Credit Suisse Chairman Urs Rohner doesn’t believe in the disruption of the banking industry or a seismic shift. It is the banks themselves cultivating new and innovative ideas, he argues. 

Urs Rohner poured cold water on expectations about technology roiling the banking industry when challenged in an interview with «Moneycab» (in German), a business website.

Researchers and consultants aren’t shy of predicting the end of banking as we know it, calling the dangers of a market entry of tech giants, citing Blockchain a disruptor to the transaction business and the mounting parallel world of crypto-currencies. Rohner is unimpressed, it seems.

It's The Banks, Stupid

Quite the contrary: the 58-year-old says that innovations in finance are mostly being driven by banks, and that the industry has already adapted to shifting demands of clientele.

Rohner doesn’t think that digitization will revolutionize banking to the same degree as the media, travel or retail industries. «Revolutionize is slightly exaggerated,» he said in the interview. «Nowadays, innovation is part of the business, in banking and elsewhere.»

No Pressure

In the banking industry, digitization had mainly prompted progress in compliance and risk management. The number of fintechs that are able to support Credit Suisse in those areas is limited. «Therefore, innovation happens mostly in-house,» Rohner added, referring to the Credit Suisse «lab» he initiated six years ago.

The top Swiss banker denied that innovation and change was putting banking under massive pressure. «In banking, the biggest changes come from within the companies,» he said.

There was no real disruption that would wipe out or marginalize established companies, Rohner said. He also believes that Credit Suisse faces no major difficulties in implementing innovative solutions, having concluded after the financial crisis that change was coming. There was no conflicting view about whether the bank ought to be innovative or not, he added.

Not Easily Replaced

Credit Suisse had adjusted to customer demands that had moved on following the advent of digital banking solutions, Rohner said. «This has already happened and is no different from the demands of our clients in any other area of their lives.»

The principles of transparency, intuitive design and unrestricted availability of services had been implement swiftly and efficiently, Rohner said, adding that Credit Suisse wasn’t as easily replaced as it sometimes was portrayed.