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.
Japan Exchange Group is planning to introduce a new derivatives trading system for its derivatives-focused subsidiary the Osaka Exchange, using technology provided by Nasdaq.
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”.
A landmark deal between China’s Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges is set to open up unrestricted access to the China A-shares market to foreign investors for the first time, starting this month. The deal also reflects the rising internationalisation of the Chinese renminbi currency worldwide.
Standard Chartered and Clearstream have implemented a new service to help customers in Singapore make more efficient use of collateral, as tough new financial regulations drive investor fears of an impending collateral shortfall.
The Singapore challenge Singapore is an advanced economy that employs a variety of clearing and settlement systems. It needed to transform its payments infrastructure to offer instant interbank transfers. The core technology VocaLink could deliver a practical solution, Immediate Payments (IPS), and also offer practical support during the implementation and beyond. BCS could embed IPS […]
Cross-border low-value payments service provider Earthport, has opened a new payment route into China to support trade payments into the region.
Controversy over Sharia Law reached Hollywood recently as protesters boycotted the glamorous Beverly Hills Hotel over a tough new code introduced by the hotel’s owner, the Sheikh of Brunei. More prosaically, bankers remain divided over how best to respond to demand for Sharia-compliant banking.
A sustained rally in frontier markets is leading an expansion of size and liquidity as investors seek opportunities that are not available in the developed or emerging markets, according to a new report by research house Aite.
Hong Kong has become the second jurisdiction to sign up to use Swift’s Market Infrastructure Resiliency Service to improve operation of its real-time gross settlement system.
London and Singapore are fast closing the gap on Hong Kong in the race to become centres for offshore renminbi business and capitalise on Beijing’s ambition to make the RMB a global currency.
Europe now represents 10% of total Renminbi payments in value worldwide and is leading adoption beyond Asian countries, with four European countries in the top 10, excluding China and Hong Kong, according to Swift. Overall, the RMB strengthened its position as the seventh most used global payments currency and accounted for 1.57% of global payments.
As the global banks grapple with tides of regulation, fines, and a myriad of other post-crisis issues, local Asian institutions are tooling up and stepping in to fill the gaps.
Australian bank Westpac has signed up IBM to assist a major digital banking push in New Zealand. The bank plans to use IBM’s private cloud technology to build mobile services and social media presence.
Standard Chartered Bank’s New York business has been ordered to suspend US dollar clearing services to retail clients of the bank in Hong Kong, following an investigation by the New York State Department which determined its transaction monitoring system does not meet anti-money laundering requirements.
Firms in Hong Kong are ramping up system roll-outs in anticipation of the forthcoming Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, scheduled to go live in mid-October.
But the proposed link will face a number of problems,
Young Asian consumers on motorcycles want to be able to start a transaction while riding and finish it at an ATM. For many, that ability is about to become a reality as ASEAN banks switch to real time core banking systems.
Standard Chartered has launched a mobile wallet in the Philippines through a partnership with Globe Telecom, in a deal that will tap into demand for mobile money in one of the world’s strongest remittances markets.
As China prepares to open an options market for the first time later this year, big changes are afoot in Asia’s biggest market. French trading technology specialist Horizon Software talks to Banking Technology about the kind of tools that will be needed to liberalise the Chinese economy.
Standard Chartered Bank and Singaporean incumbent telecoms operator SingTel have launched a new mobile money service called Dash, in which customers can move money onto their mobile device and then use it to make payments without ever coming into a bank branch.
Sourcing the right collateral to cover global exposures has risen up the list of priorities for financial institutions in Asia in the past 12 months as concerns mount over a possible collateral shortfall, according to a poll conducted by the Singapore Exchange and Clearstream at the Global Securities Financing Conference Asia 2014 in Singapore.
Thailand’s Tisco Bank has chosen a new core banking system from US vendor FIS, which it says will help it to provide more real time services to customers. FIS Profile, the core banking solution, is already used by five of the 13 largest banks in Thailand. Florida-based FIS says it will provide the platform as […]
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China’s Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges are poised to build a major new link that will open up mainland China’s capital markets to foreign investors and vice versa.
The Royal Bank of Scotland has launched a new service that lets corporates manage up to 18 local Chinese bank accounts through a single global electronic banking platform.
Bangladesh’s Dhaka Stock Exchange is to install a new trading engine from Nasdaq OMX, which it says will help to realise its plans for regional and global expansion.
A new financial services innovation centre in Indonesia is aiming to capitalise on rising levels of mobile penetration and interest from banks and other financial services providers in new technologies and business opportunities in the country.
A new post-trade monitoring system will allow French broker Newedge to better manage its risk exposure from its Asian direct market access platform.
The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation has gone live on a new system for client clearing of Japanese yen-denominated interest rate swaps and collateral management.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange has begun offering latency performance management as a service to users of its Arrownet network, which the exchange says will help market participants gain deeper insights into the quality of their trading and market data communications between the TSE and their own systems.
State Bank of India has chosen tools for its new Chinese branch in the northeastern port city of Tianjin from Wolters Kluwer, which it says will help the bank deal with China’s regulatory reporting requirements.
Etrali Trading Solutions has rolled out its mobile voice recording service in Japan, allowing financial institutions to meet FSA regulations in the country. Etrali’s solution is SIM-based, and is already being used in Europe and the US.
Thailand’s Bangkok Bank has installed a new mobile banking and payments platform built by technology company Fiserv, which it says will give customers better security and the bank a stronger presence on mobile devices.
Chinese broker GF Financial Markets has joined the London Stock Exchange, hoping to capitalise on international opportunities – including the dramatic rise of London as a centre of renminbi trading.
Hong Kong-based carrier services firm PCCW Global has banded together with 16 other high profile international network operators, including China Unicom, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat and Ooredoo, to construct a high capacity submarine cable system between Asia, Africa and Europe.
Pakistan’s Faysal Bank has shifted the bank branches it bought from RBS in 2010 onto its SunGard core banking system, as part of a major push to integrate the business.
The London Stock Exchange has launched the first Chinese renminbi ETF listed in London, in a deal that will help open the Chinese A shares market up to international investors.
Japan’s Aizawa Securities has chosen vendor Fidessa as its new proprietary and wholesale agency trading system, as the Japanese firm prepares to revamp its algo trading against the backdrop of last year’s Japan Exchange Group merger and the upcoming integration of the derivatives market in two months’ time.
Japan’s evolving payments industry offers an opportunity for financial institutions and card issuers to capitalise on mobile technology and card schemes, according to a new report by analyst firm Celent.
Pakistani Bank Alfalah has teamed up with operator Warid Telecom to launch a mobile money service. The service, Mobile Paisa, will initially enable users to make utility bill payments and secure money transfers across Pakistan.
