High Street Banks Research Articles

High street banking on the app: branding strategies of traditionally-driven neobanks

PurposeSeveral high street retail banks are extending their brands into digital banking through fully digital, app-only neobanks, which have been described as traditionally-driven neobanks (TDNBs). These TDNBs are considered a form of brand extension, representing the increased complexity of branding banks and financial institutions. This study explicitly addresses the branding strategies employed by TDNBs.Design/methodology/approachThis study has adopted a case study research design, using a multi-stage data collection strategy. Initially, interviews were conducted with bank managers, followed by interviews with customers. Later, user-generated content was extracted through verified reviews from the app store. Subsequently, these three strands of data were thematically analysed and triangulated, in order to gain a holistic understanding of the branding strategies used by TDNBs.FindingsThree key themes emerged regarding the branding strategies of the TDNBs: aligning with the parent brand, reinforcing the digital experience, and enhancing the brand image.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributed to the growing body of research on marketing, branding, and digital transformation of bank services. As more traditional banks are exploring opportunities to pivot and explore other fintech options, this study offers significant insights that will help in managing brand experience and promotion across customer journeys in the banking sector.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to the growing body of research on marketing, branding, and digital transformation of bank services. Even as more traditional banks explore opportunities to pivot as well as other fintech options, this study offers significant insights to help manage brand experience and promotion across customer journeys in the banking sector.Originality/valueWhile previous studies on banking and financial services have concentrated on traditional retail and high street banks, there is a need for a greater understanding of the brand positioning of digital banks, especially those created by traditional banks.

Are We Rich Yet? The Rise of Mass Investment Culture in Contemporary Britain. By Amy Edwards

Are We Rich Yet? is a wonderful corrective to the idea that Britain became a financialized society in the late twentieth century simply as a result of the neoliberal policies of government. Yes, there was an explosion of investment culture from the 1980s, but Edwards seeks to avoid ‘falling into the trap of assuming the inevitability and immutability of right-wing political reform under the Thatcher governments after 1979’ (p. 3). Instead, she shows that the ground for investment opportunities in financial markets had been laid over more than a century and investor numbers grew gradually before rapidly taking off in the 1980s. Moreover, the take-off then had much to do with the roles of the financial press, high street banks, and assorted forms of popular culture. This is to decentre Thatcherism in accordance with much of the recent re-thinking of this period by historians of modern Britain. By tracing an investment climate which evolved over time and exploring the different experiences of various investors and investor groups, Edwards demonstrates that a small percentage of Britons were already active participants in financial markets by the 1980s. Ostensibly then, some of them were nascent financial subjects ripe for the shareholding opportunities presented by the large-scale privatizations of nationalized industries. Ironically, however, they were rendered less, not more, autonomous in their financial decision making from the 1980s. Increasingly, it became difficult for individuals to act independently of large financial institutions, not least because these institutions responded to the opportunities and threats of deregulation and increased competition by re-shaping themselves. This involved them expanding their remits to suck in a mass of (previously untargeted) ‘ordinary’ people as investors, for example, by opening share shops in shopping centres. Individuals’ investments were then massed into institutionally managed portfolios; institutions also hoovered up shares as people sought a quick return on their foray into investments in privatized companies. Accordingly, rather than creating a true share-owing democracy, Thatcherite reforms empowered financial institutions that increasingly mediated the relationship between people, their investments, and the companies they invested in. Ultimately, this was to the detriment of industry and disenfranchising for individual shareholders.

What does lockdown smell like? Understanding the COVID-19 pandemic through smell

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to understandings of COVID society by offering insights into the lived experience of lockdown. It reveals how larger social and economic impacts of the virus unfold in one suburban town in New Zealand. Employing “smellwalks,” it mobilizes smell as an empirical tool to understand lockdown experience. Drawing from the “sensory turn” this method recognizes smell as a way of knowing social existence and gleaning non-discursive and embodied insights into the global pandemic. This paper endeavors to develop sensory methodology within urban sociology by revealing how smell furthers understandings of place and modes of being during lockdown. It argues changes in suburban smells signal disruption to daily life as a result of the government’s social and economic pandemic-response measures. For instance, the empty cold smell of the mall usually warm and bustling with activity, conveys the isolation and loss of social connectedness produced by lockdown restrictions. Similarly, the dry smell of concrete dust created by the closure and demolition of a high-street bank reflects the slowing of the national economy. Attention to smell enables insight into new modes of being for residents that involve heightened anxiety around viral contagion and a slower, quieter, environmentally cleaner way of life.

