Last week (13 March) we held our annual Retail Banking Conference where attendees had a morning of presentations, discussion and networking at UK Finance's offices in Angel Court.

Bob Wigley, chair of UK Finance, opened the conference with his thoughts on the state of the current retail banking market and how the industry should be supporting and protecting consumers. He highlighted how strengthening the resilience of the UK financial sector is a top priority for UK Finance and gave the recent example of  UK Finance's work with members, the Bank of England and the National Crime Security Centre (NCSC) to create the Financial Sector Cyber Collaboration Centre (FSCCC). This new organisation has been established with the purpose of combating the growing threat of cyberattacks.

In a video presentation John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury,  talked about how technological innovation should be used to help make finance more accessible to those in need of additional support. Government, society and industry must work together to support vulnerable customers - last year we worked with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help current account customers compare providers, to make it easier for them to make informed comparisons and choose a provider that best suits their needs. As part of the finance industry's commitment to help customers in vulnerable circumstances, providers have also pledged to go further by promoting specific information on the services available to them.

His thoughts were echoed by Charles Randell CBE, chair of the FCA. He advised that everyone should watch the film 'It's a Wonderful Life' which tells the story of how, in adversity, a number of small deeds by one man kept his family bank open, but expressed concern that today banks do not have guardian angels to show them the downsides of leaving town. While people are interacting with their money more than ever, the cost of accessing cash is disproportionately affecting those who are least able to afford it, and ways must be found to overcome this

A panel discussion with Stephen Jones, CEO, UK Finance, Dr Rebecca Harding, International Economist, Dr Gerard Lyons, Economic Advisor, Parker Fitzgerald and Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Economist at the CBI, discussed their economic forecast for the year which of course touched upon Brexit. Both Harding and Newton-Smith remarked on how small businesses are facing planning and finance issues because of Brexit, which is one of the main drivers behind UK Finance's Let's Talk Business campaign. 

Mark Neale, outgoing CEO of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), shared his thoughts and hopes for the future of the scheme - including increasing the compensation limit significantly while narrowing the range of qualifying products by excluding unregulated investments.

Concerns around customers in vulnerable circumstances continued with Sir Hector Sants, chair of the new Single Financial Guidance Body (SFGB), emphasising that financial well-being must be seen as important as physical and mental health. 

David Gillespie, Partner, Oliver Wyman, then talked of the unprecedented change he is currently seeing in the retail banking space. He discussed how organisational cultures must change as money is no longer a guarantee of success.

Ruth Evans, chair of the Push Payment Scams Steering Group, updated attendees on the work being done by banks and consumer groups to deliver a code which will provide customers with significant protection should they fall victim to APP scams.

The final speaker was Ian Dyson, Commissioner of the City of London Police. Worryingly victims of fraud often find themselves repeat victims. While increasing success in prosecuting criminals has been seen, police are looking to get ahead of the fraudsters though prevention and protection. Last month we shared that an estimated £94.5 million of fraud was prevented in 2018, thanks to the work of the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), the highest annual total to date.

The conference was brought to a close by our own Eric Leenders, Managing Director of Personal Finance. UK Finance is grateful to our speakers and all the delegates who helped make the event a success.