5 questions to...
Stefano Achermann
Interview with the Executive Vice President Financial Services of Engineering.
Stefano Achermann, Executive Vice President of the Finance market for the Eng Group and Cavaliere Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, has held senior roles in major financial institutions for 30 years.
In particular, he has been CEO of BE, a group serving major European financial institutions, with 260 million turnover, over 2,000 employees, and a presence in UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Ukraine and Romania.
BE was acquired by the Eng Group in 2022 enriching and completing the offering in the Financial Institutions market that now covers end to end from Strategy & Advisory through to proprietary products serving major systemically important financial institutions, Tier 1 banks and major international payment circuits. Eng's Finance division employs more than 3,000 people and accounts for about 30% of the Group's turnover.
1. HOW IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BANKS, INSURANCE COMPANIES, AND THEIR CUSTOMERS EVOLVING, THANKS IN PART TO DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY?
I would say it is evolving rapidly, also thanks to the personalization of services enabled through digital channels. Let me explain: banks are adopting new technologies to understand the context in which their customers live and work, allowing them to offer increasingly tailored products, such as insurance policies based on their spending habits.
Additionally, it's interesting to analyze how physical branches are changing: some large banks are turning them into community hubs, while others are reducing them to focus on digital channels.
In this constantly evolving context, also shaped by the current economic climate, strategic partnerships between banks and insurance companies become crucial in offering integrated services and increasing revenues through commissions, while ensuring customers receive solutions that best meet their needs.
2. HOW WILL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TRANSFORM THE PROCESSES OF BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES? WHAT IMPACT WILL IT HAVE IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS?
Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis are playing an increasingly strategic role in the banking and insurance sectors, although there are still some challenges to overcome. For instance, many data sets are disorganized, and the practical application of AI is still limited.
However, this also presents an opportunity for companies in the sector to leverage time, information assets, and data-driven value creation to become more competitive in the market.
Now, addressing the second part of the question: it is clear that the impact - both real and potential - is significant, and in the next three years, it will be even more so.
AI, as is happening in many fields, will transform banking processes by automating many tasks, improving efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing revenues, thanks also to better customer relationship management and more personalized product offerings, as mentioned earlier.
It is expected that AI will be used in specific business cases, such as strategic decision-making processes, allowing large amounts of data to be processed more effectively, leading to a significant economic impact.
3. HOW DO YOU VIEW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BANKS AND LARGE COMPANIES, AND HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM THAT WITH SMES?
Banks have always played a crucial role in supporting large companies, thanks to their ability to offer large-scale financial solutions, solid infrastructures, and highly specialized services that fit well with the needs of these companies.
Through these partnerships, they can access significant financing, manage international market operations, and address the strategic challenges of our time with first-class banking support.
On the other hand, we have SMEs, which represent a significant portion of the economic production in our country and require more attention to risk management tools and agile, customized financing solutions.
Both sectors need innovative services and a dynamic approach. This implies a review of business models and collaboration strategies. Certainly, new technologies are a great ally in this sense, especially in terms of competitiveness.
4. BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE MOVING TOWARDS OPEN ECOSYSTEMS (COMPOSABILITY): HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THIS STRATEGY?
The transition to open ecosystems is a great opportunity for banks and insurance companies, but it also brings several complexities that require careful management and a long-term vision.
Financial institutions are exploring the possibility of collaborating with external partners through open platforms to offer a wider range of services. This approach fosters innovation and, at the same time, allows them to meet increasingly diverse needs while maintaining strong market competitiveness.
However, we must always keep in mind the complexity of the environment in which we operate. Therefore, there is a need to maintain a certain consistency with the brand, without "losing identity," and to address challenges related to privacy and data management.
In other words, it is essential to steer a steady course and balance innovation, security, and brand coherence to fully exploit the advantages of this new model, attract new customers, and create new synergies.
5. WHAT IS ENGINEERING’S ROLE IN THIS CONTEXT, AND HOW ARE WE PERCEIVED BY OUR CLIENTS?
The Engineering Group, of which Be Shaping the Future is a part, is recognized in the market for its highly qualified workforce and its continuously expanding business.
Our Group's value proposition is based on the quality of our people, who have always made the difference, and the ability to align effective strategy with operational actions to maximize the budget and achieve increasingly ambitious goals, such as establishing ourselves as a systemic player in the financial sector and driving growth projects forward.
We offer our clients end-to-end coverage, from strategy definition to evolutionary management, complemented by our proprietary products.
Our goal is to constantly amplify our impact and relevance, day after day.
Partnerships are essential for providing integrated services, increasing revenues, and ensuring that clients receive offerings that best reflect their needs.
Stefano Achermann
Executive Vice President Financial Services, Engineering
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