Smart banks embrace new tech

E-channels must be developed to meet the changing needs and behavior of customers and support the real economy

Early this February, on the sidelines of the Bank of China's 100th birthday celebrations, we had the honor of inviting executives from the 29 Global Systemically Important Banks to participate in the group's first forum in Beijing.

The forum's theme was the new challenges and new missions for banks in the future. Most bankers realized, drawing on lessons from the global financial crisis, that banks must return to their fundamental functions - taking deposits, making loans and providing other financial services to customers - to support the real economy, rather than relying on the trading businesses between financial institutions themselves to make money.