In an increasingly interconnected world, large financial services institutions (FSIs) are already sourcing their IT and business process services from a variety of international locations. As outsourcing services have evolved from filling tactical gaps to providing strategic cost and quality advantages as well as innovative features, FSIs are tapping supplementary alternatives to India as a location for offshore outsourcing.
With a raft of legislation bearing down upon the banking industry, technological change is on the agenda. So, more than ever, executive committees must take responsibility to ensure that the change is a successful one, says Chris Skinner.
SAS HAS created SAS 9, an intelligence platform to help companies do more with their data and systems. The system ensures that more people – from the factory floor to the boardroom – can use the enhanced predictive analytics and data management capabilities of SAS 9 to help solve critical business pains. The SAS 9 Intelligence Platform is the most significant technology change in SAS’s history.
ILOG, provider of enterprise-class software components, has introduced the ILOG Data Compliance Solution Accelerator, a collection of technologies and services that, when used in combination with ILOG JRules, is said to help companies address the management of their growing complianceneeds in a resource and cost-effective way.
A SERVICE bureau market access solution is providing greater access to the London Stock Exchange for brokers outside the UK. GL Trade, global provider of electronic trading, clearing and settlement solutions, is offering the service for connectivity to SETS (Stock Exchange Electronic Trading System), by internet (as an ASP service) or via GL Net, GL Trade’s dedicated order routing network.
At the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development meeting held in London last month, Oracle unveiled a website dedicated to supporting organisations in Hungary applying for EU structural funds. Called DirectEurope, the website is a free online service established to help entrepreneurs, local government and small and medium-sized enterprises develop high quality proposals to support and accelerate their applications for EU structural funds.
The website aims to match clients’ ideas with the corresponding country’s investment priorities, guiding potential beneficiaries through the application process, or provide access to qualified experts through DirectEurope members.
Few institutions are able to implement strategic programmes for dealing with new regulatory and governance regimes and this has a greater negative impact on smaller organisations, says Anthony Gandy.
The progression towards commercial banks marking their loans to market seems almost inevitable, says Sophie Roell in New York. A new tool from Moody’s KMV can help banks to price loans and, more importantly, could help them with value management.
Bertrand Lavayssičre: banks still struggling to make better use of CRM systems
Parveen Bansal talks to Bertrand Lavayssičre, head of Capgemini’s Global Financial Services Sector and managing director of Financial Services North American Region.
Speaking with extensive experience on consulting and IT in financial services, Bertrand Lavayssičre shares Capgemini’s view on the main issues in the financial services industry and their possible solutions. He highlights three key issues that continue to plague retail banks: creating customer loyalty, integrating different channels and, in particular, the need to reduce back office costs.
As barriers to the provision of personal financial services and the movement of capital continue to be dismantled in Europe and elsewhere, the world’s biggest retail banks have been exploiting the opportunities. Michael Imeson and Stephen Timewell report.
Angus Porter: Our aim is to treat our customers fairly and reward customer loyalty
Parveen Bansal speaks to Dr Angus Porter about Abbey’s strategy to change the face of banking in the UK.
With a PhD in metallurgy and with marketing and executive management experience gained at Mars Confectionery and British Telecom, Dr Angus Porter is new to the financial services industry. In June last year he joined Abbey as customer propositions director.
Bahrain Financial Harbour, scheduled for completion in 2007, is designated as a ‘strategic investment zone’ and investors will enjoy liberal terms
Nick Kochan finds Dubai and Bahrain are competing hard for the region’s growing business opportunities.
The announcement in April of a new federal law governing Dubai’s embryonic financial centre heralds a battle royal between the Gulf states of Dubai and Bahrain. Dubai is the upstart in the imminent struggle, while Bahrain is more established but there can be no doubting Dubai’s enthusiasm, ambition and ‘can-do’ approach.
His Excellency Sultan bin Nasser al Suwaidi, governor of the central bank of the UAE, tells Nick Kochan that the fight against money laundering is not new.
