In the wake of the global financial crisis, retail bankers face another equally challenging shift to their business in the near term ? the demise of the branch.In the UK, one bank branch has closed everyday since 1990. In the US, transaction volume in-branch will be down almost 60% between the period 2006–2015. In developed economies, consumer visits to bank branches have been down 80–90%. Yet today most banks spend more than 80% of their channels budget on branch real estate, staffing and support. In a world where the fastest growing interactions with banks are through Internet, mobile phones and social media, what does the bank of 2015 look like? How will we support a 50% reduction in number of branches in the next few years? Where will all the tellers go, and what happens to all that real estate? Branch Today, Gone Tomorrow is a detailed, multi-faceted business case for the reprioritization of branch banking in the channel mix. It explores economics, behavioural shifts, trust issues facing banks, new retail distribution models and drivers challenging the branch-centric models of yesteryear. Branch Today is not about getting rid of every bank branch you have. It?s about understanding how banking changes when branches are no longer at the centre of acquisition, service and channel strategy.
