The predicted death of the branch network was premature. Major banks are expanding into new territory and taking a more branch-centric and personal approach to winning customers, says David Cavell.

The EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive is due to be implemented in April 2007 and will have a wide-ranging impact on the financial services industry, which technology vendors should be making preparations for now, says Roberto Rivero.

Pressures on the brokerage business means investment in the back office has been put on the back burner for many asset classes. With an already fragmented market, this can only lead to more instability in the market, which might force regulators to act.

With all the hype about Voice over IP (VoIP) in the technology press, one may be led to believe that the IP issue is just about cheap corporate phone calls. But lower calling costs is just the icing on the cake, writes Patrick Burton.

Investment banks have always been quick to embrace new forms of communications technology, but with continued fear of security and the struggle to manage the overall costs of their messaging systems,Patrick Burton asks, are they realising the potential of messaging across the organisation?

Three of the biggest regulations that banks need to comply with overlap. Frances Maguire argues for the common sense of building a single framework to deal with all three.

Advanced electronic trading technologies seem to offer new ways to cut costs while optimising efficiencies. But what impact are these strategies really having, asks Hywel Probert.
Electronic technologies such as algorithmic trading and direct market access (DMA) are big news in the securities world right now, as they threaten to revolutionise the trading landscape with the multiple advantages that they offer.

As SEPA looks to take hold over intra-European transactions, non-eurozone banks will also have to comply by its rules if they wish to trade in Europe. Surely, then, they have the right to have their voices heard by the European Commission. Or do they?