Global wholesale bank: delivering a new international trade booking model strategy

The Challenge

Our client was seeking to grow their business both across emerging markets and internationally – but was restricted in doing so by a number of operational efficiencies and system constraints, as well as macro-economic factors. Faced with similar challenges, their competitors were seeking to centralise their risk from trade booking as a means of creating efficiencies and more attractive propositions for international clients. This was achieved by leveraging low-risk, international trade booking jurisdictions.

In order to enable growth, our client sought our wholesale banking expertise to help optimise their trade booking model. This would centralise operations and enable them to better leverage low-risk jurisdictions, allowing the bank to remain competitive, drive growth and build better customer primacy in a rapidly evolving economy. Our teams worked to effectively identify the options available to our client as well as the corresponding nuances and considerations.

The Approach

Working collaboratively over a 5-week period, our wholesale banking experts provided our client with a thorough and practical recommendation on their strategic international trade booking model. Firstly, we conducted desk-based research to obtain outside-in perspectives that would educate our client on the options available to them, complemented by peer analysis obtained through our industry leading network. We conducted over 20 stakeholder interviews, as well as collaborative working sessions, to understand the current landscape and start identifying potential principles for the future booking model. We then carried out practical analysis on the current booking model and leveraged our in-house industry experts to iteratively design future booking models. These new models would offer advantage to our client and help them deliver on their business strategy.

The Impact

On the back of this short but focused piece of work, our client had the tools and understanding to inform strategic decision making around their future international trade booking model. As well as this, they had a clear view of the implications that the various options available to them would have, from a technology, operating model and location strategy perspective. With this information, executives were able to effectively make informed strategic decisions that would guide and enable the bank’s strategy to grow its international customer base, build customer primacy and reduce operational burden and trade booking risk.