In a business that is not known for generating huge profits, where providers are under pressure to keep their costs down, custodians must ensure that their outsourcing models will be profitable in the long term. Dan Barnes explains how integration spells domination.
The race is on among custody providers in Europe to develop their outsourcing offerings ahead of the expected wave of demand from investment managers. Back and middle office functions are expected to be shipped out over the next three years.

Cautious optimism is the watchword for banking technology. As they adopt an integrated enterprise approach to regulatory and other tactical changes, banks will be able to realise higher returns from their IT investments.

In the age of invisible financial transactions, and especially post 9/11, systems resilience has been vital. But bank CEOs should not trust in belief alone; they should test out a systems shutdown and make sure they have the right CIO. By Chris Skinner.

Despite concerns over data fraud, communication problems and a backlash from western countries, India is still a prime destination for banks to outsource their business processes, writes Kala Rao.

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.

A survey by Booz Allen Hamilton shows that, in much of western Europe, the branch is still customers’ preferred interface with their banks. Ironically, it is often in the regions where the branch is most popular that customers are the most dissatisfied with service. And even more worryingly a second survey by Finalta shows that bank are making poor use of this communication channel. Stephen Timewell digests the data.

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.

Euroclear SA/NV chief executive officer Pierre Francotte tells Richard Greensted how the European clearing and settlement infrastructure can be made more efficient.

Dan Barnes looks at how barriers can be lifted to creating and implementing a single European protocol for clearing and settlement and why it will be invaluable in cutting costs and reducing risk.