As pressure for regulatory compliance continues, Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank, has selected the raft radar solution, from Raft International, a credit risk and operational risk management provider, to assist in managing operational risk and complying with Basel II and Sarbanes-Oxley regulatory requirements.
Some of the big Latin American banks are concentrating on new retail products to attract the unbanked segment of the population and thus grow market share. Monica Campbell reports.Now that many big foreign banks play a major role in Latin America’s financial system, the race is on to capture a bigger chunk of the market, including its evolving commercial marketplace. Although most banks still thirst for wealthy clients, they are also slowly recognising the potential of Latin America’s enormous unbanked population.
The desire to source technology solutions from one vendor rather than several is on the rise among banks and this is helping to feed an M&A trend, believes Jim Wilson, president of the international division at Fidelity Information Services. Interview by Michael Imeson.It is not so much an acquisition trail as a voyage of conquest. Fidelity National Financial (FNF), number 326 in the Fortune 500, has picked up five US banking technology companies in the past 12 months and is on the look out for more.
Linux is especially suited to processing intensive risk management, according to Algorithmics, the enterprise risk management solutions provider. Algorithmics now offers a distributed computing version of its flagship Algo Suite product, which uses its Mark-to-Future framework to leverage the computing power provided by a heterogeneous grid of machines running both the Linux and Solaris operating systems.
With more than three-quarters of Qatar’s population come from overseas, Doha Bank is focusing on expatriate customers, says Parveen Bansal.With energy needs expanding worldwide and oil prices remaining high, the Qatari economy is booming. Under the prudent leadership of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa Al Thani, the state’s development strategy is focusing on diversification of the economy away from oil, toward extensive gas reserves and industrial expansion. Oil and natural gas revenues enable Qatar to have a per capita income not far below the leading industrial countries in western Europe.
Trusted relationships are the cornerstone of banking services. Customer needs for specialised financial advice, tailored credit and widespread collection points are boosting the role of bank branches. The younger generation, however, has grown up with electronic devices at their fingertips, and their dynamic lifestyles demand real-time, anywhere access. Therefore, remote distribution channels (for example, the internet, call centres and new generations of wireless services) are extending the more traditional banking services capabilities.