Is credit still available only for old people? Is the success of a lending business in how much data to assess rather than how much money to lend?
What if today the real competition in our industry is between HR departments in the quest for talents?
Which experts will no longer be needed? What functions will be fully automated by 2020?
Can we assess the reliability of a car driver using psychometrics too? What if we all operated based on the assumption that we all have been hacked? How does all that crazy start-up heat affect the classic lending industry players? What do the banks have to say? Is “fintech” a mere commodity now?
Such and much more questions were raised at the Creditinfo Global Forum 2017, therefore if the event that happened in Marrakech on 19-21 September was to be described in one sentence, only a metaphor could do.
The Creditinfo Global Forum 2017, a bi-annual conference which is designed for the lending industry leaders, was a multinational melting-pot full of fresh ideas, game-changing thoughts and innovations, big personalities and spicy opinions, all enriched thanks to the multiplicity of cultures and backgrounds. This global conference was a third international bi-annual event by Creditinfo and the largest top-level industry reunion so far, counting 250+ attendees, ±50 nationalities and more than 25 renowned speakers from all around the world, including IFC, the EU Court and, of course, BIIA who’s General Manager Joachim Bartels delivered a key note.
Practical classic solutions and old good truths, as efficient as they are today, were being challenged by the numerous pop-alternatives and fintech innovations, which are now extremely abundant, attractive and appealing, however how easily applicable, secure, robust and sustainable though? If one thing is for sure, is that AI, machine learning and Blockchain are the new kids on the block that are already rewriting some of the common practices within our industry.
This tango of alternatives and classics in credit risk management and fintech is a beautiful dance which we will enjoy for a few more years to come, it seems. The alternatives challenging the status quo are striving to narrow the gap between the consumer expectations and the ability of current business to meet them, so whoever will manage to close that gap will be able to move the whole party to a completely new dance floor. Interestingly, these challengers to defy, to support or to supplement the classic players can be quantified and the number is impressive: more than 35.000 fintech start-ups in the past 5 years. Such numbers don’t show a trend anymore, they show a reality.
Coming back to the Global Forum, the best of news is that more than 250 top-level forum participants, all together and in the best of moods, were sharing know-how, experiences and ideas, discussing and innovating while working all together towards the same exact goal: a higher and ever increasing level of financial inclusion, which is undeniably one of the key drivers of a country’s economic growth and, undeniably, to the benefit of the consumer.
Looking forward to shape and meet the future together.
To access the BIIA presentation, please click on this link: 2017-09-07 Marrakesh Presentation GL Format
