The Huffington Post: Cognizant Vice President and Head of Banking and Financial Services in the UK & Ireland Writes About the Future of the Eurozone and What it Means for Banks

Tony Virdi, Vice President and Head of Banking and Financial Services in the UK & Ireland, Cognizant

“What is certain is that the resolution of the Euro crisis—however it pans out—will bring with it major and extensive challenges across the industry, as banks implement major systems and process changes to restore trust with their customers, while minimizing any financial losses, liquidity pressures and business risk," writes Tony Virdi. "The Eurozone that may emerge from this crisis is likely to be very different from the one we know today.” According to Virdi, it is clear that a contracted Euro will have a widespread impact on both operational / IT processes and underlying solutions, requiring additional resource and experience to plan and deliver the necessary changes in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

"The key impacts are market infrastructure, regulatory, customer and operations, resulting in several significant process and system changes,” he adds. "Banks need to place an increased focus on assessing and reacting to the changing situation to limit potential financial losses, evaluate new strategies for operating in these markets, and develop appropriate risk management frameworks. This will result in several initiatives to address the need for process and systems changes.”

Virdi writes, “Whilst a lot of groundwork and experience was gained in introducing the Euro, it is essential for all financial services institutions with Euro exposure to start putting plans in place now to be able to adapt to market infrastructure, regulatory, customer and operations changes with minimal disruption. Those that do will be the ones that will not only be ready for any disruption / financial impact caused by future developments, but will be in a strong position to benefit from the changing environment ahead of their competitors. It is time to act, rather than wait for the next stage of the crisis to unfold.”

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