Money

Banking Gross Margin: Why CLTV Beats Product Profitability

From Product P&Ls to Client Lifetime Value: A Paradigm Shift in Banking

Summary:

Traditional banking models focus on product-specific profitability, often at the expense of overall client value. Evgenii Zharnakov argues that shifting to a Client Lifetime Value (CLTV) approach enables banks to better understand and optimize long-term client relationships. This method emphasizes cross-product interactions, future profitability, and strategic pricing decisions. By focusing on CLTV, banks can uncover untapped growth opportunities and improve organizational alignment.

What This Means for You:

  • Reevaluate Pricing Strategies: Avoid short-term profit-maximizing decisions that harm long-term client relationships.
  • Invest in Attracting Products: Low-profit products like debit accounts and transfers can serve as entry points for higher-margin services.
  • Align Departments Around CLTV: Foster cross-departmental collaboration to optimize overall client profitability.
  • Future Outlook: Banks adopting CLTV will gain a competitive edge through better client retention and strategic decision-making.

Original Post:


Young businesswoman presenting banking concepts

By Evgenii Zharnakov

The traditional banking model focuses on individual product profitability, often leading to siloed decision-making. Evgenii Zharnakov introduces the Client Lifetime Value (CLTV) approach, which shifts the focus to long-term client profitability. This strategy enables banks to better understand client behavior, optimize cross-product interactions, and make more informed pricing decisions.

From Product P&Ls to Client Value

CLTV provides a holistic view of client profitability, moving beyond isolated product metrics. This approach helps banks identify growth opportunities and align decision-making across departments.

CLTV as a Financial Metric

CLTV combines Gross Margin from current products with the expected value of future products. This metric offers greater transparency and strategic insight than traditional product P&Ls.

Attracting vs. Earning Products

CLTV distinguishes between attracting products (e.g., debit accounts) and earning products (e.g., mortgages). Attracting products lay the foundation for long-term profitability by fostering client relationships.

How Product-Centric Thinking Misprices Services

A product-centric approach often leads to mispricing, harming long-term client profitability. CLTV encourages banks to reconsider pricing strategies to enhance retention and cross-product activity.

Retention Economics: Spending More to Earn More

CLTV enables banks to allocate retention budgets effectively, focusing on high-value clients who contribute significantly to long-term profitability.

Organizational Shifts Required

Implementing CLTV requires cross-departmental alignment, ensuring that all teams work towards a common goal of optimizing client lifetime value.

Conclusion: The Client as the Profit Center

Adopting a client-centric approach empowers banks to uncover untapped growth opportunities, improve retention, and make more strategic decisions. CLTV outperforms traditional product-focused metrics by focusing on long-term client profitability.

About the Author

Evgenii Zharnakov is a Finance and analytics leader focused on applying AI to management reporting, risk, and decision-making in capital-intensive industries.

Extra Information:

Explore these resources to deepen your understanding of CLTV:
McKinsey on CLTV
and
HBR on Customer Retention.

People Also Ask About:

  • What is Client Lifetime Value? CLTV measures the total revenue a bank can expect from a client over their lifetime.
  • Why is CLTV important for banks? It helps banks optimize long-term profitability and improve client retention.
  • How does CLTV differ from product P&L? CLTV focuses on overall client profitability, while P&L measures individual product performance.
  • What are attracting products? Low-margin products that build client relationships and lead to higher-margin services.
  • How can banks implement CLTV? By aligning departments, reevaluating pricing strategies, and investing in attracting products.

Expert Opinion:

“The shift from product-centric to client-centric metrics is not just a trend but a necessity for banks aiming to thrive in a competitive landscape. CLTV provides a comprehensive framework for sustainable growth.”

Key Terms:

  • Client Lifetime Value (CLTV)
  • Banking profitability metrics
  • Cross-product optimization
  • Attracting vs. earning products
  • Client-centric banking strategies


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