Nicaragua’s central bank president, Mario Alonso, says that the HIPC debt relief will enable his country to tackle poverty and push for economic and judicial reform.
In recent months, Nicaragua has generated some good news. On the political front, the former president, Arnoldo Alemán, (1997-2002) was sent to prison for 20 years following charges of money-laundering and fraud. Although under house arrest, Mr Alemán was able to wield legislative influence from his home, complicating the efforts of the current president Enrique Bolańos to govern the country.
Francisco Gil Díaz: trade pact with the US is an astonishing success and an inspiration for more
Mexico’s economy has turned a corner, says finance minister Francisco Gil Díaz. However, much still depends on its giant neighbour, the US.
After several years of economic stagnation, Mexico appears to be turning a corner. The manufacturing industry, led by the maquiladora (in-bond assembly for export) sector, is hiring again. Exports earnings, including those generated by the crucial oil sector, are also up – no small thing, considering exports make up about 25% of Mexico’s economic activity. Interest rates are also trending down and inflation is under control.
Bolivia is anxious to capitalise on its resources but political unrest is making this difficult.
Bolivia’s new finance minister, Javier Cuevas, faces a tough task. He has to steer the poor, landlocked country’s economy amid an intense period of political uncertainty.
Monica Campbell interviews top officials from Bolivia, Mexico and Nicaragua at the Inter-American Development Bank meeting, discussing the major issues currently affecting their countries.
Dicky Yip, chief executive, China business at HSBC (right), and Fu Jianhua, president of the Bank of Shanghai (left) unveiling the jointly launched “Shanghai International Credit Card”
Louise do Rosario says the pace of change has speeded up dramatically since China signed up for WTO status.
For many years, foreign banks in China grew at a snail’s pace, while the local economy was growing an impressive 8%-9% a year. Foreign banks made a negligible impact on the local banking scene, as they were confined by law to a few cities and to serve mainly foreigners.
This situation has changed, thanks to the financial liberalisation China has made in accordance with its commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The growing acceptance of short selling has led to attempts to automate the bilateral, voice-based securities lending business, but as Frances Maguire finds, an alternative trading system has appeared that could bring greater transparency to securities lending.
In the fast-moving world of FX trading, speed is of the essence. Delivering the right data to clients at the right time can make the difference between turning a profit and making a loss. William Essex looks at the issues surrounding data latency.
The big issue in China is not inward investment but outward investment. Even as the queue for QFII (Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors) status lengthens (allowing access to China’s renminbi denominated A shares market, the bulk of stock market capitalisation), the talk is of when China’s own insurance and social security funds may be allowed to venture overseas freely and openly.
Measuring GDP is an extremely complex and error-prone process. Investment pay-outs on bonds should be based on criteria that are definitive and easy to measure. For that reason, linking payments to the growth in a country’s GDP could never be anything other than challenging even though the sense of the idea (you pay more when you earn more) is indisputable.
“She was the Picasso of con men. She was brilliant.” That is how Scott Mead, the former Goldman Sachs dealmaker described Joyti De-Laurey, the secretary who stole £4.4m from his bank account and those of two other Goldman bankers. She was found guilty by a London court in April.
Hedge funds may be cagey about their investment strategies but their use of credit derivatives is doing the market no end of good. Natasha de Teran explains why a lack of transparency is the least of bankers’ concerns.
First quarter results have brought good news for General Motors and Ford but an interest rate rise in the US could put a different spin on these companies’ prospects.
Making headway in the German M&A market: (left to right) Georg Friedrich Sommer, Kim Comperl, Raimund Herden, Florian Fautz and Nedim Cen
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein’s M&A team has pulled itself up from sixth largest in Germany last year to the top of the pile with a series of deals in which its network of relationships proved vital. Michael Marray reports.
The members of the M&A team at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) in Frankfurt had plenty to celebrate in April, when the Dealogic first-quarter figures for completed deals in the German M&A market had them perched on the top of the league table.
Bill Kennedy, director of global equity research at Smith Barney
Wall Street’s equity markets have come through some tough times but now firms are eager for a fresh start. Sophie Roell reports from New York on their potential for a new image.
