Financial Services 2007 - issues, insights and solutions

Issues, insights and solutions in the financial services industry

July 2007

Globalisation offers opportunities for new market penetration, broader customer service offerings and innovation. Yet to realise the full potential, financial services organisations need to understand the risks and realities of growth, including working with diverse cultures and managing dispersed resources.

The fifth edition of this annual publication Fresh Perspectives 2007 provides a snapshot of our activities in the UK financial services sector, along with insight on some of the key issues linked to globalisation facing the industry, including M&A, risk and regulation.

Main issues include:

• Review of the 10th annual global CEO survey
• Financial Services transaction values increase making FS the most active sector in the M&A market
• A study of banking forecasts by 2050 where it’s predicted that the banking markets of the E7 will be both bigger and more profitable than the G7
• A look at the approach to regulation that prevailed under Basel I for banks and Solvency I for insurers – is it time for a risk- and principles-based approach to capital controls?
• Implications behind Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to seek comments on whether to allow US firms to report under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
• Assets deployed to hedge fund investment had topped $2 trillion by the beginning of 2007 in the alternative investment sector