Who trusts the bank of England and high street banks in Britain?

ABSTRACT Following the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008 there was recognition that client trust in financial institutions had been damaged. While institutional trust has become an accepted barometer, less is known about who trusts the banking and finance sector. This paper investigates the individual characteristics associated with trust for the Bank of England (BoE) and high street banks in Britain. Importantly, we consider this question in the context of a point in time, namely 2014. This is an important case study as it is some years after the initial impact of the GFC yet prior to the referendum vote for Britain to exit the European Union (Brexit) and coincides with the Scottish referendum. Our results suggest that the characteristics associated with trust in the BoE differ from those associated with trust in high street banks and other financial institutions. Specifically, older people, more educated people and people residing in London show higher levels of trust in the BoE. In terms of trust in the sector overall, we also find that positive perceptions on the availability of credit are correlated with higher levels of trust.

Mind your attitude: the impact of patriarchy on women’s workplace behaviour

PurposeBy conceptualising patriarchy in the workplace as a social situation, the purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of patriarchal attitudes and their impact on women’s workplace behaviour among Nigerian organisations.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a qualitative research approach, drawing on data from 32 semi-structured interviews with female employees and managers in two high-street banks in Nigeria.FindingsThe study finds that patriarchy shapes women’s behaviour in ways that undermine their performance and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB). Furthermore, the study finds that patriarchal attitudes, often practised at home, are frequently transferred to organisational settings. This transference affects women’s workplace behaviour and maintains men’s (self-perceived) superior status quo, whereby women are dominated, discriminated against and permanently placed in inferior positions.Research limitations/implicationsThe extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised is constrained by the limited sample and scope of the research.Practical implicationsThe challenges posed by the strong patriarchy on women’s workplace behaviour are real and complex, and organisations must address them in order to create a fairer workplace in which employees can thrive. It is therefore essential for organisations to examine periodically their culture to ensure that all employees, regardless of gender, are involved in the organisation’s affairs. Furthermore, organisations need to help women become more proactive in combating patriarchal behaviour, which often affects their performance and OCB. This requires organisations to affirm consistently their equal opportunities, equal rights and equal treatment policies. It is essential that organisations take this problem seriously by attaching due penalty to gender discrimination, as this will go a long way in ensuring positive outcomes for women and providing a fairer workplace.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence that a more egalitarian work environment (in Nigerian banking) will result in improved performance from female employees and organisations. It calls for greater policy and organisational interventions to create a more inclusive work environment and an equal society.

Do Competency Frameworks Influence Business Performance? An Empirical Study of the Nigerian Banking Sector

The competency-based management system has grown to become one of the most influential HRM tools of the 21st century. However, there remains limited empirical data addressing the relationship between the adoption of a competency framework and organizational performance. The study reported upon in this paper is based within the Nigerian banking sector. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted, employing interviews with employees of the top ten high street banks in Nigeria. The result of the field data was subsequently analyzed using NVivo in order to achieve the aim of the research. The findings revealed that competency-based management frameworks are being used and that indeed they are a key management tool within the selected Nigerian banks. Importantly, the findings clearly suggest the adopted competency frameworks are having a positive impact on the banks’ performance.

Who Trusts the Bank of England and High Street Banks in Britain?

Following the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008 there was recognition that client trust in financial institutions had been damaged. While institutional trust has become an accepted barometer, less is known about who trusts the banking and finance sector and who does not. This paper investigates the individual characteristics associated with trust for the Bank of England (BoE) and high street banks in Britain. Importantly, we consider this question in the context of a particular point in time, namely 2014. This is an important reference point as it is some years after the initial impact of the GFC yet prior to the referendum vote for Britain to exit the European Union (commonly known as Brexit). Hence, our findings provide a baseline level of trust in the banking and finance sector, against which future studies may compare the impact of the Brexit decision. Our results suggest that the characteristics associated with trust in the BoE differ from those associated with trust in high street banks and other financial institutions. Specifically, older people, more educated people and people residing in London show higher levels of trust in the BoE. In terms of trust in the sector overall, we also find that positive perceptions on the availability of debt are correlated with higher levels of trust.

