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Banking on it
By Chris NesiEven before the Internet exploded on the scene, the financial services industry was in turmoil. Regulations that kept banks separate from investment firms and insurance companies were crumbling. Customers were demanding services and convenience and were growing increasingly restless, jumping to whoever offered the lowest rate or the highest return, as the situation demanded. New financial services competitors appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Then it hit. Suddenly, customers, already fickle enough, could competitively shop conventional and nonconventional financial services at the click of the mouse, comparing rates and terms with ease. New players from completely outside the financial services industry — telecommunications companies, Web portals, even software companies — were offering to do things that financial services firms had long considered their exclusive franchise.