Tier 1 banks that do not replace core banking systems risk losing out to their competitors – especially in the emerging markets – and falling foul of the regulators. The process may be long and arduous but modular replacement can relieve the pain. Dan Barnes investigates.

Debby Hopkins, chief operations and technology officer at Citigroup, spoke to Dan Barnes about co-ordinating systems across the global giant, keeping customers’ data safe and talking in plain English.
Debby Hopkins, chief operations and technology officer at Citigroup, finds the scale of the company undaunting, not only through her background working for Ford, Boeing and General Motors but also due to the bank’s corporate culture.

The battle for the London Stock Exchange is on but, regardless of who wins, strength in technology is going to be the most important issue for the exchange’s future. Dan Barnes reports.

Regulatory requirements have put banks in a prime position to benefit from customer relationship management systems. However, there is more to CRM than technology, says Dan Barnes.
Customer relationship management (CRM) could be the light at the end of the tunnel for banks looking for returns on regulatory-driven technology investments. Those banks that have invested strategically in their data infrastructure for compliance purposes now have the opportunity to leverage their stock of well stored and cleaned data to achieve additional benefits on their substantial investments.

BNP Paribas CIO Hervé Gouëzel tells Dan Barnes how he is working towards a strong centralised IT operations function, using partnership and outsourcing where necessary.
Hervé Gouëzel, chief information officer and executive committee member at BNP Paribas, is striving to strike a balance: “There are three [IT] models. The first is the very centralised model, highly organised and with a global strategy. In the second model, there are these local baronies (fiefdoms) with everything decentralised. Between these two levels is the BNP Paribas model.”

Banks are tackling the payments market in a new way, driven by smaller margins and increasing volume. Dan Barnes looks at the techniques that they are using to achieve their goals.
Increasingly higher volumes and dropping margins in the payments arena – driven hard by the demands of well managed and monitored corporate clients – are causing banks to address their future potential in the market. For some, the mathematics will not work out favourably.
Potential solutions that are available to banks that wish to stay in the cash business include investment in technologies – to cut costs or offer higher returns through improved service – and partnering with industry competitors to combine their strengths and skills.

Barclays CIO David Weymouth talks to Dan Barnes about how unsustainable business models sparked a restructuring at the bank, why these changes included partnering and why handing certain services to third parties should not mean “outsourcing a mess”.

What developments can be expected in the coming year? Dan Barnes asks experts about the most important changes in banking technology that are forecast for 2005.

As trading volumes rise inexorably, banks face a pressing need to develop trading platforms that meet demand. But is the quest for the all-singing, all-dancing trading system a folly doomed to end in costly failure? Dan Barnes surveys the scene.

The IAS 39 poses real risk for treasury departments in the first two quarters of next year. Dan Barnes examines the potential impact of the new accounting standard and the late change that is contributing to compliance problems.