--Under challenging circumstances, the UK Financial Services industry is 
showing signs of greater agility and innovation in 2020

Appian (NASDAQ: APPN) today published survey results examining the response of 
the UK banking sector to the coronavirus pandemic, revealing that nearly 
three-quarters of respondents say their organization has become more innovative 
as a result.

The "Innovating in a Crisis: How COVID-19 Changed the Way UK Banks Deliver Core 
Operations" survey ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2918429-1&h=1898927786&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.appian.com%2Fresources%2Finnovating-in-a-crisis-how-covid-19-changed-the-way-uk-banks-deliver-core-operations%2F%3Futm_source%3Dreferral%26utm_medium%3Dpress-release%26utm_campaign%3Dfs-2020&a=%22Innovating+in+a+Crisis%3A+How+COVID-19+Changed+the+Way+UK+Banks+Deliver+Core+Operations%22+survey 
), conducted by FT Focus and supported by Appian, shows that banks are rising 
to new challenges. 78% of banks have "proven more agile than previously 
thought" and 72% "have grown more innovative in 2020" according to survey 
results.

Senior UK banking respondents cited "making sales and winning new business" 
(73%) as the biggest additional challenge posed by COVID-19, followed by 
"customer services" (72%), then "risk management and compliance processes" 
(71%). However, one bank's challenge appears to be another's opportunity. 
Showing that the competitive nature of the market remains despite the crisis, 
roughly equal proportions of respondents viewed the pandemic and Brexit as 
opportunities or threats to business. Emerging technologies represented the 
only factor where respondents achieved more of a consensus, with 57% viewing 
the use of automation, cloud, and AI as opportunities for growth.

On how banks are responding to COVID-19:

    --  Two-thirds (66%) are planning to cut costs 
    --  66% are expecting to increase their automation in response to COVID-19 
    --  60% are expecting to increase technology spending

In addition to increased remote working and online development, 82% have 
accelerated compliance and approvals processes, and 81% are using agile 
practices to increase the pace of new product or service delivery, suggesting 
that pre-COVID-19 processes are being sped up.

"COVID-19 has forced the banking industry to rapidly adapt to new challenges. 
The survey results prove that banks are able to be agile, innovate and 
implement new technologies when the market demands," said Mike Heffner, VP, 
Solutions and Industry Go To Market at Appian. "Although cost cuts are on the 
horizon for a significant number of UK banks, finding new ways to stay 
efficient and deliver compliant, effective service has probably never been more 
of a priority."

"We have never seen such transformation, such a drive for innovation, as we 
have witnessed in the last four or five months [to July 2020]," said Ritesh 
Jain, COO of Digital Technology at HSBC and an in-depth survey respondent.

To learn more about how UK banks have stayed agile under pressure, read the 
full "Innovating in a Crisis: How COVID-19 Changed the Way UK Banks Deliver 
Core Operations" survey report ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2918429-1&h=3534464021&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.appian.com%2Fresources%2Finnovating-in-a-crisis-how-covid-19-changed-the-way-uk-banks-deliver-core-operations%2F%3Futm_source%3Dreferral%26utm_medium%3Dpress-release%26utm_campaign%3Dfs-2020&a=%22Innovating+in+a+Crisis%3A+How+COVID-19+Changed+the+Way+UK+Banks+Deliver+Core+Operations%22+survey+ 
). 
To unpack the survey findings, Appian is hosting a webinar chaired by renowned 
FinTech author Chris Skinner with Appian financial services thought-leaders, 
Mike Heffner and Guy Mettrick.

Monday 30 September 2020, 2pm BST
Banking Operations Innovating in a Crisis: Chris Skinner Explores Our Latest 
Financial Times (FT) Focus Report

The webinar will explore in greater depth how:

    --  66% of UK banks responded to the crisis by increasing automation 
    --  The crisis sparked greater adaptability and faster innovation cycles 
    --  Long-planned initiatives have been expedited to increase efficiency and 
        productivity

Register for the webinarnow ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2918429-1&h=3009598562&u=https%3A%2F%2Fevent.on24.com%2FeventRegistration%2FEventLobbyServlet%3Ftarget%3Dreg20.jsp%26referrer%3Dpress-release%26eventid%3D2621552%26sessionid%3D1%26key%3DDF8C10DBE242C77DBB2144AA455A41CA%26regTag%3D%26sourcepage%3Dregister&a=Register+for+the+webinar 
).

Methodology
The survey, conducted by FT Focus, gathered responses from 263 senior UK 
banking executives during July 2020. Respondents held roles at retail banks 
(43%), commercial banks (29%) or investment banks (29%). Just under half (49%) 
were in C-suite positions, including 27 CEOs. FT Focus also spoke in depth to 
Ritesh Jain, then COO of Digital Technology at HSBC, to understand in detail 
how banking leaders are navigating the challenges that emerged in the first 
half of 2020.

About Appian
Appian provides a low-code automation platform that accelerates the creation of 
high-impact business applications. Many of the world's largest organizations 
use Appian applications to improve customer experience, achieve operational 
excellence, and simplify global risk management and compliance. For more 
information, visit www.appian.com.

SOURCE: Appian 

CONTACT:  Nicole Greggs, Director of Media Relations, +1 703-260-7868, 
nicole.greggs@appian.com