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Real-time marketing and its increasing relevance to banks
The internet and social media boom has made real-time marketing a must-have tool for bankers, particularly where speed of response is integral to take advantage of immediate market opportunities.
Standard Chartered’s technology focus in China: advantages of foreign banks in the market
Ericson Chan, chief information officer of Standard Chartered Bank China believes that foreign banks have key advantages over Chinese banks, but regulations and shifting rules make it difficult for foreign banks to stay ahead.
Implications of HKMA meeting liquid coverage ratio requirements by purchasing foreign currency
By opting to use liquid assets denominated in a foreign currency to meet LCR standards, banks will be picking up cross-currency risk amongst others.
FATCA: Stick without a carrot
Compliance with FATCA has been regarded with trepidation by banks, ever since it was signed into law on March 18th, 2010. What are its implementation challenges and what can banks do about it?
Disaster recovery: Better marks for the finance sector
A new survey shows that even though the finance sector suffered the most systems downtime during the last 12 months, it is the sector most likely to change back up systems as a result of disruptive events.
Business call update with Jamie Dimon, CEO, JPMorgan
Jamie Dimon, CEO, JPMorgan, discusses the key issues leading to the bank's $2 billion loss caused by a failed hedging strategy.
London, Taiwan and Singapore grow as Rmb offshore hubs
Accounting for 46% of renminbi foreign exchange transactions and 30% of payments sent and received outside of Hong Kong and China in 2011, London is gaining strength as an offshore hub for the currency.
Addressing the Big Data phenomenon – Issues, opportunities and challenges
Date: May 08, 2012
Author: Levina Lim
Categories: Data & Analytics, Data Management
Keywords: Big Data, Bank of China HK, IBM, ROI
The proceedings of the teleconsultation session with leading data & analytics practitioners to discuss practical issues, opportunities and challenges in implementing Big Data.
Management commitment to an anti-fraud culture (Part 1)
Jodi Pratt, principal and CEO of Jodi Pratt & Associates, discusses the primary control weaknesses that contribute to insider fraud management and how to overcome them.
Management commitment to an anti-fraud culture (Part 2)
Jodi Pratt, principal and CEO of Jodi Pratt & Associates believes that anti-fraud culture can enhance broader bank management philosophies and will prove to be worth management’s investment in time and effort.
“We need to create a trust in risk management system and supervision”
Keynote speech by Bank of Thailand governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul at The Asian Banker Summit 2012 on 26th April on trust, progress on global regulation reforms and their effects on Asia.
China’s QDII Program: Cross border investment flows and further improvements
The QDII program in China has enhanced the central bank’s regulation of investment flows, opening China’s capital markets to foreign investors. The program will continue to grow and help internationalise the Renminbi.
Mitigating risk in price manipulation and interbank rates
Bernard Lee, chief executive at HedgeSPA feels that better management could be applied to price manipulations across asset classes as well as the interbank rate.
"It is always the top and the bottom lines that we look at"
In an exclusive on-stage interview, Teresita Sy-Coson, chairperson, BDO Unibank, discusses how banking became integral to SM Group, as well as the difficult years of banking mergers.
Why Asia’s SMEs should plan for Euro turbulence
Date: Apr 30, 2012
Author: Tim Hinton
Categories: Retail Banking, SME Banking
Keywords: Tim Hinton, Standard Chartered Bank, MNC, European Trade, Cash Flow
Tim Hinton, global head of SME banking at Standard Chartered Bank feels that Asian SMEs should assess their FX, interest rate and commodity exposures and review options available in mitigating these risks.
The most important decisions in my banking career
Dick Kovacevich, chairman emeritus of Wells Fargo, discusses styles of leadership as well as the risks involved in any business, at The Asian Banker Summit 2012.
The most important decision for any business
Dick Kovacevich, chairman emeritus of Wells Fargo, discusses the decisions businesses need to make in order to maintain customer loyalty in an increasingly competitive industry, at CIBC 2012.
Leadership in challenging times
Date: Apr 26, 2012
Author: Dick Kovacevich
Categories: Asian Banker Summit 2012
Keywords: Leadership, Wells Fargo, Dodd-Frank Act, SIFI’s
Dick Kovacevich, chairman emeritus of Wells Fargo, discusses regulators' handling of the financial crisis and the recipe for success in the industry, in his opening speech of the Leadership Dialogue at the Asian Banker Summit 2012.
Supply chain in the age of globalisation
In an exclusive video interview, William Fung, executive deputy chairman of Li & Fung, discusses trends underpinning the manufacturing, labour and trade sectors in the globalised supply chain.
Thailand banks net profits to rebound sharply in 2012
Devastated by the floods in Q3 2011, the Thai economy has bounced back on strong 9.4%YoY reconstruction loans growth, 12%YoY higher fee income and lower tax rates.
