We recently spoke with Romain Girard, Partner at Progress Associés and Financial Services & Insurance Practice Group Leader at IIC Partners, about how organizations are adapting to digital disruption and new governance demands in financial services.

Romain shared that as AI, open banking, and cybersecurity redefine the industry, leaders must be visionary, energetic, and committed to maintaining public trust. He also emphasized that strengthening governance is paramount, transforming board assessment from a regulatory task into a vital component of business strategy. Watch the full interview to learn more.

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Transcript

Board assessment first emanated from the financial regulator. Our first project at Progress was for a bank, but over time, assessment has become a tool to improve governance. It gives directors space to reflect on their practices, skills, and commitments. This enables organizations to progress.

During engagements, we provide advice on key topics. The idea is to streamline the work of the board without burdening them. For example, one client had three separate boards. We helped them share work, set up joint committees, and align training. Small steps with big impact. This was made possible by creating a relationship of trust with all stakeholders involved in the project.

Today, the banking revolution is underway. Not just the changes from artificial intelligence, but also digital banking based on open banking technologies. In France, over the first quarter of the year, 40% of new business was generated by online banks such as Revolut, N26, and Boursa Bank. They are game changers. Our traditional clients are really, really wondering about their future.

On the business side, the spread of unlisted savings, private equity, and general public savings is also an important topic. It clearly questions transparency and governance of financial institutions. Cyber security is an important topic as well, of course. Organizations are racing to improve their strength in this area.

I would keep security and ethics because, of course, you have artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and so on. In financial services, it’s very, very deep and the impact is very important. But banks, insurance actors, and financial services globally are trusted third parties. We have to find leaders who are still aligned with this duty. And they must also be, of course, visionary, modern, and have a lot of energy to transform organizations.

IIC Partners is a very important organization for us. It’s been key to our development in the past, and we believe in the future as well. Actually, what is important is that we are a local player, a quite important local player on our market, and thanks to IIC Partners, we can be presented as part of an international network. And this is very important today, with the world evolving, with a new context, that we can be seen as a local player but independent, evolving in a global world.