Banking Technology Awards 2015 – shortlist announced
Banks from around the world are among the candidates on the shortlist for the Banking Technology 2015 Awards, announced today, showing the continuing competitive edge regional institutions are gaining over the large international players through technology.
The institutions have been selected from more than 120 entries, all of which were submitted to the scrutiny of our expert panel of judges.
The 16th annual Banking Technology Awards will take place on 11 November at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London. The incredibly successful Banking Technology Awards have become established as the premier event recognising excellence in the use of IT in financial services.
For all questions relating to the awards please contact: [email protected]
Best Industry Infrastructure Initiative
Bankenes Standardiseringskontor (BSK)
Baltus 2.0 is a new infrastructure for exchanging online bank transactions between all the banks in Norway. It is replacing two legacy communication networks based on old and outdated technology, thus increasingly becoming a business risk for the Norwegian finance sector. The Baltus 2.0 infrastructure is an open standard, state-of-the-art communication solution that will deliver multiple benefits to the Norwegian banks.
BankID Norge Digital Identity
BankID Norge is building strong digital identities to be used by all Norwegian citizens in all electronic business. The scheme is a success because all banks have cooperated to provide mutual recognition of BankID from all banks. This cooperation model has made it possible to use the BankID Identity schemes in all internet banks, both for authentication purposes and for creating digital signatures that are legally binding. BankID on mobile is the most frequently used secure authentication service in Norway due to its ease of use and mobility. In 2014 there where 360 million transactions made with BankID.
NETS RealTime 24/7
Nets RealTime24/7 Clearing Solution is a real-time platform for the clearing of payments and beyond. It is the key infrastructure enabling financial institutions to deliver a broad spectrum of real-time payment services. Realtime24/7 has been developed with a modern architecture based on ISO 20022 standards, from the bottom up, and is the leading second generation real-time clearing solution in the world. RealTime24/7 is currently deployed in Denmark with 80 connected financial institutions, the growth of transactions on the platform is transforming the landscape of mobile and real-time payment l services.
Best Institutional Infrastructure Initiative
Bank of America IT Services Management
Through its IT Services Management initiative, Bank of America is simplifying, standardising and automating its technology infrastructure as it transitions to a service-centric operating model. This transformation will reduce cost and manage risk while supporting continuously changing business needs. IT Services Management is focused on delivering process excellence, tool automation and simplification.
JPM Asset Management Rapid Response
Rapid Response is a multi-discipline technology team that enhances stability, availability and performance of our infrastructure and business applications and employs cutting edge holistic technology environment monitoring with custom visualisations triggers events like preemptive capacity increases, an evolving robust knowledge repository, an aggressive disaster recover testing regime, and three regionally located Command Centers of excellence. Results include a 45% reduction of production incidents escalations, the mean-time-to-repair an incident has improved by 13%+, and a 30-50% improvement in highly critical portions of batch processing.
Saxo Bank Trader Go
With the launch of its new trading platform, SaxoTraderGo, in May 2015, Saxo Bank continues to demonstrate leadership in the multi asset trading space and differentiate itself from competition on technology and innovation, breadth of products, quality of insights and service. SaxoTraderGO has been written entirely in HTML5, signalling the trading industry’s move away from legacy systems to become one of the most user-friendly, intuitive and fastest platforms on the market.
Best Cyber Security Initiative
ANZ Strengthen the People Perimeter
Technology has delivered an exciting new world and yet 95%of cyber-attacks begin with comprising a person. Financial institutions remain one of the most lucrative targets, so ANZ decided to tackle this issue head on by upgrading its ‘people perimeter’ with an integrated campaign including a real-time education simulation. The key message for staff was to ‘See.Think.Act. encouraging the recognition and reporting of suspicious activity. This was simultaneously extended to customers.