The word ‘crisis’, in Chinese, combines the character for danger with the one for opportunity. For Wall Street’s equity business, the last three years have certainly had an element of danger: a paltry number of IPOs and the erosion of commissions on the brokerage side to virtually unsustainable levels. And that’s not to mention a regulatory investigation that brought into question the value of sell-side research, and is now causing further alarm by focusing on the ‘soft’ money brokers get for services rendered to institutional clients.
Head of Bank of America’s debt businesses in Europe and Asia
Following a decision by Bank of America to build a European presence, Arrington Mixon talks to Geraldine Lambe about the reasons behind the decision and how the bank approached putting together its European team.
Europe’s growth potential is too weak, the Lisbon strategy is the only way. I hope governments adopt all chapters
Philippe Maystadt, president of the European Investment Bank, tells Karina Robinson of the need to convince citizens that there’s no gain without pain.
Two smokers hanging out at the entrance to the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg politely said “bonjour” as I entered its concrete headquarters. The European Union’s bank, which is the largest international lender in the world, as well as the largest supranational bond issuer, is like that. Politely resolute and just a little bit subversive. Rather like President Philippe Maystadt.
As if remedying Deutsche Bank’s dearth of retail networks outside Germany and its insufficient presence in the US weren’t enough of a challenge, the bank’s CEO is fighting a legal battle to save his career. Karina Robinson reports.
Austria’s Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB) has expanded its role in central and eastern Europe with the 100% acquisition of Albania’s largest bank, the Savings Bank of Albania. Following the failure of earlier attempts to privatise the bank, plans were announced by the government last September to sell it by tender and RZB paid $126m for all the bank, representing a 2.5 multiple ofbook value.
Charles Alexander highlights GE’s contribution to the EU economy
GE, one of the largest companies in the world with a market capitalisation of circa $330bn, has made a 360 degree turn in its relations with the press and governments in the EU.
US banks reported strong first quarter results on the back of a solidifying economic recovery, demand for banking products and improved asset quality. Here are the highlights of some of the top banks:
Consolidation among Russia’s biggest banking institutions is starting to take place as bankers realise that organic expansion will not provide fast enough growth, particularly in the retail sector.
The signs for optimism in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico are under threat from a cooling of the Chinese economy and a probable rise in US interest rates.
Steering a mighty ship when the captain is partly absent can have its problems. This month we look at the challenges facing the giant Deutsche Bank and assess its progress while chief executive Josef Ackermann continues to be consumed by a distracting court case in Düsseldorf. Deutsche needs its captain.
Given a volatile stock market, government stimuli and low interest rates, Korea is awash with mountains of seemingly uninvestible cash. Park Sang-soo explains.
South Korea has a dilemma. On the one hand historical factors make it wary of foreign intrusion, yet it aspires to be a regional hub. Kim Ji-hyun reports.
South Korea’s political turmoil resulting from the impeachment of its president may be limiting the country’s nascent economic recovery, says Yang Sung-jin.
The common belief is that inflation has been permanently tamed but a number of economic factors indicate that its return is more than likely, reports Anthony Hilton.
Although sovereign issuers have so far dominated the inflation-linked bond market, the number and diversity of issuers is beginning to grow along with the investor base.By Jules Stewart
Bertrand de Mazičres: “We are not trying to be innovative for the sake of it or for vanity”
Agence France Trésor has been a pioneer of European inflation-linked bonds. Natasha de Teran interviews chief executive Bertrand de Mazičres about the development of these debt instruments.
Bertrand de Mazičres, the newly-appointed chief executive of Agence France Trésor, faced an unenviable task when he took the post last Decem-ber. The agency has a reputation as one of the most innovative and well-respected sovereign issuers, so in his new role, Mr de Mazičres has much to live up to.
As the Turkish economy expands, the major institutions are raising their game and improving their performance. Below we detail the key financial indicators for Turkey’s banking front runners.
Turkey’s economic recovery and reform continues to impress. Positive progress across the board will help the country to achieve its international ambitions.
