Some of the big Latin American banks are concentrating on new retail products to attract the unbanked segment of the population and thus grow market share. Monica Campbell reports.
Now that many big foreign banks play a major role in Latin America’s financial system, the race is on to capture a bigger chunk of the market, including its evolving commercial marketplace. Although most banks still thirst for wealthy clients, they are also slowly recognising the potential of Latin America’s enormous unbanked population.

The design of the modern bank branch is worlds apart from its more traditional predecessor in terms of layout, operational effectiveness, equipment and decor, says Michael Imeson.

Mitchel Lenson, CIO for technology and operations at Deutsche Bank, tells Parveen Bansal that he sees his role as the “conscience” of the organisation when it comes to technology spending – forcing people to think more about the decisions they make.

Chief information officers’ attitude of not replacing core systems unless there is a problem is outmoded and will lead to banks losing customers in the digital decade, says Chris Skinner.

Trusted relationships are the cornerstone of banking services. Customer needs for specialised financial advice, tailored credit and widespread collection points are boosting the role of bank branches. The younger generation, however, has grown up with electronic devices at their fingertips, and their dynamic lifestyles demand real-time, anywhere access. Therefore, remote distribution channels (for example, the internet, call centres and new generations of wireless services) are extending the more traditional banking services capabilities.

SunGard is changing direction, with plans to launch an integrated systems platform that will allow clients to mix and match its products, Frances Maguire reports.

Activity to update the banking systems is continuing in mainland China, one of the latest moves being Bank of China’s implementation of Summit Systems’ treasury and capital markets software across its interest rate derivatives trading desks.

Volker Potthoff, managing director, banking and custody business at Clearstream, tells The Banker about Clearstream’s strategy and the challenges it faces in differentiating itself from the competition.

Collateral management is becoming increasingly important in a commoditised market, especially in Europe. Frances Maguire finds that Europe’s fragmented infrastructure and lack of netting have created the need for outsourced collateral management.