Publication

The financial services industry is still in the relatively early stages of a period of significant change. New business models, technologies, and competitors are changing the landscape for incumbents and fintech challengers alike. Increasingly, rather than trying to be all things to all customers, even the largest banks see themselves as part of a growing ecosystem. Recent moves by some large banks have sparked others to consider new approaches: “I think Marcus was a catalyst. Goldman is going big and hard to digitize credit,” according to one executive. Although they initially viewed fintechs as a competitive threat, bankers are increasingly eager to speak with them as sources for help in migrating away from legacy systems and identifying new models. Fintechs, meanwhile, recognize that they remain reliant on the banking system and see banks as important customers and sources of capital. On April 8th, 2019, in San Francisco, fintech CEOs, bank executives, and regulators convened for the Banking and Fintech Leadership Forum at LendIt Fintech USA to discuss the evolving financial services ecosystem and opportunities and practical challenges in improving collaboration among banks and fintechs. The Forum was sponsored by White & Case.