Goldman Sachs Sentinel Threat
Sentinel Threat is an internally developed, standards based product that provides the core cyber threat intelligence component of an integrated end-to-end cyber threat, vulnerability and security incident management platform. It differs from other products as a fundamental requirement was integration of extensive unstructured data sources and application of formal intelligence analysis principles and tradecraft supporting actions and decisions at tactical, operational and strategic levels. Use of the Structured Threat Information eXpression (STIX) supports broad interoperability and participation in federated cyber threat intelligence sharing ecosystems allowing substantial reduction in time to action cyber threat intelligence from hours to minutes.
JPMC Protect the Client
Increasingly, cyber criminals are figuring out ways to hack individuals to gain access to systems instead of attacking the institutions themselves which have much more sophisticated defense mechanisms. To get ahead of this trend JPMC created a Protect the Client initiative. This programme is like a boot camp for clients to identify and remediate typically unforeseen security risks like advanced password techniques, phishing emails, virus/malware tools, social engineering techniques, proper internet usage, and a host of other topics.
Best Mobile System or Service Initiative
Bank Millennium Mobile banking service
Bank Millennium’s mobile banking application streamlines banking activities and creates a unique and satisfying user experience for the customers. The application offers: advanced personalisation features, loyalty cards wallet, fingerprint login, integration with wearables, mobile payments for POS and internet, mobile cash withdrawals, instant transfers, QR code transfers, transfers to email or mobile phone number, personal finance management features, preapproved credit offers with instant disbursement, term deposit operations, location of the nearest ATM or branch and more.
Invstr Social networking financial information app
Invstr is a social networking finance app that democratises access to financial information and promotes financial education. It provides live community market predictions, in-depth financial news and on-demand, real-time data on stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities. Normally the reserve of expensive subscription services such as Bloomberg, invstr is the first and only app that delivers market data on four million of instruments from over 45 global exchanges and venues for free. It delivers live, on-demand market data from 70,000 stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities combined with news from financial news outlets such as Barrons, Dow Jones, The Financial Times and other leading financial news outlets.
Standard Chartered Straight2BankWallet
Standard Chartered’s flagship electronic banking channel – Straight2Bank – already offers an integrated suite of corporate banking solutions across cash, trade and custody domains. The channel was further strengthened to offer near real-time and secured fund transfers to / from individual mobile wallets, bundled with our existing suite of Cash products. The bank does this by partnering with telcos and mobile service providers to create a link between the banking and telecom ecosystems thereby connecting our Corporate Clients with unbanked individuals. This capability, called Straight2Bank Wallet, offers speedy and secured fund transfers and eliminates the risks and hassle of cash transactions.
Turk Ekonomi Bank TEB in Your Pocket
A new retail banking channel for tech savvy customers: TEB launched its all-digital banking platform, dubbed CEPTETEB (TEB in your pocket), designed primarily for digital channels such as mobile, ATM, internet and call centres – unveiled across all platforms, and featuring breakthrough design elements. It is designed to appeal to a young urban population that is ultra-connected, mobile and independent.
Best Payments System or Service Initiative
ANZ Command Centres
Since 2007, ANZ’s network expansion in the Asia Pacific Region has been rapid. With the acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland assets in Asia, there was a requirement for ANZ to quickly consolidate a large number of legacy systems to create scale, growth and cost efficiency in payments. This has been achieved for International & High Value domestic payments through the rollout of Fundtech’s Global PAYplus (GPP) complemented by Global CASHplus . The solution has now rolled out to eleven countries in the Asia Pacific region and has afforded improved levels of process standardisation, automation and improved customer connectivity.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Digital Disbursements
Digital Disbursements enables Bank of America’s corporate clients to make digital payments, eliminating the need to issue physical checks and ensuring our clients’ customers receive payments faster and hassle free. Mass consumer adoption of person-to-person technology coupled with Bank of America’s investment in these capabilities allowed the bank to expand into the commercial and government sectors to facilitate business-to-consumer payments to serve its middle market, large corporate and public sector clients. Digital Disbursements is offered through Bank of America’s alliance with clearXchange which has allowed Bank of America to partner with other banks more seamlessly to move money.
