For the past two decades, banks have seen their market share drop from seventy percent to thirty percent. In a few years from now would they still be alive ? Will it be still something that we called a " bank " ? The share of financial assets administrated by banks is shriking every days. Merrill Lynch is may be for something in thant banks erosion of share of market… One thing is sure, mortgage companies, brokerage firms, have carved their most profitable customers. Banks face the same huge risks today from emerging technologies : Banks needs to integrate these assets now and decide what kind of online players they want to be and what kinds of services (the message) they want to offer to the rapidly expanding universe of online consumers. We count more than 240'000 surfers in Swizterland today. You can be a big banks (one of top banks in the World or in Switerland) and yet still not have committed to Electronic banking. On the web you need more thant to have an online brochure or presence with a map of presence of your branches. It's not enough in 1996 to put a brochure Online.

Some of pionners are now doing more thant that and offers a real added valure to their clients and partners. They create real concept that attract clients and prospects to them. Royal banks of Canada, Bankamerica (www.bankamerica.com) or Bay Share Trust have understand this Online dimension and marketing point. They have create real interactive service that answers to the potential demand. With Bankamerica you can access via blind passwords and special encryption (with Netscape Secure Server) to your Online account. Moreover, Bay Share Trust offers immediate feed-back on loans in less than two minutes via the Web… This is a real hot servicel. It's not tomorrow, it's today. You can also try the first real bank on the Net (www.sfnb.com), oran other bank calls the First Virtual that has developed a Virtual Pin to secure your transaction Online. In October 96, First reach 155'000 clients in 152 countries. It's not anymore virtual… If you want to discover first on the Net (www.fv.com). Everybody tries to define a way to do it, try to become a standard, and nobody knows who will be the survival, but one thing is sure, they create the future of our money. Already thousands of new banks incomers are playing in the bank fields. For example, first virtual exists only on the Internet. Others real banks have feel this invisible revolution and decide to play with real concept such as Bank of Ireland, Barnett and offers facilities and online transaction. The biggest challenge for a bank today is how to transform data into information and concept. This is the key of an effective online presence. To have strong ideas that generate results is one thing, information and immediacy is an other. If banks thin they have time to think about it, they will discover that somebody is doing the business for them. This " somebody " can be Microsoft, Digicash or 7-Eleven. Merrill Lynch did it with Cash management account some years ago instead of banks. It seems that Merrill Lynch have realize the biggest earthquake in the banking business in the past decades. Remember for one time the Bill Gates quote " Banks are disonaurs ".
From our point view, it seems that online services, software giants and global entertainement companies, have the pipeline and navigation tools to make banking obsolete. If banks don't act with foresight and firm purpose, the prognosis is for a continuing erosion and decline of their core retail business.

Stéphane Perino Agence Virtuelle (http://www.agencevirtuelle.ch)