Can trust be restored to high-street banking: A 20-year challenge?

AbstractThis article is based on a dissertation submitted for an MSc in Marketing submitted by the first author and supervised by the second author. It is a viewpoint article that highlights the complexity of the challenge of restoring trust to high-street/retail banking, and explores some of the related issues of conduct risk, ethics and culture. It includes a brief historical analysis reflecting structural change in the mid-1980s up to today with a link to some current thoughts and research, and concludes that the banking sector’s current ambitions to restore trust are likely to be flawed and unlikely to deliver in the timelines that the banks and regulators expect. The article concludes with a number of related issues/subjects that are worthy of further research and flags some particular questions in the conclusion.

Just plain Wronga? A multimodal critical analysis of online payday loan discourse

ABSTRACTPayday loans constitute one of the most rapidly expanding and controversial forms of consumer lending today. Payday lending – the selling of high-interest, short-term credit – has thrived following the decline of the traditional high street banking system and the reluctance of many mainstream credit services, following the 2007/2008 Global Financial Crisis, to lend to low-income earners. This study examines the website of the industry leader in the UK, Wonga, a payday lender which recently rebranded and relaunched itself (in 2015) after being embroiled in a series of financial scandals. Our analysis centres on the new Wonga website, the gateway to its financial services, and identifies three inter-related discursive strategies through which the lender, in the wake of its financial misconduct, seeks to present itself as a reputable financial service provider, namely by (1) constructing the empowered and responsible borrower, (2) destigmatising both its service provision and its prospective customers, the payday borrower, and (3) minimising the consequences and risks associated with payday borrowing. Collectively, these strategies constitute an artful response by Wonga to the changing legislative and socioeconomic contexts in which it and other payday lenders now operate, permitting it to continue marketing and selling its high-interest rate financial services.

A case study of the investment yields of high street banks

Purpose– Sale-and-leaseback has become an increasingly common approach during the last two decades in the investment of high street banks (banking-halls) in the UK. One measure commonly used in making property investment decisions is the all risks yield (ARY) which is associated with the level of rental income. Investors and their advisors need to know which factors are likely to result in the highest ARY when assembling investment portfolios of such properties. The purpose of this paper is to identify those yield influences.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative multiple-case study was adopted. A literature review generated a hypothesis which was tested by a qualitative study, based upon semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire, to establish the influencing factors. Expert interviews were held with the heads of those three major auction-houses dealing with auctions of all retail bank premises in the Great Britain market, whilst the questionnaire survey involved investment professionals from within the auction-houses.Findings– The study confirmed that the four factors influencing yields and investors’ decision-making when purchasing retail banking premises were tenant banking company (brand names), regional location (north and south super-regions), lot size (hammer price), and tenure (freehold or leasehold).Research limitations/implications– This investigation focuses on Great Britain’s geographical and political area which includes England, Scotland and Wales, but excludes Northern Ireland. This research focuses on banking-halls as a sub-class of retail property investment. The findings form a baseline upon which further research can be conducted on other sub-types of retail property such as high street shops and retail parks. The results will also underpin the development of a quantitative yield predictive model based on regression analysis.Practical implications– To maximize the returns on property investments, investors and their professional advisors can use those factors having the greatest influence on yields to make informed investment decisions for the building of property portfolios.Originality/value– As a sub-sector, bank premises do not necessarily correlate to the generic retail sector. This research consolidates the broad systematic drivers of retail yields into specific factors influencing the ARY of banking-halls. The findings provide better understanding of an active but sparsely analysed sub-market of banking hall investments, and by so-doing help investors to maximize their investment returns.

The Disability Discrimination Act (Section 3) 20 years on: Has it been successful?

It is 20 years since legislation to make access to goods and services equal to both able bodied and disabled people became fully enabled. This paper seeks to establish if the last 20 years have seen significant improvement in access, and whether the terms of the legislation, now part of the Equality Act 2010, are being adhered to. The methodology employed is brief access audits of businesses trading within a shopping centre in North West England. The centre chosen was built pre-legislation, but was refurbished post-legislation. It should have been influenced by compliance with disability access legislation and also the impact of Approved document part M, of the building regulations. The centre had a good mix of independently run businesses, small local chain stores and national chain businesses. There was also a good mix of business types, from retail, catering, fast food, high street banks, and other service industry businesses, all offering goods and services to the public. The results of the audit showed the legislation had only a limited impact, and subject businesses ranged from reasonable levels of compliance to no evidence of any form of compliance. Additional feedback from disabled users was, however, positive.

