DenizBank's modern, nimble IT system has a series of admirers in the banking world, and includes none other than Bill Gates among those who it has impressed. The bank's chief operating officer tells The Banker how DenizBank is now ready to take its IT knowhow to a wider international audience.
The breadth of MasterCard's portfolio of payment solutions would have been unimaginable when the president of global technology and operations at MasterCard Technologies, Robert Reeg, started his career, but with 85% of global transactions still in cash, he explains the importance of pressing ahead with yet more innovation.
Banks are no longer just competing with each other, they are also at war with a growing number of retailers and innovative start-ups that employ social media tactics to offer sought-after services. The Banker brought together a panel of banking experts to discuss the issues. This round table was sponsored by Cisco, but independently written and edited.
By the end of 2013, all of the Central and Eastern European Stock Exchange Group's exchanges will have upgraded their trading systems to Xetra. Michael Buhl, joint-CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange and CEESEG, explains the importance of centralising systems while retaining a local identity.
At a recent round table hosted by The Banker, a panel of industry experts discussed the changing nature of technology and innovation with regards to economic and regulatory influences. The experts also considered how these factors shape the competitive landscape and create opportunities for co-operation. The event, the last in a four-part series, was sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, but independently written and edited.
The push for transparency, real-time information and improved risk management in financial services has led to the adoption of new computing infrastructure, which means that running a Google search to check credit risk exposure might be around the corner.
The global financial crisis caused many corporates to review their treasury operations, with a large number reducing banking partners and signing up to shared technology platforms. Such changes, combined with the introduction of new regulations, such as the Single European Payments Area, have left many banks rethinking their global transaction services.
A decade-old political vision to create a harmonised payments scheme across Europe is finally nearing its deadline. But the prospect of a Single European Payments Area never seemed so threatened by economic volatility or so opaque in regulatory direction.