Closing the gap: The next big step for Islamic banking
Wasim Saifi, global head of consumer banking at Standard Chartered Saadiq, feels that increased competition, continued attractiveness, and greater regulatory support, will contribute to keep Islamic banking growing.
Rmb internationalisation enters maturity stage
Date: Apr 24, 2012
Author: Baron Laudermilk
Categories: China, Hong Kong, Transaction Banking
Keywords: Rmb, HKMA, RQFII, PBOC, GDP Growth
Decline of Rmb deposits in HK does not mean that the demand for and strength of the currency is weakening, and there are several indicators which proves that it’s still flourishing.
Interview transcript: Teresita Sy-Coson, chairperson, BDO Unibank, 4th April 2012, Part 1
Teresita Sy-Coson, chairperson of BDO Unibank, discusses the difference retail and banking businesses, weathering the economic and merger storm, and the handling and deployment of capital.
Interview transcript: Teresita Sy-Coson, chairperson, BDO Unibank, 4th April 2012, Part 2
Teresita Sy-Coson, chairperson of BDO Unibank, discusses the difference retail and banking businesses, weathering the economic and merger storm, and the handling and deployment of capital.
Post-crisis liquidity risk management: Beyond the two ratios in Basel III
Tsuyoshi Oyama, partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, feels that the new liquidity ratios introduced in Basel III should be enhanced by systemic measures proven to withstand appropriate stress testing.
Interview transcript: William Fung, executive director of Li & Fung, 29th February 2012
William Fung, executive director of Li & Fung, discusses the globalisation of the manufacturing industry, building a knowledge network, and managing capital flow.
Big Data – More than conventional analytics?
“Big Data” has emerged as a trendy buzzword in recent months. Is there any substance to it, amidst the accompanying hype?
Moderate profitability of Singapore banks expected in 2012 due to corporate loans and lack of growth opportunities
Although Singapore bank’s bottom line profitability was driven primarily by filling the corporate loan and trade related financing gap left by European banks, DBS’s performance far outstripped its peers in 2011.
Data security: Will banks ever adopt a data centric model?
Adopting a data centric model for data security would require banks to classify and encrypt all sensitive data. Can this idea gain ground?
China’s experiments with Wenzhou: Looser financial regulations and outbound investments
Wenzhou’s tight lending and informal lending markets are bankrupting businesses and undermining years of progress. Beijing takes major steps in trying to fix this.
Hong Kong's economy is expected to slow down to about 5% growth in 2012
Date: Apr 05, 2012
Author: Guan Chen Hao
Categories: China, Databook, Hong Kong, Industry Outlook
Keywords: GDP, Rmb, Bank of China HK, IMF, NIM, Credit Cost
Banking sector will see more opportunities in the area of Rmb trade settlement, the main driver for profit in 2012, but expect a decline in growth momentum due to the weakness in the U.S. economy and the European debt crisis.
Bank of Beijing aims to play in the big league of private banking in China
Ferdinand Jonkman, vice president of Bank of Beijing, believes that a stronger focus on technology and sustainable products could set a new trend in China’s banking system.
Information security in an insecure world
David Millar, risk trainer and former COO at PRMIA, feels that modern communications and transparency will not help in the operational risk manager’s task of avoiding information security events.
Customer data is gateway to the future: predictive analytics
The use of predictive analytics involves banks utilizing their existing data to glean a better understanding of their customers to achieve growth and expansion.
TCSFS faces staff retention and cross-selling challenges while making inroads in China’s core banking scene
Brent Zhu, head of TCSFS for Greater China, feels even though TCSFS is working on more than 14 banks systems in China, local competition and maintaining talented staff is making progress difficult.
Future of Bank of China may lie in its new core banking system
Date: Mar 30, 2012
Author: Baron Laudermilk
Categories: China, Core Banking, Technology & Operations
Keywords: Bank of China, IBM, TCS, Brent Zhu, Microsoft
Bank of China’s new core banking system is finally installed; hiccups and all, and they are still learning its systems and how to begin using it for marketing and customer segmentation.
Using sentiment analysis for marketing purposes
Proceedings report from The Asian Banker teleconsultation on how to apply sentiment analysis to manage marketing campaigns in real time on November 23, 2011.
LIBOR – will it, should it ever be the same?
David Millar, risk trainer and former COO at PRMIA, feels following the possible LIBOR rate fixing scandal, we should be looking at a mathematical and transparent way of fixing global base rates.
The Risk & Regulation Conference: Asia’s most important gathering of best practice leaders
Asia’s premier conference, designed to give regulators and practitioners a broader understanding of the different responses to regulatory and market risk challenges.
Changing role of the CRO and risk management
John Lee, Group CRO of Maybank, believes that the strength of a bank’s risk culture can be determined by what leaders focus on, their crisis management skills and the bank’s reward and recruitment process.
