Financial Communication: A Tool for Business Growth

Javier Ferrer, Director of the Financial Communication at the agency PROA Comunicación, explains to whom financial communication is addressed, what does it contribute and what challenges are associated with financial communication.

To whom is financial communication addressed?

Financial communication is a supporting business tool for companies in the world of finance: banks, insurers, fund managers, portfolio managers, financial intermediaries, investment services companies and family offices.

How can financial communication help businesses?

It helps a business to position their brand as unique compared to their competitors, bringing the qualities of each particular business model into market and to different audiences – the media, social networks, consumers and institutions. It also serves to manage their reputation, providing transparency when they face difficulties and specialization when it comes to reporting on business results.

What does a financial communication service require in order to be effective?

It requires highly specialized teams in activities that generate income for financial institutions: investment advising and management, financial planning, transactional banking and financing. It also requires extensive knowledge both of the value proposition of the products and services a company offers as well as the distribution channels through which each business reaches its customers.

What are the challenges facing financial communication in the current business environment?

Digitization is a big one because it leads to significant savings in distribution costs, provides operational and consultative advantages for customers, thereby forcing business models to transform. The tightening regulations, in the Spanish case with Mifid II, is also important because it requires distributors and product manufacturers to change their revenue model as well as provide more effective protection of the client’s interests. Specific to banking, reputation management continues to be a challenge to improve an image damaged by the inefficiencies that caused the 2008 crisis and the subsequent restructuring in this sector.
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