The second coming: MiFID II due for arrival
MiFID II is almost upon us. Expect it to be the topic of conversation very soon. So what do you need to know about it?
Features
Keeping the customer profitable
Separating customer billing from core systems can have dramatic effects on the bottom line – a study by Boston Consulting Group at one bank found that 17% of clients were unprofitable.
Cordray: ‘Change is Coming’ to Prepaid Card Industry (Nov. 14, 2013)
Change is coming to the prepaid card industry, whether by regulation or legislation, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray promised lawmakers this week at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, but he declined to provide a timetable. “[Prepaid cards] are one of the problem areas in consumer financial protection because they’re a hole in the […]
Conduct risk explained: fix the systems or pay the fines
Conduct risk is gaining teeth, and with MiFID II on the way it’s set to gain a whole load more. But there is just one problem: nobody quite agrees on what conduct risk means or where its boundaries are set.
Viewpoint: They Mean It—They Really, Really Mean It! (November 2013)
New OCC guidance reminds financial institutions that third-party oversight is where it’s at.
CFPB Report Is Unclear on Timing for GPR Rules (Nov. 11, 2013)
It’s unclear whether the prepaid industry will have the CFPB’s proposed rules for GPR cards by Dec. 31, or if the wait will extend into 2014.
Payroll Card Industry Could See More Static, Legal Experts Warn (Nov. 7, 2013)
Payroll card industry participants should brace for more potential negative news as lawmakers and plaintiffs’ attorneys around the U.S. continue fishing for outlier examples of payroll card abuse, observers say. The industry’s antennae shot up earlier this week when Pennsylvania lawmakers followed through on an earlier promise and proposed legislation to ban payroll cards. Separately, […]
House Dems Propose Pair of AML Measures (Oct. 28, 2013)
Two House Democrats have proposed measures to crack down on money laundering by deterring the use of shell corporations and giving regulators the authority to hold bank executives accountable for misconduct taking place on their watch. The first bill, proposed by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), would strengthen the government’s ability to charge individuals with violations […]
EU High Court Weighs in on Austrian Mobile Surcharge Case (Oct. 28, 2013)
A law prohibiting surcharges on certain types of payments should apply to mobile carriers, an adviser to the EU’s Court of Justice told the Austrian Supreme Court, which is currently deliberating an appeal by T-Mobile after the carrier’s surcharges were ruled illegal by lower Austrian courts. The case stems from a lawsuit filed by a […]
Ahead of Remittance Rule, CFPB Outlines Examination Procedures, Unveils Online Tool (Oct. 24, 2013)
With new regulations on remittance transfers set to take effect next week, the CFPB laid out its standards for examining companies covered by the rules. In Jan. 2012, the CFPB issued its final rule outlining remittance regulations as set by the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule was revised in May 2013 after complaints from industry participants […]
ECB Cautions against Last-Minute SEPA Migration (Oct. 24, 2013)
The European Central Bank (ECB) is calling the next three months critical for stakeholders still needing to migrate to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) for electronic payments transactions. The deadline for migration to SEPA credit transfer (SCT) and SEPA direct debit (SDD) schemes is Feb. 1, 2014. “Everybody has to be ready . . […]
Cyberspace: beyond the rule of law?
Cybersecurity and cyber espionage have been in the headlines the past few years as leaked stories relating to government-sponsored activities have appeared and sabre rattling between aggrieved nations has moved to the public domain. At the same time an increased volume of distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS) on banks and other institutions carried out […]
CFPB: CARD Act Saved Consumers Billions, But Some Concerns Remain (Oct. 3, 2013)
The credit card industry has largely cleaned up its act in the four years since sweeping new federal rules took effect, though some concerns remain, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concluded this week. The CFPB’s 102-page report on the impact of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act) passed in 2009 found […]
European Commission Considers Ways to Support Crowdfunding (Oct. 3, 2013)
Crowdfunding—a term used for a group of people pooling their money, typically through Websites, to support projects—is being used to help finance everything from films to NFC-enabled jewelry.
CFPB, Lawmakers Continue Campus Card Examination (Oct. 1, 2013)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday hosted a Banking on Campus Forum in Washington, D.C., as part of its ongoing investigation into campus cards. Some college students said they feel pressured into using specific financial products—which can include student ID cards that double as debit or prepaid cards and are used to access scholarships and […]
Doing reference data right: cheaper, better, faster … or else
What do hundreds-of-thousands of counterparties, dozens of regulations and your many regulators all want from you? Better counterparty classification …
Trade: adjusting to a new direction of travel
As trade flows shift across regions and economic headwinds blow, the trade finance business is facing challenges. Anne Queree examines how correspondent banking networks are adapting
Talking Heads: RMB internationalisation
As the Chinese Government continues its phased internationalisation of the renminbi, financial institutions are evaluating their strategies. Daily News at Sibos asked some Sibos delegates what financial institutions need to do to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by RMB internationalisation.