Can credit unions bridge the gap in lending to SMEs?

Small firms continue to experience difficulty accessing adequate finance from formal external sources, notwithstanding many and varied institutional and policy initiatives introduced to address this seemingly perennial problem. Underpinning research indicates that information asymmetry is the principal reason for the finance gap, particularly for young firms. The aim of legislation introduced in the UK in 2012 is to utilise the credit union sector to increase the amount of new lending to SMEs. The rationale for this legislative change arises because credit unions typically operate within a defined geographic region wherefrom they can compile detailed local knowledge of small businesses and be therefore uniquely placed to minimise information asymmetries thereby reducing the funding gap for small firms. Despite this perceived advantage, credit unions have been reluctant to take advantage of this legislative, and therefore lending by credit unions to SMEs has been negligent to date. We investigate the reasons for this lack of engagement in SME lending by interviewing the chief executives of five credit unions in Scotland. Our findings reveal that the CEOs of the credit unions are reluctant to lend to SMEs at present as they are uncomfortable with the level of risk associated with lending to a sector of which they have little experience or expertise. Furthermore, credit unions will need to offer attractive interest rates to compete with high street banks and an increasing number of microcredit providers. Policy makers need to better understand the structure and function of credit unions before assigning a greater role in SME lending. It is too early to say whether credit unions can play a significant role in SME lending, and our evidence suggests that structural issues must first be resolved before they become an established presence in the SME lending ecosystem.

Commercial Sponsorship in Mountaineering: A Case Study of the 1975 British Everest Expedition

In the 1960s and 1970s a new generation of British mountaineers embraced commercial opportunities in a major departure from the sport's amateur roots. For a time, expeditions in the greater ranges became popular among the British public, receiving coverage in the mainstream media and prime-time television. This demand created new commercial interest in the sport as businesses realized the potential value of association with expeditions. Climbers became widely known and began to endorse products and fund their activities through sponsorship. The new ‘career climbers’ changed the sport's focus and profile and Britain's role in mountaineering on the world stage. However, this created tensions within parts of the climbing community who clung on to the sport's amateur roots. This paper analyses these significant changes in British mountaineering through a case study of the 1975 Everest south-west face expedition. This climb, led by Chris Bonington, was generously backed by a high-street bank and the sponsors pursued a variety of commercial lines to maximize their return and portray their desired image. This paper examines what these new commercial opportunities were, how they came about and how successful they were in generating publicity and income. The paper also discusses the reaction that this extraordinary expedition prompted among the often critical climbing community.

At the sharp end of the credit crisis: A profile of Valleys Credit Union

The near-collapse of the country’s largest financial institutions and the forced nationalisation of two major high-street banks raise concerns about the ability of smaller financial institutions to survive. In this article we assess the performance of a credit union in the South Wales Valleys in the context of the financial crisis. We offer a profile of Valleys Credit Union and provide statistics to assess its financial health and viability. We conclude that, while the credit union has ridden out the storm with considerable skill, it and other credit unions require continued political support, especially in terms of intervention in the market for instant loans with excessive rates of interest.

Options for Short-Term Credit in the United Kingdom

Banks in the United Kingdom are unable to make profitable short-term, low-value loans to low-to-moderate-income (LMI) consumers because of increasing regulatory constraints, reputational risks, inflexible legacy information systems, and required investments in new technologies (such as mobile banking). We provide an empirical analysis of consumer loan products from various UK lenders and provide a model showing that the risks and costs associated with these products often outweigh the revenue derived from offering them. These findings show that alternative financial services, such as payday loans and home credit, are increasingly valued by LMI consumers and provide benefits to an under-served market, from which banks continue to exit. We present a bleak outlook for future participation by high street banks in the LMI market.

