The whole fintech discussion has changed

Jacoline Loewen

It was terrific to hear our COO, Axel Lehmann, chat about Fintech and banking during his visit to Toronto for SIBOS. Here is a great interview with Business Insider which covers a few of the topics Axel covered with us this week.

Business Insider chatted with Axel Lehmann, chief operating officer of Swiss bank UBS, to ask how the organisation is coming to terms with fast-changing world of fintech.

Ben Moshinsky: Where are the main threats and opportunities to UBS from the fintech boom?

Axel Lehmann: True change is really coming from outside the industry. That is the key challenge we face as of today. The whole fintech discussion has changed, we have moved on from discussing whether a revolution is taking place, and how the banks will become redundant, to a place where most banks are looking at collaborative efforts with other firms. This is why most of what we do in terms of technological development we do in partnership with fintech companies.

I don’t want to get blindsided. It’s less the technology, as such, providing a transformative element in the banking industry. It’s really alternative business models that have the potential to shake up everything and eat into our cake.

It is also full of opportunities. We, the banks, are operating from a position of strength from a customer perspective especially in terms of the amount of customer interaction, the know-how we can provide, and the services we can offer. You can’t create any of this overnight.

And secondly, we have a legacy infrastructure which can be regarded as a liability, but it’s also an asset. When the Trump election got through, for example, volatility was high. We have an infrastructure that can scale up in line with volatility, and that’s something you need to have.

So, in this regard, I’m personally optimistic. It’s easier, when you look to consumer industries, for example, Uber or WhatsApp, to disrupt a lightly regulated sector. But when you look at where we as banks are, you get into the highly regulated space immediately, when you talk about balance sheet and liquidity, and this makes this industry less easy to disrupt.

But no doubt, we still do have to be mindful that we’re not losing out on some of that less regulated space, particularly at the point of customer interaction.

BM: What's the most exciting technology on your radar?

AL: I truly believe that whole question of robotics and artificial intelligence over a time horizon of four to eight years will fundamentally change the banking business. As banks, we understand that our business is all about data. These technologies have the potential to really fundamentally change the way we operate in terms of getting smarter with the customer, understanding what kind of products we should offer and so on. That is definitely exciting.

Succesful entrepreneurs who combine their business with their travel

I dislike Chai tea usually. It has a taste that does not fit my taste expectations which lean towards a sharper  Kenyan black tea. Until I was made the perfect cup of Chai tea by Eamon Fitzgerald and Rebecca Moroney, founder of Chaiwala Chai, and they changed my tea tastes

Rebecca Moroney and Eamon Fitzgerald

for ever. They use the correct traditional method and the taste was heavenly. It truly is a cup of contemplation. Now I find myself heading to Balzac for one of these Chai teas which have the comfort of a hot chocolate, but the calories of a latte. 

I caught up with the couple in the Toronto Star. Becca and Eamon have bought a van and use it to travel across Canada as they run their business, as they are also seasoned travellers who have been in Africa, Europe and South America. They would make a great pair for a reality TV show. Here is an excerpt from the Toronto Star article.

The Toronto couple has been living in a converted cargo van since spring — travelling thousands of kilometres across Canada. Their view changes often, from the snow-topped mountains of Squamish, B.C., to the beaches of Prince Edward County.
“It’s like we have a $5 million cottage on the water,” says Moroney, of spending summer days parked along a County side street. “The best part of van life is you have your home with you everywhere you go.”
Moroney, 27, and Fitzgerald, 25 are among thousands who have taken up “van life.” With more than 2.1 million posts under the hashtag #vanlife on the photo-sharing app Instagram, it’s one of the most coveted lifestyles on social media.

Read the full article.

What's the most exciting technology on your radar?

It has been a week of technology here in Toronto with SIBOS, CIX and the UBS Future of Finance Awards Dinner.

One of the questions I got to ask our finalists of the UBS Future of Finance was their views on cryptocurrencies and banking fintechs impact on banks. Our UBS COO, Axel Lehmann, spoke about this topic too. Axel Lehmann said,

I truly believe that whole question of robotics and artificial intelligence over a time horizon of four to eight years will fundamentally change the banking business. As banks, we understand that our business is all about data. These technologies have the potential to really fundamentally change the way we operate in terms of getting smarter with the customer, understanding what kind of products we should offer and so on. That is definitely exciting.

I post on Twitter the question: What is the most exciting technology on your radar. One of the best answers came from Roman Monaenkov @roma_odin  who said his answer was Etherium - the cryptocurrency. Do I sense a little bias as Vitalik is also Russian and here in Toronto.