Operational risk: Hell is other people
As the focus on operational risk increases, Nicholas Pratt discovers that the greatest threats to a bank’s security lie outside of its four walls
Innovation: there is a better way
Innovation in financial services may not generate products quite so world-changing as the inventions of Edison, but the principle of finding better ways to do something does inform most developments.
Corporate actions: standard and deliver
The complexity of corporate actions has stymied automation efforts for more than a decade. But there could be light at the end of the tunnel …
Talking Heads: this year’s model
How is the global custody and asset servicing model changing? Will consolidation occur? What do clients want? Daily News at Sibos finds out
Talking Heads: the financial crisis
Crawling from the wreckage – Daily News at Sibos asks whether the industry will experience another Lehman Brothers-type crisis. Have market participants learned their lesson?
Retail banking: underwriting the revolution
New technologies are transforming the consumer experience in retailing and in banking. For banks to remain relevant, they need to work with innovators, writes Paul Skeldon
Securities settlement: the guessing game
With implementation of Europe’s Target2-Securities beginning in 2015, financial institutions are still defining their strategies and business models. Some questions remain to be answered.
Data management: Knowledge is power
Standardised data architecture at financial institutions is no longer a ‘nice to have’. Regulatory pressures and headline grabbing fines have rocketed enterprise data management to the top of the boardroom agenda.
Brave new worlds
International financial centres can play an important role in easing companies’ participation in new markets. Heather McKenzie looks at the elements needed to build a successful financial centre
Talking Heads: a matter of principle
Five years on from the financial crisis and banks still face a rising tide of regulatory initiatives. Daily News at Sibos asked several industry executives whether the price of regulation is becoming too high
New game, new rules: how banks can re-invent utilities
The world we know is changing. As the famous baseball player Yogi Berra once said, “the future ain’t what it used to be”. In the old future, collaborative sourcing involved banks creating a single provider to deliver ‘the least common multiple’ at a lower/utility cost.
Swift at 40: James Willis
To mark Swift’s 40th Birthday, Banking Technology is publishing a series of interviews with staffers looking back over how the organisation has changed during their time there, and where they see it developing in the future. Today: James Wills, senior business manager, banking initiatives/standards
Swift at 40: Alain Raes
To mark Swift’s 40th Birthday, Banking Technology is publishing a series of interviews with staffers looking back over how the organisation has changed during their time there, and where they see it developing in the future. Today, Alain Raes, chief executive EMEA and Asia Pacific.
Where the world is your lobster …
Rapidly becoming an international transport hub, Dubai is a thriving multicultural city. David Bannister, editor of Banking Technology, samples some of the city’s culinary and cultural delights.
Stand by for light speed: high performance computing in financial services
Most debates about High Performance Computing in financial services quickly turn into conversations about high frequency trading, but there are many more reasons for getting the best of out of systems. Electronics and computer technology have always been pushing the boundaries of smaller, faster, cheaper (or at least, ‘more affordable’) and financial services firms have always been quick to take advantage of the latest advances.
Judge Rules in Favor of Merchants, Strikes Down Fed’s Interchange Rule (August 2013)
A U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Federal Reserve Board overreached in its interchange and network routing rulemaking. If upheld, the decision will have huge consequences for issuers, program managers and other payments stakeholders.
Market surveillance: a watching brief
The US Securities & Exchange Commission is often accused of using skateboards to chase Ferraris in its attempts to keep up with trading houses, but less than a year after announcing that it intended to create a new market surveillance system – and six months after going live with it – its cloud-based approach is […]
Innovators’ Spotlight: Waspit Group Inc
With an evolved platform and new B2B focus, NYC firm is making a buzz in “Engagement Banking”.
Risk data: can it be both efficient and compliant?
With six months before the 4th Capital Requirements Directive comes into force, many will be asking what technological improvements will be necessary to efficiently manage risk going forward. Before they embark on a costly overhaul of their data systems, firms should look at what regulatory trends are likely to require similar changes in the future and adjust their specification accordingly.
Roundtable: the Future of Standards
Predicting the future is never easy, but trying to anticipate likely developments in a particular area is essential in order to take timely action. With that caveat, Stephen Lindsay, head of standards at SWIFT, sets a boundary on a discussion on the Future of Standards: “What we are trying to do is extrapolate a little bit from where we are now to where we might be in a few years’ time,” he says.
The battle for benchmarks: divisions in the ranks?
With lots of different regulatory benchmark efforts now underway, the industry could be forgiven for not taking a common stance. With IOSCO issuing final principles, ESMA and the EBA are simultaneously consulting on a European set of principles. Meanwhile the UK is moving ahead with its own reforms.
NCLC Attacks Overdraft on Prepaid Products Again (July 16, 2013)
The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) again is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to prohibit overdraft on prepaid products and limit the ways in which credit and prepaid may be associated.