SAS looks at steady annual growth in China
Cliff Wu, president of SAS in Greater China, feels that the company is capable of achieving 30-40% growth every year for the next few years.
Asia outlook stable even as China faces limited economic growth
Mark Matthews, head of research Asia, Bank Julius Baer, feels that Asia has a good chance of surviving the current financial crisis nicely, despite dim outlooks for the West.
Could SIFIs have totally the wrong effect?
Date: Mar 02, 2012
Author: David Millar
Categories: Regulation, Risk and Regulation
Keywords: G-SIFI, SIFI, Lehman, G20, Tier 1 Capital, Jose Maria Roldan
David Millar, risk consultant and trainer and former COO at global risk management association, PRMIA, looks at the impact of local SIFIs in Asia and questions whether the designation is achieving what was hoped for.
Big Data : a real challenge impacting banks?
Edwin Yuen, chief analytics officer, Basel Implementation Office, Bank of China,Hong Kong, explains Big Data and how banks are rising to face the overflow of information.
Legal entity identifiers’ broad impact in Asia
Tony Freeman, director of industry relations, Omgeo, feels that legal entity identifiers have enormous benefits and Asian financial institutions stand to gain as well.
Big Data more than just a consultant buzzword
Vince Charles Leat, Banking Solutions, Software Group, ASEAN, IBM, feels that Big Data is a real phenomenon and spans variety, volume, and velocity.
Singapore banks well positioned despite a stagnant 2011
Date: Feb 28, 2012
Author: Wong Wei Han
Categories: Asian Banker 500, Singapore
Keywords: DBS, OCBC, UOB, Financial Results
2011 full year results of DBS, OCBC and UOB have revealed vulnerabilities under the current environment, but their strengths have warded against fundamental damages.
Evaluation criteria for the annual risk management awards
Discussion paper for the evaluation criteria and benchmarking to determine the progress that financial institutions are making on the key areas of their risk management capabilities. We welcome your feedback.
Banking on the social media wave
Daniel Marovitz, founder of buzzumi, feels banks should recognize the power of their employees to enhance their brand in the social media sphere.
Operational risk: Do we really need continuous monitoring?
David Millar, risk trainer and former COO at PRMIA, feels that technology is obscuring the implementation of risk management governance and standards.
Culture and functionality determine an acquisition’s success
SAP president for Southeast Asia Tim Moylan feels integration issues are key to the company’s success.
Asia’s new rich
Shayne Nelson, global head of high value client coverage and CEO of Standard Chartered Private Bank, feels that the question foremost on the minds of all private bankers should be what a typical Asian client looks like.
Waking up to progression of the renminbi
David Sear, chief operating officer for Western Union Business Solutions, looks at the internationalisation of the renminbi and its implications for global SMEs who trade with China.
Past regulatory and banking solutions fail to halt China’s currency exodus
Date: Jan 31, 2012
Author: Baron Laudermilk
Categories: China, Government Finance, Transaction Services
Keywords: Rmb, Asian Financial Crisis, Beijing
Beijing has in the past has solved the problem of currency outflow by allowing banks to defer repayment dates or by writing off bad loans, but these options may not work for much longer.
Panin Bank lights up its retail banking infrastructure
Ken Ng, head of retail banking at Indonesia’s Panin Bank, is leveraging IT to continue growing faster than the industry.
EU banks’ decreasing exposure to Asian assets: Volatility or opportunity?
Date: Jan 30, 2012
Author: Doron Foo
Categories: Databook, Risk and Regulation
Keywords: European Banks, Loans, Market Share, Liquidity Risk
European banks contribution to total loans in Asia saw a huge decrease from 30% in 2007 to 16% in 1H 2011. What implications does this trend have for economies and markets across the region?
Rising to the challenge of cross-lingual sentiment analysis
Meta Brown, general manager of analytics at LinguaSys, a language technology firm feels that translation in cross-lingual sentiment analysis results in loss of information.
Shooting oneself in the rating foot
David Millar, risk trainer and former COO at PRMIA, feels that in their desperation to close down rating agencies, regulators are in danger of leaving the investment industry with no efficient credit risk standards.
Post flood recovery imminent for Thai financial sector
With robust fundamentals in place, Thai banks are set to recover along with the country’s economy from the massive damage inflicted by the monsoon flooding.
Renminbi payment growth shakes off Q4 shivers
Data gathered by Asian Banker Research on renminbi use shows that trade settlements have wavered and deposit growth has dipped, while SWIFT data shows that payments have recovered after a two-month slump.
Malaysia faces growth amidst uncertainties
Domestic consumer and credit demand sustains performances of Malaysian banks against economic downturn, while regulatory initiatives are put in place to ensure sustainability of banking sector.
