Everybody wants to be in retail

For many banks in central and eastern Europe the corporate client is no longer king. Increasing competition and decreasing margins mean that corporate banking has lost its lustre. The traditional corporate client is being usurped by a new breed of customer, one that has been quietly growing for a number of years, nurtured by the expanding range of shops and boutiques in downtown Warsaw and Prague. Banks are calling this new client “the consumer”; and consumer retail banking is suddenly a business that everyone wants to be in.