20% of respondents, mainly banks and asset management firms, from both locations, said their firms were behind their rivals. By comparison, only 5% of European respondents had the same opinion.
About 92% of Hong Kong and Singapore respondents in the survey – the highest percentage globally – said they expected to collaborate with a fintech firm in the next 18 months. The same number said they must learn to better partner with third parties.
Roughly 70% of those polled in Hong Kong and Singapore believe Hong Kong stands out as the market where complexity of decision-making structures and lack of cultural alignment with fintech firms are major obstacles to more effective collaboration.
Singapore and Hong Kong financial firms worry about fintechs’ credibility more than their peers in Europe or the US. In particular, in order to consider handing over regulatory compliance functions to a third party, 78% of the region’s firms would require stronger assurances of the outside firm’s capability, compared to 57%-67% in other markets.
The survey also found that banks and asset managers in the region are not warm to joining large fintech consortia as a way to boost innovation. Only 47% of respondents thought consortia were effective, compared to 90% in New York and 83% in London.
All Singapore respondents (100%) think that acquiring a fintech firm or a start-up is an effective way to improve their fintech innovation, while only 50% of respondents in Hong Kong share that view. Their views are more extreme than those of their European and American peers (75%-88%).
Asset managers
Globally, asset managers’ innovation strategies differ from those of banks. They are more active in setting up fintech accelerators or incubators and more focused on building in-house fintech expertise.
They tend to be less active than banks in setting up joint ventures with fintech firms. Only a minority of asset managers have acquired a fintech firm or start-up in the last three years.
| Asset Managers | Banks | |
| Established fintech accelerators | 47% | 38% |
| Set up joint ventures | 30% | 40% |
| Building in-house expertise | 64% | 50% |
Source: Simmons & Simmons
The survey was conducted in January and February 2017. Of 200 participants, one-third were in asset management firms and two-thirds in banks, representing roles in operations, legal/compliance, IT, and strategy. Hong Kong and Singapore respondents constituted 12% and 13%, respectively.
