Client onboarding makes or breaks client relationships. In investment banking, it is broken. So broken that nearly one-third of institutional clients abandon the process before completing it because they are dissatisfied, according to Accenture Strategy client experience. An industry that has seen profits shrink for nearly a decade (per our analysis of quarterly financial filings) cannot sustain black box onboarding. While onboarding will always be complex thanks to regulators, there are client-friendly and revenue-generating ways to manage it. They offer banks a rare second chance to make a first impression to protect and grow the client base.

1. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.

2. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
200+ steps. Months of frustration. It’s no wonder
that nearly one third of institutional investment
banking clients abandon the onboarding process
before completion.
This leaves 30% or more of banks’ clients
up for grabs.
Onboarding will always be complex thanks to
regulators, but the process must be transformed
into a client-friendly experience to protect and
grow the customer base.
CLIENT ONBOARDING
IS BROKEN

3. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
Global investment banks have wasted millions implementing failed technological
onboarding “fixes”. This is because the flaws are fundamental, not computational:
• No department or leader owns end-to-end onboarding on behalf of the client,
leading to a lack of accountability.
• Clients typically value fewer than five of the over 200 steps in the average
onboarding process.
• Information visibility is lost between siloed departments, resulting in repeat data
requests and delayed processing.
GOOD TECH
DOESN’T SOLVE
BAD PROCESS

4. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
Investment banks’ profits have shrunk for
nearly a decade. By decreasing onboarding
inefficiencies and increasing accountability,
banks can:
• Realize up to 9% potential revenue growth
• Reduce costs by up to 18%
• Cut time to trade by 25%
NEW VALUE
IS WAITING

5. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
Getting onboarding right does not require massive technology investments or
structural reorganization. It does require a company-wide cultural shift. Banks
can begin with the following actions:
GET THE HOUSE IN ORDER
• REBUILD from the ground up. Adopt a zero-
based mindset to streamline onboarding.
• FOCUS on the vital few with an analytic, data
driven approach to provide tailored services for
each client.
• STOP holding clients hostage. Appoint a client
owner who has the mandate, facts and
accountability to demand excellence.
• CREATE top to bottom transparency. Use
digital technologies to elevate the client
experience once the ground work is complete.

6. Copyright © 2017 Accenture All rights reserved. Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.
Learn more about how to transform investment bank onboarding to
improve client experience and grow revenue:
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