Abstract:

Socio-cultural change- is having a very powerful impact on European societies today, in 1981-1982. Comparison of the nine European observatories (carried out by the RISC network in 1981) shows that out of the 30-40 socio-cultural trends, 22 are present in every country in Europe. Which indicates that socio-cultural change in Europe is relatively homogeneous, and that the different socio- cultures of Europe are tending to draw closer to each other. After a somewhat psychological and statistical analysis of their clienteles, they ought to turn to a more sociological and anticipatory approach. The challenge facing the banks today is surely to adjust their products, the nature of their services and their communications to an increasingly complex, splintered and evolving universe of clienteles. Financial institutions ought to conceive their public image in terms of a strategy taking into account all the factors contained in the system concerned, and as a policy of the utmost importance, aimed at reintegrating these institutions in the eyes of the public, by drawing attention to those aspects of banking which demonstrate the solidarity of the world of banking with the community at large, and by pointing to the links between the institutional functions of the bank and the local services directly rendered to the client.