Cedar on Banking

In the face of rising geopolitical risks, banking technology is experiencing unprecedented pressure. In this CedarView Podcast episode, we unlock how banks must adjust their technology strategies to maintain operations and mitigate new risks, including cyber threats & supply chain disruptions. We cover practical strategies for resilience, such as strengthening business continuity plans and sec...

In this episode, we explore how geopolitical tensions in West Asia are reshaping the operating environment for banks across the region. Energy shocks, trade disruptions, and rising logistics costs are already affecting liquidity, funding, and credit flows, while sectors such as shipping, aviation, retail, and real estate face immediate pressure - creating ripple effects across bank balance sheets....

In this episode, we explore how banking is being reshaped globally and in India as technology, regulation, and customer expectations collide. We look at why global banks are financially resilient, yet under pressure to modernise faster, and how trends like generative AI, open banking, embedded finance, and cloud-native cores are redefining scale and speed. The conversation then shifts to India’s b...

In this episode, we turn to Oman and explore how its banking sector is evolving as the economy steadily diversifies beyond oil. We discuss how Vision 2040, infrastructure investment, and regulatory reforms are creating new momentum for private financing, SMEs, and Islamic banking. The conversation highlights a resilient banking system, where strong capital buffers and disciplined cost structures a...

In this episode, we turn our focus to Bahrain and how it is positioning itself as one of the most progressive digital banking markets in the GCC. We unpack Bahrain’s economic shift away from oil toward financial services, and how this transition is reinforcing innovation across banking, regulation, and customer experience. The discussion highlights the strength of Bahrain’s banking system, where s...

In this episode, we focus on the UAE and how it has emerged as the most digitally advanced banking market in the region. We discuss how a diversified, non-oil economy and sustained population growth have created the right conditions for a fast-scaling financial sector, with banks expanding rapidly and outperforming many global peers on efficiency and returns. The conversation explores the forces r...

In this episode, we explore how Southeast Asia is fast becoming one of the most dynamic digital banking regions globally, with Singapore at the centre of innovation. We discuss how strong economic fundamentals, deep digital adoption, and sustained fintech investment have helped banks across the region modernise while remaining resilient and well-capitalised. The conversation highlights a rapidly e...

In this episode, we focus on the UK and how it continues to shape the future of digital banking through regulation-led innovation and strong fintech adoption. We discuss why the UK remains a global financial services leader, even in a low-growth environment, driven by widespread digital banking usage, a vibrant fintech ecosystem, and early adoption of open finance. The conversation explores how ne...

In this episode, we look at Kuwait’s banking market and how it is steadily moving toward a digital-first, cash-lite future. We discuss how near-universal internet access, strong central bank support, and widespread use of mobile payments are accelerating the shift from cash and branches to digital channels. The conversation explores Kuwait’s evolving payments landscape, where instant payments and...

In this episode, we turn to Saudi Arabia and examine how its banking sector is evolving alongside the Kingdom’s broader economic transformation. We discuss how Vision 2030, rising non-oil growth, and strong regulatory support are accelerating the shift toward a digital-first, cash-light economy. The conversation highlights the strength of Saudi banks, which combine solid capital positions and low...

Modern banking success depends not just on customer segmentation but on delivering differentiated, high-quality experiences. Traditional segmentation by wealth or income Mass Retail, Affluent, HNI and Ultra HNI remains relevant, but banks are increasingly complementing this with demographic, behavioral and micro-segmentation driven by advanced analytics. Understanding customer preferences, transac...

Sanjiv Anand, Chairman, Cedar Management Consulting International The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for banks, severely impacting profitability, asset quality, liquidity, fee income and customer behavior across retail, SME, corporate and wealth segments. Falling interest rates, stressed sectors, rising NPAs, shrinking deposits and declining branch usage have disrupted trad...

