Banks Seek Outside Help to Lift Game

August 9, 2005
Australian Financial Review

Following are excerpts from the August 9, 2005 edition of The Australian Financial Review.

Australia’s big banks are turning to outside consultants to help cut costs and improve productivity of business units in the face of slowing earnings growth.

The trend comes despite the development of large strategy departments within the banks over the past decade aimed at internally evaluating growth options, including merger and acquisition opportunities.

The banks are reluctant to talk about the use of consultants and emphasise they are used judiciously to complement internal projects.

Westpac recently hired Texas consulting firm Carreker Corp in an attempt to lift the productivity of its branch sales force. It is switching to Carreker from another training firm, Achieve Global, after becoming dissatisfied with the slow pace of its mortgage lending growth.

David Moloney, the Australian director of Mercer Oliver Wyman, said local banks were relying less on consultants for traditional “process support” which they now performed internally. “We find the clients are looking for deeper insights,” he said.