Julius Baer begins core renovation
Swiss private banking group Julius Baer has chosen Temenos for a major core banking system replacement project intended to progressively modernise its front and back office systems globally.
BankingTech
Banking innovation: a marathon, not a sprint
Britain’s banks have reliably serviced the banking needs of millions of customers for more than a hundred years; providing a safe place to store hard-earned cash, mortgages to buy dream homes, and great interest rates to accumulate savings
CFTC commissioner attacks swaps regulation and proposes alternative agenda
US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo has condemned the CFTC’s implementation of swaps trading regulation reforms, describing its approach as highly over-engineered, disproportionately modelled on the US futures market and biased against both human discretion and technological innovation.
North American bank IT spending climbs as firms invest in external services
Banks in North America are ramping up IT spending on retail banking services and digital channels this year, with total IT spend expected to reach $64.8 billion by 2016, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent. The figures represent a 4.5% increase this year, as financial institutions increasingly turn to external software provider and specialists to bolster their abilities.
BNY Mellon and State Street in securities lending collaboration with Eurex Clearing
BNY Mellon and State Street have announced a collaboration with Eurex Clearing, the subsidiary of Deutsche Börse Group, to enhance the Eurex service to meet the needs of beneficial owners, and explore expanding its geographic reach into the US.
Polish mobile payments platform prepares for launch with six banks
A new bank-run mobile payment service is set to launch in Poland next month, following collaborative efforts between six Polish banks. The new service will allow customers to make payments in stores and online, withdraw cash and send P2P transfers, all using their mobile phone.
RMB breaks into top five world payments currencies
The Chinese renminbi has become one of the world’s top five payments currencies, according to new figures released by Swift. The currency, first introduced to foreign investors in 2007, overtook the Canadian dollar and the Australian dollar in the last two months of 2014 to reach the top five.
Iceland’s RB makes core banking system replacement
Iceland’s Reikninstofa Bankanna, which is jointly owned by the three main banks in Iceland, has opted for a full core bank replacement project which it says will help it to slash its costs and bring new services to the market more quickly.
Brazil capital markets spending set to rise as LatAm surges forward
Brazil’s capital markets IT spend is expected to reach $2.6 billion by 2017 as the country seeks to modernise its financial institutions, improve post-trade processing and integrate with global markets. The transformation creates both challenges and opportunities for foreign financial services companies in Latin America’s largest market, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
Increasing customer engagement through mobile banking
Consumers in both developed and developing countries have embraced their mobile devices to check balances, make payments and conduct other financial activities. As a result, mobile banking has become a must-have offering for financial institutions. However, many are still working out how to go beyond the basics to add value for customers, increase engagement and maximise the return on the mobile channel investment.
Taking care of business
With a string of client projects in flight, the immediate effects of the financial crisis weren’t a problem for Dublin-based Information Mosaic, but as projects that had run for two or more years started coming to an end, things got a little tougher. Fortunately, the company has one major shareholder that has both funds and a long-term view …
UK current account battle continues
Several of the UK’s major banking brands are losing customers to rivals such as Spanish bank Santander and building society Nationwide, according to figures released by the UK Payments Council – while competitor bank Nationwide continues to add customers.
Webster Bank embraces Apple Touch ID biometric authentication
US-based Webster Bank has introduced fingerprint authentication, using Apple’s Touch ID technology. The move comes as financial institutions increasingly seek to use biometrics as a tool to improve security.
CLS and TriOptima debut FX compression service
FX services provider CLS Group and OTC derivatives specialist TriOptima are collaborating to launch an FX forward compression service, which they say will help customers to meet the regulatory obligation to use compression for non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives if possible.
Banking competition, divestments and the rise of the digital challenger banks
The Competition and Markets Authority has recently embarked on a full investigation into the so-called competitive stranglehold the four big banks – Lloyds, RBS, Barclays and HSBC – have over the UK market place. The CMA ended a five month consultation with the announcement of the investigation into accounts for customers and corporate accounts for small businesses – the CMA has already identified large branch networks and free current accounts as being barriers to entry for new banks
Swift plots African expansion into Kenya and Ghana
Swift is planning to open two new offices in 2015 in Accra, Ghana and Nairobi, Kenya as the organisation seeks to expand its presence in east and west Africa.
BT gets personal with on-the-fly video message service
BT has formally today the availability of a personalised video capability as part of its Cloud Contact portfolio of services following pilot project with two UK retail banks. The system, which allows businesses to email individually tailored videos to millions of customers by integrating relevant data with video templates, was developed by Israeli marketing technology specialist Idomoo.
Financial regulation drives London jobs growth despite economic and political uncertainty
London-based financial services professionals moving to new jobs in 2014 boosted their salaries by an average of 18% – and an increasing number of people did so, with year-on-year figures showing a 51% increase in people looking for new positions. But gloomy economic forecasts, combined with the seasonal drop in hiring over the Christmas period suggest that firms have postponed major hires to the current quarter.
Standard Chartered loses CIO and CRO as reorganisation bites
Jan Verplancke is stepping down as chief information officer and group head of technology and operations at Standard Chartered, as is Richard Goulding, chief risk officer. The news of their departure comes as the banks announced further restructuring, including the closure of its institutional cash equities, equity research and equity capital markets businesses as part of a strategic plan to ditch “non-core or underperforming businesses”.
