Integrated applications and centralised processing are essential for modern, efficient banking. But how easy is it to achieve these technological and operational goals, which if done properly can transform the business? This was the key issue debated at a series of round table lunches hosted by The Banker and FT Global Events recently in Jordan, Portugal and Azerbaijan. The round tables were sponsored by Oracle Financial Services Software but independently edited by The Banker.
Risk management, the lifeblood of financial services, is undergoing an identity crisis as many experts call into question the validity of traditional risk management methods. In this Masterclass, Keith Saxton, global director for financial markets at IBM, and Francis Lacan, global risk and compliance solution manager for the financial services sector at IBM, discuss how technology can help improve the measuring and monitoring of systemic risk and why internal risk management functions should be regarded as a profit centre. Writer Michelle Price
As the financial crisis continues, many banks cutting back on spending are targeting their IT budgets. Despite this, IT teams around the globe are performing admirably under great pressure. The Banker's Innovation In Banking Technology Awards recognises those who have excelled in times of unparalleled adversity.
As Taishin Financial Holdings' chief information officer, B R Ho has led the bank through its migration to service-orientated architecture, a move which has enabled the company to build a far more comprehensive knowledge of its customers. Writer Michelle PriceB R Ho, senior vice-president and CIO of Taishin Financial Holdings
Short-term trade finance has come apart in Latin America but banks and governments are focusing on home markets to the detriment of a global solution. The effects are reverberating hard in emerging markets and a dependence on devalued commodities and over-aggressive hedging by exporters are exacerbating the situation. Writer John Rumsey.
The European payments landscape is undergoing a period of dramatic transformation as regulatory, infrastructural and commercial pressures force Europe’s payment providers to invest colossal amounts of human and financial resources in new technological and compliance projects.Faced with SEPA, the PSD and UK Faster Payments, the transaction banking business has rarely been busier or more inflamed by competitive pressure.
Pressure to cut IT costs and improve efficiency will result in yet another push towards outsourcing and offshoring. Michelle Price speaks with Daniel Marovitz, head of product management and chief operating officer, technology and MIS, global corporate finance, Deutsche Bank, about the bank’s outsourcing strategy.