Any combination of factors will be considered before a financial institution makes the decision to outsource, says Heather McKenzie. But cost and efficiency are basic requirements.When it comes to outsourcing, definitions are as varied as the deals that are done. The simplest definition is the handing over of processes for a third party to run.
Retail investors are crying out for better yielding investments and bankers are rushing to design structured credit-based solutions in answer to their demands. But are retail markets ready for them? Natasha de Teran reports.Strict regulations and desultory market conditions have tested banks’ ability to develop and deliver attractive products for retail investors. Years of lacklustre performance have driven the consumer end of the market away from traditional equity markets towards evermore diversified investments, and bankers have rushed to develop new products to attract them, based on commodity, rate and other multi-asset pay-offs.
With its voracious appetite for raw materials and a shift in focus towards high value goods production, China is emerging as a trade giant. Bruce Alter, Aster Saleh and Zeno Chow examine how banks can participate in the country’s phenomenal growth by facilitating import-export flows.
In Deutsche Bank’s latest article on cash management consolidation, Bernd Friederichs and Paul Camp look at how relationships between banks are evolving into strategic service partnerships and the key questions regional banks should ask to leverage a buyer’s market.