Best Trading Platform or Venue
HSBC HK Connect
Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHSC) links the stock markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong and is of fundamental importance to HSBC’s strategic goal to be the leading international bank for the Renminbi. With HSBC’s Custody Plus trading link in place, investors in Hong Kong and overseas have gained unprecedented access to the Chinese capital market and can now trade and settle shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In short, the link translates into new revenue opportunity for HSBC.
JPM Asset Management
The JP Morgan Asset Management Trading Platform delivers new levels of automation and transparency to buy side trading not previously seen in asset management. The key to the platform is the Execution Optimiser, which is an in-house built buy side algorithm. Unlike sell side algorithms which offer a fixed set of strategies, the Execution Optimiser enables complex rules to be created and adapted at any time. Additionally JPMorgan Asset Management worked to develop a sophisticated execution management platform to power and support smart automation and create stellar workflows across the globe.
Best use of IT for Risk or Regulatory Change
Credit Suisse Risk Data Presentation
The build out of Risk Data Presentation (RDP) infrastructure is part of a larger bank-wide strategy to integrate, harmonise and centralize front-to-back IT infrastructure, processes and systems. It is positioned as one-stop-shop web portal that seamlessly integrates the user interaction across Risk, Finance and Front Office applications, and provides a powerful, scalable platform for reporting & analysis along with an integrated workflow. Use of Risk Data Algebra (RDA) which is a grid based ticking cache with support for relational algebra and capability to integrate data in memory across complex & heterogeneous systems landscape gives this infrastructure a substantial edge.
Goldman Sachs Flowscope
Flowscope is a data analytics platform leveraging big data technologies to stitch together large, complex and fragmented data sets across the OTC derivatives trade flow enabling business and technology teams to respond in a timely and accurate manner to internal and external regulatory queries
HSBC AppGrid
AppGrid is a cloud-hosting platform leveraging cutting-edge grid technology to deploy code artefacts at run time putting them into the same location as the data and providing an instantly accessible centralised repository of applications and libraries.
Implementation of AppGrid has been transformational because it has introduced the “data-as-a-service” concept to HSBC. AppGrid creates an enhanced app economy within HSBC by safely bringing the code to the data, removing duplication and materially cutting time to market, lowering the cost of data and the cost of implementation for new functionality.
RBS T&TR Transformation
The bank has leveraged leading technology to help pioneer a new approach to managing regulatory change and create a standard set of interpretations to inform business requirements documents for over 50 regulatory reporting regimes across the globe. Hundreds of systems and databases were part of the scope of the analysis involving scores of business stakeholders.
Best use of IT in Investment Banking
Credit Suisse Risk-based P&L
The implementation of RBPnL enables Product Control to efficiently analyse and compare P&L across risk types, establishing a flexible, consistent, exception based method of investigating and controlling the bank’s unexplained and material P&L based on risk sensitivities. It addresses regulatory and internal control commitments. The solution leverages strategic architecture, Big Data infrastructure, state of the art technical components together with consistent data sourcing approaches and flexible, innovative reporting and analytics capabilities. It has required close partnership across Front Office, Risk & Finance IT and related business divisions to deliver this front to back project.
Saxo Bank Saxo Prime Pre-Trade Risk Controls
Two years ago, Saxo Bank surveyed the prime broking landscape and set about creating and implementing a different model looking at risk on a pre-trade basis. The result was the introduction of key pre-trade credit risk control applications which make it possible to reduce the risk of over allocation of credit. Saxo Bank’s long-standing track record of using technology to bring efficiencies to the market has helped seize an opportunity in the FX prime broking market and the bank is proving to be the prime broker of choice for a growing number of clients who cannot be serviced by the major banks.
UBS UBS Bond Port
UBS Bond Port aggregates liquidity from multiple sources across the market, providing one seamless point of access for clients to source more liquidity and competitive prices.
Built from UBS’ massive legacy credit business, UBS Bond Port provides our clients with direct access to a broad and deep pool of liquidity that includes UBS principal liquidity, client liquidity and third party venues all in one single hub with over 10,000 firm bond prices daily.
