Demands on banks are increasing year after year for more data, clearer insights and faster and more complex transactions. In response, many banks are putting technology at the heart of their strategy in order to ensure that they can meet these challenges, however quickly they develop.
China Merchants Bank, or CMB, is one such bank. It has put “technology leadership” as a strategic principle within its company charter – signalling that investment in technology is a key enabler of improvements across its business.
In 2018, the bank invested $955 million in technology, a 35% increase year-on-year. In the first half of 2019, the bank put in another $519 million, a 64% jump on the previous year. This investment has been evident in a number of areas, not least in customer apps for its retail banking business, which had gathered more than 85 million monthly active users in the first half of 2019.
Such impressive figures saw the bank take Euromoney’s 2019 China Best Bank award in July 2019 – the sign of a bank performing well today and set up for success, whatever tomorrow may bring.
