Like a middle-aged banker wearing the latest sneakers and baseball cap, fintech makeovers can look a little forced. Previous attempts to turn centuries-old financial institutions into born-again technology companies have often ended in disappointment.
BBVA and ING’s recent sales and closures of international digital-banking businesses are cases in point.
But there is a growing sense, post-Covid, that incumbent financial institutions have no choice other than to try again and fail better, as fintech valuations have mushroomed.
Partly inspired by the growth of digital subsidiaries at Chinese insurance group Ping An, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is in the middle of what could be the traditional banking industry’s boldest leap yet in this direction.
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