Leading Asian bank

1 min read

This bank was looking to enter the UK market & passport into Europe. They asked us for help with defining their market entry strategy, building the business case & preparing the banking license application. Here’s what happened…

As part of an international expansion plan, this leading Asian bank was looking to enter the UK market. This was so they could follow their natural target market of nationals from the home country who have migrated to the UK, as well as businesses looking to conduct cross border trade between the UK and the home country.

Pre-Brexit, the UK was also viewed as an entry point to passport into the rest of Europe. The bank was looking for support to define the market entry strategy, test the viability of a business in the UK, and to help prepare their license application. We were engaged to make this happen for them.

Why Elixirr?

Although this Asian bank had 2 incumbent consultancy firms working with them, we demonstrated 5 key differentiators that made us the right partner for them:

Expertise in financial services, and specific experience in banking license applications for non-UK banks entering the UK.
Extensive knowledge and network of the fintech ecosystem to help define alternative business models to deliver the proposition at pace.
Experience in operationalising a strategy with senior industry practitioners, and to define a strategy that is implementable.
Our entrepreneurial and collaborative approach, demonstrating we are easy to work with and have a passion to make things work, delivering value for our clients.
Knowledge of the target market and home country, providing context.

01 Overview

This leading Asian bank was looking to enter the UK market, and passport into Europe. They needed support in defining the market entry strategy, building the business case and preparing the banking license application. We were engaged to make this happen for them.

02 Outcome

Definition of target customers, value proposition, business case, operating model & roadmap for UK entry. Financial model & regulatory business plan for the license application.

03 Method

Market analysis, customer surveys & interviews, detailed financial modeling, and business plan write-up.

The challenge

As the UK banking market is highly competitive and subject to strict regulatory requirements, this Asian bank sought help in defining a differentiated proposition that would reach a wider target audience beyond the natural target audience of nationals from the home country. They were looking for support in quantifying the size of the opportunity, and in creating the business case to demonstrate the viability of the business. These were needed as evidence for the license application.

The approach

We conducted market analysis, customer surveys, and interviews to quantify the size of the opportunity. We learned lessons from other foreign banks that have entered the UK market, and used internal and external market benchmarks to build assumptions in the business case.

The value

We prepared a regulatory business plan for the license application, which consisted of strategy, target customers, value proposition, products and services, operating model, marketing, financial model and business case – profit and loss, cashflow, and balance sheet, as well as sensitivity analysis. This formed the foundation of the application that was submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority, which is currently under review.

We conducted market analysis, customer surveys and interviews to quantify the size of the opportunity. We learned lessons from other foreign banks that have entered the UK market and used internal and external market benchmarks to build assumptions in the business case.

Barry Lewis – Partner, Elixirr