AEB member banks hired more than 12,000 people in 2023, nearly 2,000 of them for their operations in Spain. This improvement in employment across our institutions is made possible by the recovery in profitability, which allows capabilities to be aligned with customer demand, as customers increasingly seek service through remote channels.
This explains why, when expanding their workforce, they look for talent related to technology, data and sustainability. Among others, they seek STEM profiles (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) for risk, technology, digital channels and data management; as well as profiles with a clear commercial focus. In addition, they are hiring financial analysts (quantitative and regulatory), and specialists in data, digitalisation and technology (architecture and security). Above all, however, most banks want people with strong interpersonal and customer-service skills.
In a recent report (“How Pandemic Accelerated Digital Transformation in Advanced Economies”), the IMF concludes that digitalisation was key during the pandemic to protect productivity. In fact, it will be key in the future to continue growing in a solid way. Digitalisation, like any past innovation, has helped us move forward, overcome problems and improve our quality of life.
The digital transformation society is experiencing is an inexorable process. It is changing the way we interact and access private and public services. In the case of banks, customers look for the same in their offering as they want in their day-to-day lives: speed, transparency, competitiveness and security, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and from anywhere. They obtain all of this through digital channels, which complement and expand the range of in-person products and services.
According to the results of a recent Sigma 2 survey, 88% of Spaniards use their bank’s digital channels at least once a week. Checking balances, online shopping or using Bizum are a clear reflection of the change in customer preferences when interacting with their bank and of the trust placed in it. 84% feel safe when using digital banking.
Other surveys confirm these results and break them down by age. According to Metroscopia, 69% of those over 65 say they have not visited a branch in the last month, compared with 48% in 2021. And more than 90% of older people report a “very high level of satisfaction” with mobile banking and online banking, according to Inmark.
Banks are adapting to their customers’ preferences and even anticipating potential changes. The banking sector’s capacity for innovation is in its DNA. In most cases, they act as catalysts for innovation in other sectors of the economy. Champions in the digitalization of financial services at the European level—according to Deloitte—Spanish banks demonstrate this by leading the offering in instant payments. Not only do they already account for half of the transfers processed compared to 15% in Europe, but they also enable the development of innovative payment solutions through mobile phones and other devices. This is the case with Bizum.
Bizum’s success is also everyone’s success, as it shows how learning and experience are essential to getting the best out of innovation. To harness its full potential, each individual must make an adaptation effort—different in each case—which makes it essential to promote citizens’ digital skills and improve connectivity. This digital transformation in which we are immersed, like the ecological transition, are Europe’s two major bets for the future, to which a significant share of its European funds is allocated.
Banks’ adaptability and digitalisation can be a valuable benchmark for European authorities. In an international context as complex as today’s, it is essential for Europe to set a strategy in which investment in human capital, innovation and technology, and decarbonisation strengthen competitiveness and improve productivity, leading to stronger and better economic growth.
The banking sector is key within this European strategy. And for it to perform its role efficiently, authorities must ensure that banks are competitive—benefiting businesses and citizens—through regulation and supervision that are appropriate to their ability to provide the financing required. It is important for sector regulation to be simpler and more consistent, with the aim of reducing potential risks without limiting the ability to provide financing. It is also important to achieve the single market, the banking union and a common capital markets market.
It is also essential to avoid national measures that distort competition at the European level, threaten the sector’s necessary strength and restrict its financing capacity.
Customer service is a priority for banks in digitalisation processes and must be compatible with operational efficiency. After the branch network adjustment processes carried out over the last decade in a context of low profitability due to the exceptional situation of negative interest rates, banks are prepared and willing to continue supporting people and businesses in their day-to-day activities, helping them make their projects a reality and thereby driving economic prosperity and social progress.
José Luis Martínez Campuzano, spokesperson for the Spanish Banking Association
