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18 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / SEPTEMBER 2017
T he finance sector continues
to transform as it adapts to
several major forces, includ-
ing altering regulations, consumers’
increased use of digital banking and
demands for increased cybersecurity.
Following the 2008 recession, large
financial institutions changed where
they focus their investment dollars,
namely less in personal lending and
more in wealth management and in-
vestment banking. Also, consumers’ ex-
pectations that transactions can happen
anywhere, anytime, means institutions
must attract and retain a variety of tech
workers and compete with top tech com-
panies for talent. Meanwhile, emerging
financial technology, or fintech, compa-
nies continue to research and develop
digital solutions to nearly every aspect of
banking and finance, often partnering
with larger firms and companies.
Slow Growing Momentum
Finance firms have recovered profitability, but
slowly, since the 2008 recession.
Though banking and finance
industry employment grew in
2014 at its strongest rate since
2006, up 1.9 percent year over
year, it still lagged behind the
nationwide average of 2.4 per-
cent in the same time period,
according to data from the Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics, and was
3.7 percent below its prereces-
sion peak.
But, there have been some
positive signs toward acceler-
ated growth more recently. Be-
tween 2010 and 2015, finance
industry wages have grown 43.5
percent faster than the aver-
age growth in other nonfarm
industries, as reported by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sala-
ries for compliance officers, in
particular, have grown quickly,
ahead of compliance officers in
other industries.
Fintech Growing Quickly
A fairly new sector of the finance industry, finan-
cial technology started showing the documentation
of investment dollars and activity in 2015 to make
it a mainstream player. Fintech companies produce
technology designed to handle a number of finan-
cial services transactions, from lending to investment
advising.
“I am a believer that the bank of the future will be a
collection of apps on your phone,” says Savneet Singh,
founder and president of GBI, an online exchange for
gold and silver, who has invested in about 10 fintech
startups so far, including ones specializing in lending
and insurance.
Many global firms supporting
fintech lab space hope to tap into
mobile, cloud, analytic, cybersecu-
rity and regulatory innovations.
The number of fintech companies
globally has grown 26 percent year
over year. Some industry studies
show that moving daily financial
transactions to mobile cuts the cost
of customer interactions by more
than half. According to research
from Goldman Sachs, by early 2015,
one-tenth of all payments in China
were made by Alipay, a third-party
online payment platform founded
by tech giant Alibaba Group.
Dramatic change is expected, as
many technologists suggest that
the future of money may include
no money. More cashless transac-
tions via devices, facial recognition,
wearable technology and bioim-
plants could come soon so invest-
ments in data storage, analytics,
cybersecurity and other technology disciplines is ex-
pected to grow.
Finally, as more consumers go digital with their fi-
nances, customer service call centers have grown in
size and importance, as well as the sophistication of
the employees responding to requests. Often called
remote virtual specialists, these highly trained em-
ployees work in call centers, usually located in subur-
ban areas with less-expensive real estate. The goal is
to provide consumers support in keeping their every-
day transactions where they cost less, online.
Moving Forward
Jenny West,
LEED AP ID+C
Business De-
velopment
Manager,
Knoll