Switzerland goes contactless with SIX Payment Services
Switzerland’s SIX Payment Services has begun distributing the country’s first contactless debit cards, through a partnership with local bank Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, based in Aargau. The project, which began in December, replaces the bank’s entire portfolio of 22,000 debit cards with dual interface V PAY cards that enable contactless and regular transactions.
Orchestral manoeuvres
When first reports of an integrated communications project that had attracted a $66 million investment from a consortium of banks led by Goldman Sachs appeared last year, there was an element of cloak and dagger about the enterprise. The truth is both more prosaic and more interesting according to David Gurle, chief executive and founder of the company behind it.
The need for a resilient global network of FMIs
By facilitating payments, and clearing and settling transactions in the securities and derivatives markets, financial market infrastructures are essential nodes in a complex and ever more integrated international network of capital flows. The consequent inter-dependencies between financial market infrastructures will create new resiliency challenges
Derivatives markets brace for Basel III margin crunch in 2015
Derivatives market participants are concerned about the impact of new margin requirements for non-cleared derivatives under Basel III, with a large number unsure whether they will even have to comply with the rules, according to new survey published today by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.
Cryptocurrencies overcome California legal hurdle – but the battle is not over yet
Digital and alternative currencies, including Bitcoin, can now be used for transactions in California, following the implementation of bill AB129 on 1 January 2015. The new bill is a step forward for cryptocurrencies which have faced tough opposition and scrutiny from global regulators. However, serious doubts about the safety of digital currencies have been voiced by banks.
“Big four” banks lose ground in current account market
The big four high street banks lost ground in the current account market in the first year of the UK Payments Council’s current account switching service, mainly through poor customer service. But the guarantee did not accelerate the pace of account switching, according to an independent survey of bank customers.
Go to jail: Do Not Pay $261 billion
A string of stinging fines in recent months has driven a renewed focus on compliance, taking it to the top of the risk agenda
BAML boosts EMEA GTS team with internal promotions
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has made a series of internal promotions in its EMEA Global Transaction Services team.
London Stock Exchange connects EuroCCP to main market
The London Stock Exchange has set out plans to add EuroCCP as a third clearer for its main market from March 2015, joining LCH.Clearnet and Switzerland’s SIX x-Clear.
Financial services disruption – why I’m backing the banks
For banks, a race to remain relevant is on. In the past few weeks, Lloyds Banking Group has announced its intention to double-down on digital banking, closing branches and cutting costs. In the US, BBVA Compass announced that its agreement with startup Dwolla to offer real-time payment facilities to customers makes it the first mainstream bank to open its technology platform to digital developers like Dwolla
Spain’s BME opens high-speed London trading link
Spain’s BME is poised to open a new trading route from London to Madrid, which it says will increase the speed of access to the Spanish stock market for investors in London.
Keep it personal – supporting customer-centricity with relevant financial products and services
Since the beginning of the global economic crisis, the financial services industry has faced challenges like never before. Headlines around bankers’ bonuses, PPI miss-selling and Libor manipulation have led to a lack of trust from consumers. In response, traditional banks need to join the new generation of financial service providers and their customers in their new natural habitat – online and on mobile.
Banks falling behind on liquidity monitoring says Swift
Fewer than a third of banks are at the implementation stage of projects implementing the Basel intraday liquidity monitoring rules that come into force next month – and most believe that industry collaboration will be needed to achieve a successful outcome.
The e-invoicing play for banks
The replacement of business processes based on paper documents with the exchange of information in electronic form is a highly beneficial global trend, and the competitiveness of Europe’s economic activity will benefit from this migration.
ICAP brings BrokerTec and EBS under one roof
ICAP is combining its EBS foreign exchange and BrokerTec fixed income electronic trading platforms into one business unit. The change is“an internal management reorganisation” and the platforms will remain separate for the foreseeable future.
Bitcoin capitalises on Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy
Following its success during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy this year, alternative currency Bitcoin is gaining popularity and could be poised for major growth in 2015. But the currency still has a long way to go before it catches up with rivals such as PayPal, Visa and MasterCard.
Financial industry chat consolidates as Symphony buys Markit’s messaging service
Symphony Communications, a financial industry messaging service provider, has acquired a rival service provided by Markit, a financial data management provider. The move may bolster Symphony’s ability to rival more entrenched, expensive cloud-based chat services used by financial institutions.
Swift shows real-time payments plans with Australia contract win
The hotly-contested contract to provide a real-time payments system in Australia has been won by Swift, which has announced plans to develop real-time retail domestic payment solutions and compete to deploy them internationally.
Tablets and phones becoming the norm for e-retail
While online retailers roll their Black Friday bargains over to Cyber Monday, research shows that an increasing amount of online sales are being made via smartphones and tablets, and this trend is continuing – but this does not mean smaller crowds, as consumers are also switching to ‘click & collect’ services.
Barclays rolls out “anytime, anywhere” video banking
Barclays has launched a new video banking service on smartphone, tablet and computer, which it says will allow customers to have face to face conversations with the bank anytime, anywhere, without having to visit a branch.
Middle men – the new aces in the derivatives deck
In today’s high-risk, cost-conscious world, buy-sides are demanding the next step in straight-through-processing, becoming increasingly impatient with the multiple screens and manual workarounds they’ve been presented with to date. Those FCMs that can meet this need will immediately become more competitive and create clear distance from those that lag behind.
