Rivalry in Retail Financial Services

Resumen

An exploration of the changes in strategy which the developments of the 1980s have provoked in banks, building societies and insurance companies. It presents an analysis of the frenzied activities of a group of players, all of whom have been forced to adjust to the new rules. Sparked off by deregulation on the one hand and technological advancement on the other, the 1980s have seen the market for retail financial services transformed into a ferocious battleground. What were once some of Britain's most conservative institutions have become fiercely aggressive, competitive animals. Banks have thrown off their aloof, over-bearing image in the interests of friendliness and approachability. Building societies have responded to the call of war by cultivating more up-market, sophisticated images. For insurance companies, with their more limited range of options, the way forward has been more difficult to establish. Margaret Rothwell and Paul Jowett have also written "The Economics of Information Technology" and "Performance Indicators in the Public Sector".