Retail banks around the world reacted to the COVID-19 crisis with speed, dexterity, and purpose, while remaining true to their environmental, social, and corporate governance goals. When customers stayed home, banks closed or converted branches, redirecting their resources and customers to remote and digital channels.As it became clear that an economic crisis loomed as well, banks promptly took steps to improve their financial position. To help financially stressed customers weather the crisis, banks offered them loan deferrals or moratoriums. And they did it all in the span of a few weeks.

That was then. Now, as the new reality starts to take shape, banks face further challenges. The pandemic shock has accelerated changes already underway and sparked new ones. Institutions’ revenues are under pressure, and global banking revenue pools have already taken a significant beating. Under the most optimistic scenario, those pools are not expected to return to precrisis levels until 2022.

Customers are moving to digital channels faster than they have in the past. Online banking use has risen by 23%, and mobile banking use is up by 30%. These changes are likely to be permanent, accelerating the migration to digital channels by three to four years over precrisis trends.