Sibos, Swift’s user event, is back in Toronto, Canada for the third time. Under the umbrella theme of “collaborative finance in a fragmented world”, the conference — which runs from September 18 to 21 — will explore issues such as building a sustainable and inclusive financial industry, risk management in times of economic and geopolitical strife, and the balance between technology and trust.
The Banker team will be on the ground covering the hot topics through our View from Sibos 2023 video series. Watch a few preview videos to get warmed up for the event and then follow our coverage throughout the week. A few of the movers and shakers in the transaction banking space are already lined up for interviews, including:
- Javier Pérez-Tasso, CEO, Swift
- Maureen Jarvis, head of global transaction services for Canada, Bank of America
- Francesca Nenci, global head of trade and working capital, UniCredit
- Annelinda Koldewe, global head of wholesale banking payments, ING
- Michael Spiegel, head of transaction banking, Standard Chartered
Ahead of the conference, we tackled some of the profound questions facing the transaction banking sector in the September special issue of The Banker. In the cover story, Africa and Middle East editor John Everington took a deep dive into the existential threat facing the correspondent banking industry: de-risking. As well as looking at the underlying issues, he also explored the promise of artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions and whether the roll out of the ISO 20022 messaging standard will be able to rebuild these critical relationships.
In her feature on using AI in cash flow forecasting, Asia editor Kimberley Long looked at the potential that this technology may have in solving the corporate treasurer’s big pain point: a more accurate forecast. However, she found out that a lot of background work needs to be done to get value out of applying AI in this area.
In other Sibos coverage, Eva Szalay explores what settling foreign exchange (FX) will look like when the US moves to a T+1 settlement schedule for equity transactions in May 2024. She points out that the $7.5tn-a-day global FX market is once again being buffeted by regulatory shifts elsewhere. The scramble is on to find out whether trading costs and operational risks will rise, or currency trading patterns will morph into a pattern more closely aligned to equities.
Latin America editor Barbara Pianese reports on the new players who are stepping up to serve Mexican small and medium-sized enterprises with innovative credit products. And deputy editor Liz Lumley talks to Swift’s chief technology officer Cheri McGuire about digital currencies, security, and the need to remember the humanity within innovation and experimentation.
In the September issue, we also announced the winners of our Transaction Banking Awards 2023. Digital transformation and work on global industry initiatives, such as the ISO 20022 migration, continues to dominate the agenda of transaction banks. Congratulations to all the winners in 2023. Trophies will be presented at the FT/The Banker booth (F40) at Sibos on Tuesday September 19 at 16:00 ET. Please come along to toast the winners — drinks are on us.
During the event, we will be hosting three Inside Leadership sessions:
- 09:30 ET Monday, September 18 — Tracey Black, president and CEO, Payments Canada will discuss large-scale transformation, leading through change and the future of modern payments.
- 13:00 ET Monday, September 18 — Dario Gil, senior vice-president and director of research at IBM, will talk about the massive transformation underway in the banking industry spurred on by platforms, ecosystems and emerging exponential technologies, such as hybrid cloud, generative AI and quantum.
- 16:00 ET Wednesday September 20 — Chris Newkirk, executive vice-president, global head of commercial and money movement Solutions, Visa, who will outline how advances in interoperability, standards and technology will lead to more efficiency, lower overall costs — and ultimately, a superior experience.
It’s going to be an exciting week. If you have a moment — or sore feet — drop by The Banker stand (F40) to catch up with the team.
Joy Macknight is editor of The Banker. Follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) @joymacknight
Register to receive the Editor’s blog and in-depth coverage from the banking industry through the weekly e-newsletter.
