The ten-year study from the consultancy analyses data from 92 banks across Europe and finds that despite continued strong growth in volumes, income remains weak with a dramatic drop in income per client (-1.1% 2018 vs 2017; -11% 2018 vs 2008).

Simon Kent, partner and global head of financial services at A.T. Kearney comments: “Not all banks will survive the tide of change as customers increasingly favour digital banks and innovative products and services. Branch closures is a short-term fix to steady the books but it is not enough - traditional institutions need to consider strategic transformation to improve cost and top line and also offer more innovative products and services.”

Data from A. T. Kearney's Retail Banking Radar shows that neobanks’ customer bases across Europe have grown by over 15 million since 2011, compared to a decrease in two million customers for retail banks. Up to 85 million Europeans will be customers of these banking models by 2023 according to the study - which equates to around 20% of the population over 14 years old.

The advent of Open Banking will be a key driver of change. A trend revealed in the study is the transformation of traditional banks into lifestyle platforms, becoming a ‘one stop shop’ for customers’ daily needs - purchasing, travel, entertainment, utilities etc. This is a model that has been embraced by new arrivals on the banking scene, building marketplace platforms for customers to bolt on third party products.


Daniela Chikova, partner at A.T. Kearney says: “The shift towards digital banking, only compounded by the introduction of Open Banking, has caused a transformation in how and where customers want to bank. Open Banking has been a key driver in banking innovation, and we expect this to continue into September as the new Regulatory Technical Standards come in.”