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Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund


In 2001, Bank Leu, a Swiss private bank, is considering creating the world's first public fund for catastrophe bonds. Cat bonds are securities whose payments depend on the probability of a catastrophe occurring, such as an earthquake or hurricane. Cat bonds are traditionally issued by large insurance or reinsurance companies. This case outlines the traditional reinsurance market and securitization efforts that have taken place in the past and focuses on Bank Leu's decision as a buy-side participant in the cat bond market.

Authors :: George Chacko, Vincent Dessain, Anders Sjoman, Adam Plotkin

Topics :: Finance & Accounting

Tags :: Financial management, Financial markets, Risk management, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund" written by George Chacko, Vincent Dessain, Anders Sjoman, Adam Plotkin includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Cat Leu's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Financial markets, Risk management and Finance & Accounting.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, increasing transportation and logistics costs, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cat Leu's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Cat Leu's operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.




SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix


SWOT analysis of Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Cat Leu's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Cat Leu's




Strengths Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Cat Leu's in Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund Harvard Business Review case study are -

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry

– Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Cat Leu's to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Cat Leu's to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

High brand equity

– Cat Leu's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Cat Leu's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Cat Leu's in the sector have low bargaining power. Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Cat Leu's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Training and development

– Cat Leu's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Analytics focus

– Cat Leu's is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by George Chacko, Vincent Dessain, Anders Sjoman, Adam Plotkin can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Cat Leu's in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Cat Leu's has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Cat Leu's has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Cat Leu's digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Cat Leu's has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

Innovation driven organization

– Cat Leu's is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Cat Leu's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Cat Leu's has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.






Weaknesses Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund are -

Aligning sales with marketing

– It come across in the case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Cat Leu's is planning to shift buying processes online.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Cat Leu's, firm in the HBR case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund, it seems that the employees of Cat Leu's don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund HBR case study mentions - Cat Leu's takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Cat Leu's needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Cat Leu's has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Cat Leu's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Cat Leu's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Cat Leu's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Cat Leu's has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Need for greater diversity

– Cat Leu's has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Cat Leu's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Cat Leu's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Cat Leu's 's lucrative customers.




Opportunities Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund are -

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Cat Leu's to increase its market reach. Cat Leu's will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions

– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Cat Leu's in the consumer business. Now Cat Leu's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Cat Leu's to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Cat Leu's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Cat Leu's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Buying journey improvements

– Cat Leu's can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19

– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Cat Leu's can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Cat Leu's can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Cat Leu's can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Cat Leu's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Cat Leu's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.

Loyalty marketing

– Cat Leu's has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Cat Leu's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Developing new processes and practices

– Cat Leu's can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Cat Leu's can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Cat Leu's to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.




Threats Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund are -

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Cat Leu's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Increasing wage structure of Cat Leu's

– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Cat Leu's.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund, Cat Leu's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Cat Leu's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Cat Leu's is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Regulatory challenges

– Cat Leu's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Finance & Accounting industry regulations.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Cat Leu's in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Cat Leu's can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund .

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Cat Leu's has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Cat Leu's needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Instability in the European markets

– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Cat Leu's will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Cat Leu's high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund Template, Example


Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Cat Leu's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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