A range of reports have highlighted the fact that many banks will be losing money on their payments business by the end of the decade. These reports put such trends down to growing customer demands, increasing regulation and rising costs of technology to manage payment processes. If banks cannot make a profit out of money transmissions – their core business – how will they make it?
Massimo Arrighetti, head of retail at Italy’s Banca Intesa, talks to Stephen Timewell about the earthquake in his bank’s retail sector that has led not only to a radical rethink, but also to a step change in processes.When Banco Ambrosiano Veneto, Cariplo and Banca Commerciale Italiana joined forces in late 2002 to form the largest bank in Italy, Banca Intesa, they also formed a bank with a staggering 1,500 different retail products.
A swathe of outsourcing deals has seen global custodians moving into the middle offices of investment managers – and even edging towards the front offices. However, Frances Maguire finds that the global custodians are not taking their own advice on outsourcing.The custody market has already undergone a great deal of consolidation. Several Tier 1 banks have sold up their custody arms to one of the banks that now make up the top five largest global custodians, as custody was deemed a product offering that needed both scale and to be part of a wider business relationship to be profitable (see news story on Citigroup’s purchase of ABN Amro’s custody operation).
It is surprising to think that in less than two years, the internet has gone from being an essential corporate asset to being a pain in the neck. According to IT research and analysis provider Gartner, 57 million adults in the US received a fraudulent e-mail as of May 2004.
A recent roundtable organised by The Banker looked at issues surrounding the non-proprietary Linux operating system. A group of senior bankers took part in a group session discussing Linux adoption and prospects, chaired by The Banker’s technology columnist Chris Skinner.