Alternative and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has matured into a permanent part of the financial ecosystem, with the market projected to exceed $70 billion. Growth has been strongest in SME lending, driven by digital players using advanced analytics, low-cost customer acquisition, simplified processes and AI-driven credit models. Regulatory burdens and compliance costs have further enabled non-banks...

Banks often assess performance mainly through financial results, which are lag indicators and do not reflect long-term sustainability. A balanced scorecard for banks must therefore integrate financial and non-financial objectives across four perspectives: financial, customer, process, and learning and growth. An effective bank scorecard rests on four building blocks: creating a strategy map, defin...

Banks face five core IT challenges: making IT strategically relevant and customer-centric, improving returns on IT spend, enabling next-generation banking, aligning applications and infrastructure with enterprise vision, and building strong IT capabilities. However, IT strategy succeeds only through disciplined execution. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) provides a practical framework to translate IT...

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) is the only approach that can deliver rapid, dramatic, and lasting performance improvements, but success depends on strategic execution. Effective BPR starts with a holistic, customer-backward view of the enterprise, focusing on value rather than isolated departmental fixes. Organizations must target “addressable” costs, eliminate low-impact processes, priorit...

Open Banking, driven by PSD2, is transforming banking from a closed, protected model into an open, platform-based ecosystem where customer data is shared securely with third-party providers via APIs. This shift creates both disruption and opportunity. Banks must move beyond compliance and rethink revenue models, customer segmentation, product strategies, and technology architecture. Revenue growth...

Corporate banks face shrinking margins from global slowdown, trade tensions, and rising risk costs, making digital transaction banking a key growth lever. Digitizing corporate transactions reduces cost per transaction while improving speed, accuracy, and client experience. Cash management, trade finance, and supply chain services already dominate global transaction banking revenues and continue to...

Rising regulatory scrutiny has made compliance costs a major challenge for banks, with global fines exceeding €211 billion since the financial crisis and regulations continuing to expand. Banks must balance shareholder expectations with stricter compliance, often while facing competition from less-regulated players. To manage costs proactively, three imperatives stand out. First, compliance should...

Turbulence in U.S. credit markets is expected to reduce the size and number of private equity (PE) deals in developed economies, as debt for leveraged buyouts becomes scarcer. Despite this, PE continues to face a surplus of capital chasing fewer attractive deals, driven by fewer undervalued companies and limited growth opportunities in mature markets. While Asia and other emerging regions account...

SMEs are vital to the global economy but remain underserved in bank lending due to the unique nature of their credit risk. Unlike large corporates, SME risk is primarily promoter-driven, making traditional corporate credit frameworks ineffective. SME lending requires a volume-led, specialized risk model that assesses the obligor rather than just the facility, blending borrower behavior, cash flows...

Selecting an Islamic core banking system is more complex than choosing a conventional platform due to Sharia-specific requirements and regional variations. A structured “4D approach” helps banks identify the best fit. First, Define needs through a detailed Business Requirement Specification covering Islamic asset and liability products, profit calculation methods, Sharia rules, and core banking fu...

Islamic finance has gained global attention for its risk-sharing, ethical principles, especially after recent financial crises. Islamic banking operates through pure Islamic banks, Islamic subsidiaries of conventional banks, and Islamic windows. While GCC Islamic banks once outpaced conventional peers, growth has slowed due to volatile oil prices and weaker regional economies, with market share la...

Recent large-scale frauds linked to SWIFT transactions highlight hidden operational vulnerabilities in banks and the urgent need for stronger risk controls. SWIFT is a global messaging platform used by banks to facilitate cross-border payments, with transactions executed either through straight-through processing (STP) from core systems or via manual postings on SWIFT terminals. While STP reduces...

Core banking transformation is often compared to changing an aircraft engine mid-flight, as banks must replace their core systems without disrupting live operations or customer experience. Successful implementation depends on disciplined execution across multiple critical phases. The journey begins with rigorous programme planning, defining activities, dependencies, milestones, ownership, timeline...