October 17, 2013

Efma and Accenture Announce Winners of Global Banking Distribution and Marketing Innovation Awards



Retail banks from emerging markets represent half of the winning innovations


PARIS; Oct. 17, 2013 – Efma, an association whose membership includes nearly one-third of the world’s large retail banks, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) have announced the winners of their inaugural Global Distribution & Marketing Innovation Awards for retail banks. The global program, jointly launched by Efma and Accenture, identifies and awards banks for groundbreaking customer innovations.

More than 150 banks from 54 countries around the world submitted nearly 330 case studies of customer innovations in the following categories: Digital and Mobile Excellence, Physical Distribution, Multichannel and Customer-Experience Management, Customer Analytics and Big Data, Sales Effectiveness, and Responsible Business.

The winners were selected by a combination of votes from a panel of judges composed exclusively of senior retail bankers from around the world, and online votes from Efma members.

This year’s winners include:

Two additional awards were granted to:


“Many of the most impressive innovations came out of emerging markets, in Eastern Europe and Asia, competing with some of the biggest established banks,” said Patrick Desmarès, Secretary General of Efma. “On the other hand, some of these established banks, such as BNP Paribas, La Caixa and Intesa Sanpaolo, are also demonstrating that the organizational culture change, which is required to execute an innovation strategy, is within the reach of the largest financial institutions. We hope that these innovations inspire others to examine what they are currently doing and identify opportunities to make further advancements in customer-facing products.”

“We believe that significant banking revenues are at risk with the emergence of non-traditional competitors, said Piercarlo Gera, global managing director of Accenture Distribution and Marketing Services. “To drive profitability, banks need to transform their business models and innovate to engage with their customers based on what these customers need and not on what banks have to sell. They will have to become the keystone in consumers’ everyday life needs, not only offering financial services, but also non-financial services through a network of business partners, so they can increase customer interactions and better-suited cross-selling opportunities. We co-founded this awards program to bring some of these customer-relationship innovations to light.”

“We warmly congratulate the winners of this inaugural award,” said Juan Pedro Moreno, global managing director of Accenture’s banking industry practice. “These projects represent the vanguard of real world service innovations in retail banking, and they offer a model for institutions looking to carve out their future competitive positions as this industry rapidly evolves into the digital world.”

About Efma
As a global not-for-profit organisation, Efma brings together more than 3,300 retail financial services companies from over 130 countries. With a membership base consisting of almost a third of all large retail banks worldwide, Efma has proven to be a valuable resource for the global industry, offering members exclusive access to a multitude of resources, databases, studies, articles, news feeds and publications. Efma also provides numerous networking opportunities through working groups, online communities and international meetings. For more information: www.efma.com or info@efma.com.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 275,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Accenture helps financial institutions transform their customer relationships through Accenture Distribution and Marketing Services, a business service within Accenture’s financial services operating group, serving more than 100 institutions worldwide. Accenture Distribution and Marketing Services combines Accenture’s deep industry knowledge in banking, insurance and wealth management with proven expertise in marketing, distribution and innovation. It blends Accenture’s management consulting, technology and outsourcing capabilities – including its assets and expertise in digital innovations, like analytics and mobile – to help institutions improve growth and cost management through better customer relationships.

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Contacts:
François Luu
Accenture
+ 33 6 60 53 84 28
francois.luu@accenture.com

Sean Conway
Accenture
+ 917 452 6444
sean.k.conway@accenture.com