking could see the emergence of new competitors such as Virgin and Tesco. And it’s going to be less exciting and profitable.
- Financial innovation will have to prove its worth, and will have to meet customer scepticism about products they don’t understand.
Transparency will be valued.
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