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Location

London

Member since

2017

Vladimir Dimitroff

Chairman at Senior Executives Forum

Posts: 0 Comments: 8

Bio Event series, publishing and networking platform for leaders in the UK Private Wealth sector Career History Senior corporate roles in Technology, followed by extensive Management Consulting career. Lifetime interest in Innovation: advisor to startups and venture investors, occasional founder or seed investor. Active speaker, author and event organiser.

Vladimir is Commenting on

Starling launches saving product for business customers

I thought small businesses were mostly cashflow-strapped, rather than having any surplus to freeze... but she must have done her homework, real data and facts matter more than our gut feel ;)

14 Feb 2023 Reply Read article

Citi to exit UK retail market

Inviting Retail clients with potential to join Private Banking is a good move (they've apparently done their segmentation analytics) - but is a one-off source for customer (and AUM) acquisition. After the closure they will lose this perpetual inflow of upwardly-mobile, migrating customers (and their wealth). Traditional acquisition strategies (prospecting, marketing lead generation and referrals) have worked in the last 200 years, but are no longer enough in the digital age. Just ask any private bank which does not have a retail sister or parent in the group - growing the base (even staying wehre you are) has become a tough game. If growth is not an objective (seriously? Which American company doesn't have it as a top priority?) - then Citi can focus on retention and keeping the wealth 'in the family' during the massive generational transition already under way. Good luck in staying wehre they are! Alternatively they could opt to minimise costs (and losses) form retail operations, but keep them - even expand like their other US brethren, to cast a wider net for profitable private clients from the segmentsbelow?

25 Sep 2022 Reply Read article

Fintech founders accuse Starling's Boden of trying to stifle innovation

This sounds like a Cancel Culture exercise - taking a phrase out of context, and attacking for the keyword 'failure'. As far as I read in media reports, she apparently said that OB has "failed to enocurage bank account switching"... Where are those words in the woke accusers' attack??? Leave aside (for a moment) whether account switching was ever the top priority raison d'etre of Open Banking. (Neobanks, including Starling, can be excused for having such expectations). But said switching has not materialised in any significant numbers. Fact. How does a statement of fact constitute the sin of 'stifling innovation'?!? Open Banking was, indeed, a remarkable success in areas like account aggregation / single view / wallet type services, and by extension - in the emerging and important area of PFM (personal finance management), where a 360-drgeee visibility of all customer's activities, assets and liabilities adds significant value and this use case of OB is likely to continue growing. There is limited but promising success in simplifying, automating and speeding up onboarding and account management with non-bank ('merchant') players like utilities and retailers. And a number of lesser areas with 'long tail' cumulative contribution to the thriving fintech sector. But I haven't read about Ms Boden denying those success areas or suggesting better methods for stimulating their growth? She wanted people to switch their main bank (in particular - their salary destinatio account) from the high-street incumbents to the neobanks. Din't happenl sorry - but stating that fact is no crime to make such vicious noise about.

06 Jan 2022 Reply Read article

NatWest launches digital challenger Bó

"...Will be interesting to see what effect, if any, they will have on the industry..." One certain effect is that every established player in the industry will launch (or has already launch) their own 'challenger' bank. Some are practising or contemplating the 'lazy man's' path to it: "If you can't beat them, ... BUY them!" - and are acquiring suitable startups to save development time and risks. The impact on the industry is obvious and irreversible, perhaps a model for the enitre industry (and I mean FinServ, beyond just Banking) migration to digital-only / virtual 'institutions'. It was predicted 2 decades ago, the Finnacial Crisis slowed the advent, but the future is coming faster than we may think :)

28 Nov 2019 Reply Read article