Quotes that interact with UBS Bond Port are kept strictly anonymous with clients having the opportunity for price improvement by sending quotes inside the bid/ask spread – or at whatever target level they choose.
Best use of IT in Retail Banking
Bank of Ireland Rome Mortgage Application Platform
Bank of Ireland completely changed its mortgage application platform to reflect the changing way people want to do business. Successful change-management implementation: inside a year, it launched phase 1 of a new multi-channel, digital mortgage-application platform across four brands, supporting customers, intermediaries, branch staff, administrators and internal users. Agile development across six suppliers enabled quicker delivery at significantly lower cost. It’s highly configurable, making regulatory changes easier and quicker to implement and facilitates rapid on boarding of new partners.
Fidor Smart Current Account
The Fidor Smart Current Account is an open financial ecosystem, users can decide for themselves which financial products and services they want to use from Fidor Bank or third-party providers. The Fidor Smart Current Account is based on the Fidor Operating System (fOS), a modular banking, payment and community software developed by FidorTecS AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fidor Bank AG. The Fidor Operating System supports almost all digital lifestyle activities: these include a clear mobile-first approach, real-time banking, peer-to-peer and crowd functionalities as well as the integration of third-party offerings within the framework of an open API-based infrastructure.
Best use of IT in Wholesale Transaction Banking
Ecobank Omni Corporate Internet Banking
To serve the needs of one of the world’s fastest growing emerging markets, Ecobank set out to develop a cash management system that could accommodate varying local business practices across Africa, yet be powerful enough to support a high volume of transactions across its entire network. In 24 short months, the bank implemented a robust solution that could facilitate cross-border and multi-currency business for its customers, removing bottlenecks in the cash management process, in its branches in 32 different countries.
UniCredit Fundtech Global PAYplus
The complexity of payments processing has increased significantly, driven by the need to rapidly launch new payment products, to meet demands of regulatory requirements and to handle new messaging formats. Responding to demands of today’s corporate customers, UniCredit Business Integrated Solutions embarked on a major initiative to improve payments process for corporate clients of the Group.
Best use of Mobile Technology in Financial Services
Citi Apple Watch
Citi’s app was the first banking app available for the Apple Watch. The app grew out of an initiative to develop a core API strategy and transform the Global Consumer Bank into a nimble, open banking model that can plug into the best skills and ideas out there.
Credit Suisse Locus on the Go
Credit Suisse looked for ways to deliver its market-leading Fixed Income Analytics to tis global client base of trading, sales and research professionals, on-the-go. The solution entailed building an iPhone app providing access to the Locus, Fixed Income Analytics desktop platform. Locus delivers a combination of live market monitors, charting technology, relative value tools, along with CS’s view of the markets and ability for users to create their own custom views.
UBS Wealth Management App
The all-new UBS Wealth Management app empowers our clients with on-the-go access to personalised advice, proactive portfolio monitoring according to their investment goals, and direct access to our award winning research tailored to their portfolio; enabling our clients to make better decisions while remaining in control of their investments.
Outstanding Contribution by a female in financial technology
To be announced on the night
CIO of the Year
To be announced on the night
IT Team of the Year
Credit Suisse large scale distributed agile delivery team
Credit Suisse and Accenture shaped an innovative and advanced way to make agile work at large scale, with up to 80% offshore. Within 2-4 months the complete domain transferred into the new delivery model with no impact on milestones.
Goldman Sachs Gray Wolf
Gray Wolf is a programme that introduced the incoming New Analyst Programmer Associate (NAPA) class to the many products and services that technology provides to the firm’s business; with an opportunity to directly impact the firm’s performance. The NAPAs work alongside senior members of the technology community learning new skills and gaining a deeper understanding of business
JPM Global Research Technology
JP Morgan Asset Management’s Global Research Technology (GRT) is a well-recognised, high-performance technology team that, since 2007, has focused on research, investment and trading model implementations. In 2015, GRT delivered a state-of-the-art Research and Analytics platform – Hibiscus – across multiple lines of business and asset classes.
