The transformation of the financial services sector

International audit and advisory group MAZARS, represented locally by MAZARS Malta, has once again partnered with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to produce a series of articles. This time round, the focus is on the current transformation of the financial services sector and how this will shape the future of this sector. Three articles view developments from different but related perspectives, namely technological, regulatory, and that of business model transformation.

Commenting on the EIU articles and their implications, MAZARS Malta managing partner Anthony Attard said that these “explore the links between technological disruption in financial services, their impact on the regulatory environment, and the sector’s response. The series also looks at how regulatory changes have forced financial services firms to adapt, or even create, new operational models that incorporate new technologies to meet regulatory requirements, and the impact this is having on the firms’ value chains.”

Attard also explained that two of the three articles, focusing on technological transformation and its impact on financial services, and developments in the regulatory environment within the sector, have been published: “Among others, the first article highlights the increasingly blurred lines between financial services and high technology. The authors indicate four major technological changes which they believe will disrupt financial services in the years ahead: biometrics, blockchain technology, cognitive computing and open banking. The second article features the regulatory challenges being faced by firms in the sector, as a result of successive waves of reform. The article indicates that despite ‘reform fatigue’ and squeezed profit margins, financial services firms are dealing with a continued flood of regulations, and some are turning to new technologies for compliance help.” Attard announced that the last article in the series, focusing on business model transformation in the financial services sector, will be published by the end of the year.

To view the articles, go to www.eiuperspectives.economist.co m.

For more information Mazars Malta, www.mazars.com.mt. about visit