Six Theses - Thomas Steiger talks about trust in banking

1. The profitability of the banking sector in Europe is weak. This is due to constantly rising regulatory costs, negative interest rates and increasing restrictions and competition on the earnings side. However, profitability is also an essential component of confidence.
2. When mistakes are made, transparency is the best way to maintain or regain trust.
3. The multitude of regulations has led to banks being much better capitalised today than before the financial crisis. This has created trust, but many customers are overwhelmed by the amount of information and documents they (must) receive from the banks.
4. As a result of the negative interest rates, customer behaviour has changed to the extent that when bonds mature, there is great interest in alternative investments that generate a regular cash flow (e.g. real estate funds). In this regard, VP Bank has recorded strong demand for corresponding investment fund services.
5. Technological progress in artificial intelligence is proceeding faster than humans can adapt. In Europe, we are also concerned primarily with data protection in this context, while in the USA and Asia, the opportunities offered by technology are seen first. In this way, Europe runs the risk of missing the technological connection.
6. Competition is good and brings continuous improvements for the customer. New bank models such as N26 are very innovative and consistently implement technology. They set new standards in the area of account openings and force traditional banks to rethink their processes.

In over 60 years, VP Bank has earned the trust of its clients and continues to be a trustworthy bank in turbulent times. On the client side, this can be measured, among other things, through net new money, and on the employee side through the number and quality of applications for open positions.