Next Monday and Tuesday I will be attending SOMESSO in Zurich. This is an event that covers the intersection between the financial services industry and social computing. According to the blurbs: Day 1 is reserved for corporate workshops for Finance and Banking professionals Finance Masterclass on the...
ValMark Securities' insurance business was handicapped by an inflexible third-party Agency Management System AMS. Managers were forced to use a report database populated with day-old data to run the business. When customers contacted the company expecting the reps to have the most up-to-date information, the data lag sometimes frustrated customers....
Securities traders, banks, investment advisors and others in the financial services industry have long embraced new communication tools. Email, for example, and more recently instant messaging can provide individuals within these firms with a distinct competitive advantage by providing information more quickly or allowing them to make more well-informed decisions....
It exists in TanzaniaReports from friends indicate to be that such a service is already in place in Tanzania and perhaps in other neighbouring countries.RE: Nokia Money to provide financial services to the unbankedNo "think" about it. This will have enormous impact. For some time now, many in developing economies...
Nokia posted a press release this morning for an upcoming mobile service that I think could have a significant impact on the world. Nokia Money is a new financial service that will allow the millions of people who have a Nokia device and no bank to conduct basic financial transactions....
Past June, the Department of Treasury released a White Paper on Financial Regulatory Reform calling on the SEC and CFTC to make recommendations to Congress for changes to statutes and regulations that would harmonize regulation of futures and securities. Specifically, the White Paper recommended that the CFTC and SEC complete...
Competition among vendors that supply services to banks is fierce, with companies seeking any type of competitive differentiator. In the area of compliance, it's difficult to compete on the basics, because virtually all solutions must meet clearly established regulatory requirements. So Harland Financial Solutions sought to quickly add an automated...
The Goetzman Group provides financial and accounting consulting services. The Woodland Hills, California - based firm sought to increase efficiencies, boost market outreach, and reduce IT costs. The Goetzman Group, a financial and accounting consultancy, used the software integration in Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 to help automate the core...
Almost two years since the financial crisis first emerged from the sub-prime mortgage business in the US, the repercussions continue to be felt. Despite unprecedented efforts by governments, central banks and regulators, the cost to the global economy of the failure of the financial system will be huge, and felt...
Founded just four years ago, FNZ of Wellington, New Zealand, operates the financial services industry's most complete third-party, online account management service. The challenge was to deliver excellent online user performance, to provide 24/7 uptime for online clients, to eliminate security vulnerabilities and to establish a highly scalable infrastructure to...
Rabobank was set up at the end of the nineteenth century as a federation of small farmers' banks. After all this time, its cooperative structure and local connections remain its principal characteristic features. The aim of Rabobank is to look after the economic interests of its members and customers. Respect,...
With the current credit crisis in the banking industry and an increasingly aggressive regulatory environment, financial institutions, whether regional or multinational, face a significant challenge: how to lower the cost of compliance and at the same time both reduce risk and establish audit readiness. The times demand a systemic approach...
Governments and regulatory agencies have strict and unyielding expectations regarding the quality and completeness of Anti-Money Laundering AML programs within the financial services community. The rules cover many aspects of company functions and across the globe touch on nearly every sector of the financial services industry. Financial institutions are expected...
A concerted but 'Technology light' process reengineering effort is reaping benefits at Co-operative Financial Services. IBS reports from its Manchester HQ on what has been achieved and what is still to be done The process excellence team at Co-operative Financial Services has a floor of its own at the company's...
Financial services companies face an array of demanding and ongoing challenges, including global competition, mergers, acquisitions, converging service offerings, and an imperative to build and maintain customer loyalty. At the same time, a growing array of compliance mandates, such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel II, require financial services companies to...
Offering insurance, personal, corporate, and commercial financial products and services, Fortis Bank relies on information technology, including its own banking software, to help serve customers. To develop a more stable information environment, the company updated its computers to the Windows Vista operating system, reducing the need for IT support and...
For over fifteen years, Oracle has delivered industry leading analytic solutions to help financial institutions grow profitability and optimize performance. While continuing to deliver solutions to meet customers' needs, the author is developing new products and integrations to address the challenges that financial institutions face now and in the years...
The attendee of this webcast will learn how financial services firm ALaS integrated Jaspersoft into their financial services control platform for front, middle, and back-office management, and how other organizations can benefit from integrating BI into their operational financial systems. The attendee will also learn how financial services firms can...
Unrelenting competition is transforming the financial services industry, spurring firms to reinvent themselves to win customers and asset share. At the same time, organic growth, operational costs reduction, and risk and regulatory compliance remain among the most pressing issues facing financial institutions today. As financial institutions seek new ways to...
With thousands of retail branch locations all over the United States, this financial services company needed an efficient way to order and change voice and data services. To accelerate the process of opening new locations and getting them up and running on its network it needed an automated provisioning system...