Challenges to Modern Banking World

Innovation enables organization to grow, prosper and transform with the changes in the environment, both internally and externally. Banking sector has witnessed a revolutionary transformation based on many innovations in products, processes, services, systems, business models, technology, governance and regulations. The influence of the information technology has truly revolutionaries banking system. Now days, banking has become boundary less and virtual with a 24/7 model.

Challenges continue to grow, so traditional banks need to constantly improve their operations in order to keep up with the change in the banking and financial industry today. Here is an attempt has been made to discuss different challenges which are likely to be faced by modern banking system.

Regulatory Pressures:

Regulatory requirements continue to increase, banks spend a large portion of their budget on being compliant and on adopting new advanced systems and processes to keep up with these requirements.

Researches over the past few years confirms that the burden of regulation is one of the major challenges to banks which could require a bank having sufficient capital resources to meet its capital requirements. New strict regulations may prohibit the lending ability of banking community or can increase the costs of that lending. In addition, There is no other option, the cost of non-compliance is much too high and heavy financial penalties are charged in certain consequence for non-compliance.

Increase in Competition by Shadow Banking:

“shadow banking,” an almost sinister-sounding term that originated during 2007–08. Shadow banking has made a roaring come back in new advanced forms that still managed to escape banking regulations and could create systemic risks because their activities are deeply interrelated with traditional banking system. The shadow banking process involves transactions of corporations and governments through large institutions other than regulated commercial banks. The multidirectional links between banks and nonbank intermediaries (NBI) creates fear that an NBI collapse would most likely to affect the whole banking sector. These concerns were introduced during the 2007–08 Global Financial Crisis.

Peer-to-peer lending (P2P), is one of the newest features in shadow banking that directly connects borrowers and lenders through different online platforms and most of P2P loans are unsecured loans lend to businesses. Shadow banking system challenges the commercial banks in different dimensions and making themselves a strong competitor in banking society.

Macroeconomic Obstacles:

For bankers, uncertainties in the macroeconomic environment and high level of debt across corporate, and consumer sectors can cause their asset bubbles to burst in the event of instability. Inflation rate (one of macroeconomic factors) has most impact on banking sector.

Today macroeconomic risk is top of the concern for bankers, risk managers, and analysts who are concerned about current growth of economy.

Social and Ethical Concerns:

Now days banks proactively undertake the responsibility to bear the social and ethical aspects of banking system. This is a challenge for commercial banks to consider these aspects in their operations apart from profit maximization and other commercial banking activities and goals.

Social Banking, has focus on satisfying existing needs in the real economy and the society also considering their social, cultural, ecological, and economic sustainability.

Recently Green banking, Agri banking and Rural banking has been introduced by keeping in view these ethical concerns. There are some major concerns about environmental issues in banking sector. Therefore, banks need to pay attention to their outputs whether they are violating environmental issues or not. That is why they specially finance organizations from organic food and farming businesses and generating renewable energy enterprises, to recycling companies and nature protection projects.

Political Risk:

Bankers expressed different concerns that governments could interrupt the banking operations for a multiple of reasons, including for raising revenues in a time of budget stress, increasing investor protection, and creating new national tax system. Bankers also point out that the uncertainty in political environments including upcoming elections, could result in greater interference over banking operations.

Mostly bankers are aware of the political interference in their operations, lending policies, and taxation.

Cloud Computing:

Cloud computing offers a lot of benefits and it innovates the way bank works by saving time and decreasing cost, but today cloud computing is suffering from different safety hazards.

There are some challenges that modern banking system is facing in adopting cloud computing system like, protection of cloud data, safeguarding the confidential data, quality of cloud services, protecting data from hackers, regulatory requirements etc.

Security is the customer’s most significant problem now days. If a customer wants to take complete advantage of cloud computing, then information facilities and safety of application must be assured for the customer and this assurance has become a major challenge in modern banking world.

This will enforce banks to build systems with privacy and protection in mind from the start that definitely make them bear high cost.

E-Banking Challenges:

(Zahoor et al. 2017) explained the progress of banking sector by technology and this can be observed by anyone. For example, by the introduction of ATM (automated teller machine), Mobile Phone-banking and most recently internet banking. The arrival of ICT (information & communication technology) from the last decade have enabled the expansion of e-banking networks in the country.

The faster internet availability provides more facilities to the customers of different banks such as easier cash withdrawal, faster money transfer, web and mobile applications for their customers. But on the other hand, banking sector also faced different cyber security threats due to internet connectivity like privacy of customer’s accounts and banking system security. Moreover, now days it is a great challenge for banks to provide advanced e-banking facilities to be called as modern bank in society.

Global banking:

Now days, it is impossible for any nation to exclude itself from world economy. Therefore, for better development, one has to adopt liberalization and globalization in banking sector also. The impact of globalization becomes a challenge for the domestic banks as they are bound to compete with global players. If we look at the Pakistani Banking Industry, then we will find that there are 8 foreign banks operating in Pakistan, which has become a major challenge for public and private sector banks. These foreign banks are large in size, technically and technologically advanced and having significant presence in global market, which gave more and better options and services to Pakistani customers and traders out there.

Conclusion:

There’s no doubt that the banking sector is changing. It always does. But when you think about recent shifts in technology, regulation or global events, the changes can make you feel amazed.

With these changing and advancements, different challenges and risks are also evolved which cannot be neglected. Whether you’re a large multinational bank or a small institution, it’s time to upgrade your plans and strategies, because what has led to success until now may not work as well in the future.

REFERENCES:

[1]. Dr. K.A. Goyal and Vijay Joshi (2011). A STUDY OF SOCIAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN BANKING INDUSTRY

[2]. ARNOUD W. A. BOOT AND ANJAN V. THAKOR (2018), COMMERCIAL BANKING AND SHADOW BANKING: The Accelerating Integration of Banks and Markets and its Implications for Regulation

[3].Adina Apatachioae (2014)), New Challenges in Management of Banking Risks

[4]. CONTEMPORARY BANKING SYSTEMS: THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION

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