ICFR Regulatory Outlook 2012: Could domestic concerns derail international regulatory convergence?
Barbara Ridpath, chief executive of the International Centre of Financial Regulation (ICFR) believes that in 2012, trends in the structure of financial markets will continue to influence regulator priorities.
FATCA: Should we be concerned?
David Millar, risk trainer and former COO at PRMIA looks at the latest example of US regulatory exporting, and wonders why we are all having to help the US collect its taxes, and who is going to pay for it.
South Korea’s loan growth expected to decelerate significantly due to global economic instability
With its export orientated economy, South Korea will see a huge decrease in loan growth in tandem with declining export demand, especially from US and the EU.
Decision management systems – from risk to growth
James Taylor, CEO of Decision Management Systems feels that decision management systems should combine an awareness of customer location with real-time scoring of risk and opportunity.
Australian banks shift from wholesale funding to deposits as total funding contribution grew to 54.9% in 1H 2011
Date: Jan 13, 2012
Author: Elaine Low
Categories: Australia, Databook, Industry Outlook
Keywords: ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac, Loan To Deposit Ratio, CAR, NPL
With increasing global macroeconomic volatility and expected slowdown in capital inflows, banks are shifting towards deposits as a safer and more sustainable form of funding.
Surge in China's entrusted credit undermine regulators effort to curb loan growth
Date: Jan 13, 2012
Author: Doron Foo
Categories: China, Credit Risk, Risk and Regulation
Keywords: Entrusted Loans, NPL
In the face of strict Chinese government regulations on bank lending, large companies with access to credit are acting as intermediaries by lending to entities that lack the access.
"Partnership, innovation key to grow trade finance"
Date: Jan 12, 2012
Author: Wong Wei Han
Categories: Trade Finance, Transaction Banking
Keywords: Tony Sacre, CBA, Letter of Credit, Liquidity, Supply Chain
Commonwealth Bank’s head of global trade finance and international payments Tony Sacre underlines focus on growing markets, innovation and partnership cultivation as factors of successful trade finance.
Negative real deposit rates in China signal need for caution in 2012
Slowing activity and high inflation show up weaknesses in China’s economy while anticipated reform to the financial system together with global economy uncertainty create challenges for its economy and banking sector.
Rating the future
David Millar, risk trainer and former COO at PRMIA, explains the role of CRAs as well as the current face off between CRAs and governments and suggests the need for more comprehensive rating.
Sluggish growth predicted for 2012 but opportunities from Asia continue to grow
Date: Jan 09, 2012
Author: Edwin See
Categories: Asia Pacific, Databook, Industry Outlook, Taiwan
Keywords: NPL, Mortgage, Export, NIM, CIR, Bank of Taiwan
Taiwanese banks are looking forward to a better cross-strait relationship with China and increasing demand for cross-border financial services in emerging markets.
Covered bonds growth outlook for banks in the Asia Pacific region remains bleak
Lacking the financial maturity or need for developed markets in the Asia Pacific region, covered bonds are not likely to see significant growth in the near future.
The ECB must deploy full resources to halt a possible crisis of confidence
Jörg Zeuner, chief economist of Switzerland’s VP Bank, feels that the financing of deficits is not a must, as long as the ECB intervenes in the secondary market.
Big banks need culture more than capital to prevent potential collapse
One of the prescriptions of the FSB’s G-SIFI definition is to recommend more capital, but regulators like the FSA want a more holistic approach.
DBS transaction banking repositioning for larger clients
With 28% revenue growth in his first 18 months as DBS’ transaction banking head, Tom McCabe has his eyes squarely on actualising promise in geographies and product areas.
Citi Malaysia’s decision management function thrives on a set of best practices
Simon Lim, director of decision management of Citi Malaysia feels the biggest challenge in running the decision management business is the lack of skilled resources.
Philippine banks and FIs face key issues in marketing financial products to the internet generation
Proceedings report from The Asian Banker marketing workshop which was held in Manila, October 19th 2011, on target markets and online tools, third party endorsements, and partnering with start-up companies.
ING eyes Asia as key trade finance market
Juultje van der Wijk, global head of trade finance services at ING, recognises the potential of emerging markets, but is concerned over industry impact of Basel III changes on capital requirements.
Japan – Haven or time bomb?
Although Japan managed to recover from the March 2011 natural disasters, domestic political risks and competition coupled with volatility of the global economy will hinder the nation’s and its banking sector’s recovery.
Singapore banks’ strong capital levels mask risks of future growth prospects
Date: Dec 22, 2011
Author: Doron Foo
Categories: Asia Pacific, Databook, Industry Outlook, Singapore
Keywords: DBS, OCBC, UOB, SIBOR
Stagnating domestic demand coupled with inability to expand regionally are expected to dent Singapore banks’ profitability in the near future.




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