SWIFT has confirmed that CEO Leonard Schrank will retire from his post in 2007. Speculation about his successor has already begun with consideration being given to the style of leadership that will be best suited to ensure SWIFT’s continued success in the market.
As an industry association, regulator, utility, IT provider and standards body, SWIFT is a source of both security and frustration for many in the banking industry, with criticism often levelled at the costs of joining and remaining part of the network. Mr Schrank’s style (perhaps best described as evangelical) may not be emulated by his successor but many hope that reforms that have been made under his stewardship will not only be continued but also accelerated.
This may require a more pro-bank approach. With the growing threat of competition from internet-based secure communications and companies such as BT-owned Radianz, SWIFT will have to put a good case forward for its continued dominance of the messaging business. The point was raised at SIBOS last year and may well return again this year: challengers to the throne are likely to increase in number, not reduce.
Although many see the internet as a stick with which to beat SWIFT rather than serious competition, a lot can change in two years; the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication must reassure its stakeholders that it is irreplaceable.
Having been in the job since 1992, Mr Schrank has certainly made moves in the right direction. He presided over the disbanding of SWIFT’s executive committee and the implementation of SWIFTnet. There are those who hope that an external candidate from the Heidi Miller school of thought – asking “if we can send a secure message to any company over the internet, why should we pay SWIFT to do it for us?” – will step up to fill his brogues and replace them with running shoes.
