Centralization of Multi-Domestic Activities in the Banking Sector An Application to a European Banking Group

摘要

Nowadays, banks struggle to maintain their competitiveness and develop strategies to improve efficiency, by decreasing operational costs. Where multinational banks are concerned, the diversity of geographies usually multiplies the amount of repeated operations across borders, implying unnecessary costs. Banks are therefore starting to centralize some of their functions into shared-services centres where significant costs savings can be achieved. This paper analyzes the core areas within a bank, according to their potential of centralization, and provides a specific application to a European multinational bank with important international operations. Special focus is given to the Card Operations Department, in order to identify opportunities of centralization along the Group's operations.