Here is the fantastic video sent by Roman which features Vitalik Buterin, one of the founders of Etherium.  Vitalik is speaking as the keynote speaker at MaRS explaining cryptocurrency in a thorough and understandable presentation.

Vitalak Buterin, speaking about Etherium and cryptocurrency at MaRS, Toronto.

Follow on Twitter @jacolineloewen

True change in Banking is really coming from outside the industry - Fintechs

Visiting Toronto for SIBOS, Axel Lehmann, chief operating officer of UBS, carved out time to speak at The National Club. During his talk, Mr. Lehmann delved into financial technology – or 'fintech' – and how UBS is engaging with this exciting technology.

Here is an excerpt from a recent interview between Business Insider and Mr. Lehmann which gives a summary of the topics Axel covered here in Toronto. Read full interview here. 

While no lender wants to become the next Nokia or Kodak, crushed by an innovation they failed to properly understand, it's not always clear how an organization with 100,000 employees should deal with the threats and opportunities posed by fintech.

Ben Moshinsky: Where are the main threats and opportunities to UBS from the fintech boom?

Axel Lehmann: True change is really coming from outside the industry. That is the key challenge we face as of today. The whole fintech discussion has changed, we have moved on from discussing whether a revolution is taking place, and how the banks will become redundant, to a place where most banks are looking at collaborative efforts with other firms. This is why most of what we do in terms of technological development we do in partnership with fintech companies.

It’s less the technology, as such, providing a transformative element in the banking industry. It’s really alternative business models that have the potential to shake up everything and eat into our cake.

We have a legacy infrastructure which can be regarded as a liability, but it’s also an asset

It is also full of opportunities. We, the banks, are operating from a position of strength from a customer perspective especially in terms of the amount of customer interaction, the know-how we can provide, and the services we can offer. You can’t create any of this overnight.

And secondly, we have a legacy infrastructure which can be regarded as a liability, but it’s also an asset. When the Trump election got through, for example, volatility was high. We have an infrastructure that can scale up in line with volatility, and that’s something you need to have.

So, in this regard, I’m personally optimistic. It’s easier, when you look to consumer industries, for example, Uber or WhatsApp, to disrupt a lightly regulated sector. But when you look at where we as banks are, you get into the highly regulated space immediately, when you talk about balance sheet and liquidity, and this makes this industry less easy to disrupt.

But no doubt, we still do have to be mindful that we’re not losing out on some of that less regulated space, particularly at the point of customer interaction.

BM: What's the most exciting technology on your radar?

AL: I truly believe that whole question of robotics and artificial intelligence over a time horizon of four to eight years will fundamentally change the banking business. As banks, we understand that our business is all about data. These technologies have the potential to really fundamentally change the way we operate in terms of getting smarter with the customer, understanding what kind of products we should offer and so on. That is definitely exciting.

Business Insider then asked about how UBS is interacting with fintech. Mr. Lehmann explains the Future of Finance Challenge which was run around the globe. Out of the 11 regional finalists in the Americas, Canada has 5 companies going to New York. It shows that Canada has a dynamic fintech industry.

Here is the article again:

BM: How does a bank, like UBS with tens of thousands of employees, interact with a fintech startup of just a few people? What kind of cultural changes need to happen

AL: Dealing with fintechs is a cultural shift that needs to take place and you want to have the local people to innovate. At UBS we have a systematic process on how we expose ourselves to fintech companies. For example, we have a series of initiatives that we’re driving, such as our Future of Finance Challenge. This competition, which is happening at the moment, provides a forum for start-ups and growing companies to come and present their ideas to compete for support from UBS to

Axel and Sophie Perceval, Wondereur, award for Future of Finance

accelerate their ideas. That’s the type of work we’re doing. We really want to take advantage of some of those fast-moving and smaller boats with great ideas and great software that we can scale up and use in our organisation.

BM: Is competition for those boats fierce? How do you make sure you invest enough time and money?

AL: UBS has a CHF2.1 billion net saving target, but nevertheless our IT spend is at a record level of more than 10% of revenues. We do not sacrifice mid-term and longer term development to make numbers for a quarter. Secondly, if you look to our overall positioning it is quite unique, and that gives me confidence. We’re the global leader in wealth management, which is one of the key areas to invest in digital. Every dollar we invest there, hopefully wisely, is helping us strengthen that franchise.

Jacoline Loewen, Future of Finance Awards Dinner

The Five Finalists for the Future of Finance from Canada are:

Global-Regulations
MindBridge
Overbond
Veriday
Wondereur

How much do you need to save for retirement?