Published: February 1, 2017
New Societe Generale head outlines key transaction banking issues
Benoît Desserre discusses the state of banking, partnering with Fintechs, and expansion in Africa.
The prevailing low interest rate environment; regulation and the emergence of digital disruptors are the key issues facing transaction banks in the payments space, according to Benoît Desserre, the recently appointed global head of global transaction banking and deputy head of global transaction and payment services at Societe Generale.
“We are working in a very low interest rate environment, and payments is a business that has required us to build deposits to fund investment,” he says, pointing out that banks currently need to invest more in payments to meet growing regulation and demands for faster and instant payments as well as take advantage of emerging digital technologies, but are not getting the levels of returns required on deposits.