A survey-based study presented this week by Deloitte in Paris has some interesting revelations about banks’ attitudes to MiFID, which the consultancy divided into two main categories: the pro-MiFID and the merely “MiFID-compliant”. You guessed it, the former are a lot more proactive than the latter.

But more interestingly, Deloitte found that it was retail, full-service branch networks and mutual banking groups, not high-end private banks or niche players, that had the most to gain from MiFID.

Private banking and other retail firms focused on mass-affluent individuals tend to have taken a minimalist approach to MiFID compliance, because they have already achieved “strong proximity” with their clients and good customer satisfaction.

Universal banks, on the other hand, have often used MiFID compliance as an opportunity to revamp their IT tools and improve customer service quality through a higher degree of consistency and automation, better segmenting, and multi-channel optimisation.

These institutions have upgraded their applications and workstations, including CRM systems, to comply with MiFID and implement end-to-end control on client relationship management and sales initiatives, the report says. These tools allow relationship managers to make improved asset allocation recommendations based on the customer’s investor profile, and to better gauge the client/product appropriateness.

The “MiFID-compliant” category, however, tends to see lower automation and integration of their client/product suitability and appropriateness tests, that tend to be very detailed and product-oriented, while “pro-MiFID banks use simplified tests that are more oriented toward clients and sales efficiency.

Deloitte warns that merely compliant institutions could eventually lose their edge in terms of customer satisfaction, see their image deteriorate and become less efficient than their competitors.

Filed under: MiFID, Retail Banking, Technology, regulation