Last year, there was a lot of talk about branch renewal but what does branch renewal mean? For many, it means new logos and brochures, softer and more attractive lighting, new uniforms and systems that work at internet speed. But that is not what branch renewal is all about. Logos, labels and linkages are superficial and do not make a branch profitable.

Regulatory requirements have put banks in a prime position to benefit from customer relationship management systems. However, there is more to CRM than technology, says Dan Barnes.
Customer relationship management (CRM) could be the light at the end of the tunnel for banks looking for returns on regulatory-driven technology investments. Those banks that have invested strategically in their data infrastructure for compliance purposes now have the opportunity to leverage their stock of well stored and cleaned data to achieve additional benefits on their substantial investments.

BNP Paribas CIO Hervé Gouëzel tells Dan Barnes how he is working towards a strong centralised IT operations function, using partnership and outsourcing where necessary.
Hervé Gouëzel, chief information officer and executive committee member at BNP Paribas, is striving to strike a balance: “There are three [IT] models. The first is the very centralised model, highly organised and with a global strategy. In the second model, there are these local baronies (fiefdoms) with everything decentralised. Between these two levels is the BNP Paribas model.”

Evidence is accumulating to show that microcredit can be a profitable business for commercial banks. Stephen Timewell reports on progress in the International Year of Microfinance.

Banks are tackling the payments market in a new way, driven by smaller margins and increasing volume. Dan Barnes looks at the techniques that they are using to achieve their goals.
Increasingly higher volumes and dropping margins in the payments arena – driven hard by the demands of well managed and monitored corporate clients – are causing banks to address their future potential in the market. For some, the mathematics will not work out favourably.
Potential solutions that are available to banks that wish to stay in the cash business include investment in technologies – to cut costs or offer higher returns through improved service – and partnering with industry competitors to combine their strengths and skills.

Most banks still operate silo technology architectures by line of business, product and location. Modifications frequently entail duplicative efforts that banks can ill afford.

Automation is growing in the world of trading and continuing developments suggest that what can be automated will be automated. How far can this be taken? Can human intervention be taken out of the equation altogether? Chris Skinner outlines his vision.

What developments can be expected in the coming year? Dan Barnes asks experts about the most important changes in banking technology that are forecast for 2005.

Barclays CIO David Weymouth talks to Dan Barnes about how unsustainable business models sparked a restructuring at the bank, why these changes included partnering and why handing certain services to third parties should not mean “outsourcing a mess”.

The EU’s attempts to make offshore savers pay tax are forcing banks to devise some innovative strategies to protect this sizeable and lucrative market, reports Michael Imeson.