Leo Rayman, integrated strategy director, DDB London
“O2 and Vodafone have some natural assets for launching a banking service. They are well-known brands with extensive presence. They are also well- versed in the art of analysing the behaviour of millions of customers at a highly transactional level. They have the IT skills that are required to create the back-end of a modern bank. They can also back this up with extensive customer service infrastructure. Brands with similar assets could do likewise. Perhaps we’ll see moves from the utilities and technology sector into this space. Imagine what the Bank of Google would be like!”
Terry Tyrell, worldwide chairman, The Brand Union
“If I were an SME, there would be some attraction to banking with Tesco, since the big banks wouldn’t care about me. But I can’t really see medium to large businesses going to non-banking brands. Having said that, I could see a partnership brand like John Lewis being an attractive prospect. I would be surprised if they weren’t considering offering business banking. There’s a gravitas about John Lewis that would appeal to the business community. I don’t see the retailers offering that, even Marks & Spencer.”
Robert Mighall, senior brand consultant, Radley Yeldar
“Personally, I’d back John Lewis, as it’s one of the few brands with a transparent correlation between their corporate governance, their values and what they actually deliver. They might carry across some of the integrity that has been lacking in banking. Do mobile operators really have so much of what the banks are so bankrupt in to really add value, and deliver it long term? I’d view this bandwagon as more of a Titanic, and give it a wide berth.”
Nigel Peach, director of technology, Chordiant Software
“Providing an experience that exceeds a customer’s expectations can only be achieved by really knowing and understanding that customer. Many of the non-banking players entering the market, such as Tesco, are already heavily customer focused and have an unrivalled level of consumer insight through an abundance of customer data that they can leverage to optimise customer experiences. With this in mind Tesco is set to give banks a run for their money”.
Mike Welsh, CEO, Publicis Dialog
“Direct Line, John Lewis and M&S spring to mind because they are brands with integrity and a strong track record. My suspicion is that the business community will welcome brands with open arms. Even before the banking crisis, most people in the UK didn’t trust their bank (other than First Direct perhaps), so the Tesco move is opportune and credible. You could see John Lewis and M&S making it work. It’s always mystified me why First Direct didn’t attack the commercial banking sector years ago.”
