Most financial institutions are no longer restricted to a single market. With Italian Unicredito taking over the German Hypo VereinsBank, HSBC taking a 20% stake in China’s Bank of Communications, and Dutch ABN AMRO Bank’s acquisition of Italian Banca Antonveneta, the next round of international M&A’s has begun.
Yet, the banking and insurance industry are mature sectors in industrialized countries. Major players in those economies are looking for faster growth in the emerging markets. Some have even formed joint ventures with local financial institutions in China and India. With insurance premiums as a percentage of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) well below the worldwide average in developing countries, and coupled with the good possibility of the pension market opening up as well, there is an unprecedented potential of untapped markets in these countries.
As a Chief Information Officer (CIO) you will have to decide on how to reap the benefits of the potential economies of scale.
So do you simply merge your Information Technology (IT) departments or conduct a more in-depth reorganization of your IT Delivery Chain?