Bounded rationality in credit consumers’ payment protection insurance decisions: the effect of relative cost and level of cover

A previous study found that credit consumers’ decisions to purchase payment protection insurance (PPI) were surprising insensitive to changes in cost and level of cover. This was investigated further in a randomized-groups experiment in which these two factors and the cost of credit alternatives without PPI were systematically manipulated. High street bank customers (N = 215) were presented with realistic PPI purchase scenarios and a questionnaire assessing their willingness to pay (WTP) for PPI and perceptions of its usefulness. It was found that: (1) WTP and PPI decisions were insensitive to relatively large changes in level of cover; (2) the perceived usefulness of Premium and Basic levels of cover were not significantly different, although their usefulness was a significant predictor of PPI decisions and (3) sensitivity of PPI decisions to changes in cost was dependent on the cost of credit without PPI. The first two findings are explained in terms of simplified mental representations and the evaluability of insurance cover. It is concluded that further research on the effects of the relative cost of insurance is needed.

Defusing the risk of borrowing: The psychology of payment protection insurance decisions

Consumers can defuse the financial risks of credit default by taking payment protection insurance (PPI). In two studies, predictions derived from Huber’s risk defusing operator theory of decision making were tested. We investigated the effects on PPI judgements and decisions of previous experience, cognitive appraisal, emotion and changes in PPI cost and level of cover. In Study 1, a randomized groups experiment, 241 high street bank customers were presented with scenarios in which they chose whether or not to purchase PPI. Logistic regression showed that previous experience, the anticipated worry reduction (peace of mind) afforded by PPI, and its perceived value for money, all had direct effects on PPI decisions. In addition, standard regression analysis found that: (1) PPI cost and level of cover significantly predicted the perceived value for money of PPI; and (2) the subjective probability of repayment difficulties predicted anticipated worry about repayment difficulties, which in turn predicted the anticipated worry reduction of PPI. In Study 2, a survey of 300 bank customers, the above direct and indirect effects on PPI decisions were further investigated by path modeling. The final path model was a good fit to the data and confirmed the main relationships described above. Thus, in addition to judgements of the value for money of PPI, worry concerning repayment difficulties, and its anticipated reduction, are strong determinants of consumer credit insurance decisions.

Branding in UK banks and building societies: a relationship approach

Branding in financial services has not really achieved the differentiation that providers of these services have been seeking. Banks and building societies (B&BS) have also invested heavily in the building of relationships, which may form a stronger basis for branding. The purpose of this paper is to propose an alternative approach to branding, based on relationships. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers charged with customer relationships in a selection of UK high street banks and building societies to elicit the range of relationships that have the potential for branding initiatives. From the findings emerges a number of stakeholders who are then plotted into the brand environment of B&BS. This study develops an empirically derived approach to branding based stakeholder relationships and hence already embedded in the B&BS strategy.

Predicting the amount individuals withdraw at cash machines using a random effects multinomial model

Retail finance organizations use data on past behaviour to make predictions for customer value management strategies. Random-effects models, where each individual has a behavioural pattern drawn from an overall population distribution, are a natural statistical form in this context. The random effects models in this paper are used to predict how much individuals withdraw at a single cash machine visit. A multinomial distribution is taken for the distribution of amounts and the random effects are modelled by a Dirichlet distribution or the empirical distribution of individual maximum likelihood fits. A third model extends the multinomial distribution by incorporating a form of serial dependence and uses an empirical distribution for the random effects. Several prediction tests on a sample of 5000 UK high-street bank accounts find that the greatest benefit from the models is for accounts with a small number of past transactions; that little information may be lost by binning and that the Dirichlet distribution might overestimate the probability of previously unobserved withdrawal amounts. The empirical distribution of random effects is found to perform well because there are a large number of individual accounts.

The future of credit unions in the United States: evidence from quantitative extrapolations†

Credit Unions (CUs) are financial co-operatives owned and controlled by their members; in the United States they operate both on state as well as on a national level and are in direct competition with retail high-street banks. In this study we use published data for six key financial figures from ten states in the US and present short to mid-term extrapolations. An Expert Forecasting Support System, selecting via a competition among classic extrapolative techniques, has been employed in order to prepare one-year as well as five-years ahead forecasts. The results surface significant statistical evidence of: (a) merging across CUs, and (b) blooming of all key financial figures. †An earlier version of this paper was presented in MIC'06 – Management International Conference 2006, 23–25 November 2006, Portoro[zbreve], Slovenia.