Banks are in fact reducing the number of branches to cut costs. But in order to reap the benefits of technology they will need to go beyond cost-cutting and adopt farsighted and possibly quite far-reaching innovations in their approach to business and customers. Banks that are both creative and efficient in the use  7  See R.G.
Rajan, “Why banks have a future: Toward a new theory of commercial banking”, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 9 (2), 1996; and A.W.A. Boot, “Banking at the crossroads: How to deal with marketability and complexity?”, Review of Development Finance 1, 2011. 7  of technology, while preserving their traditional business advantages, are likely in my view retain a key role.