".bank” will launch into general availability on June 24 at 00:00:00 UTC for all eligible members of the global banking community. Managed by fTLD Registry Services, the private company owned, operated and governed by banks, insurance companies and their respective trade associations, “.bank”, is a new communications channel, fortified with enhanced security measures that exceed those of most existing and new gTLDs.  During the initial sunrise registration period, there were more than 700 applications made for “.bank” domains.

This morning, I took part in a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs European Financials Conference. We discussed the potential for technology to lower costs and raise productivity.

How can technology help drive down bank IT costs?

1. Reducing hardware and software maintenance costs. Modern systems are better architected, with broader capabilities, than the legacy systems they replace, helping to consolidate the number of software applications banks run whilst reducing infrastructure overheads.

Singapore’s premier regulator is in the process of finalising the proposed revisions to the MAS 610 (Banks) and MAS 1003 (Merchant Banks) notices. Though the public consultation process concluded in February 2015, the new notices are yet to be issued by MAS. The impact of the proposed changes is expected to be significant and banks have been given 18 months to implement them, with 2 half-yearly reviews.

In a bid to end the uncertainty of unlimited hours charged to cases and make costs more transparent, the Government is introducing regulations requiring insolvency practitioners to provide upfront estimates of the cost of working on cases.  The new rules are set to come online at the beginning of October 2015. It is a move designed to end the uncertainty of unlimited hourly rates; make costs more transparent and also counter negative perceptions about a lack of openness in fee charging.

Positive Reception

In financial services ‘innovation’ is at risk of becoming another overused buzzword. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take it seriously. Without innovation customers vote with their feet and businesses fail.

The problem with the term is that it means different things to different people. In our sector, innovation has often meant dreaming up complex product structures designed to outsmart competitors, with little thought for the customer.

Like all great inventions, the light bulb can’t be credited to one inventor. It was a series of small improvements on the ideas of numerous inventors that led to the light bulb we use in our homes today.

Will contactless biometric payments be the next light bulb in the Financial Services sector?

If you're excited about the ease of paying for stuff, with a wave of your bank card but you're worried about fraud then you are not alone; majority of banks and card issuers are pondering the same.

Clareti Transaction Control (CTC) has been designed to provide financial institutions with complete certainty in their reconciliation processing. CTC combines best-in-class performance with future-proofed technology, providing real-time reconciliation and matching based on business-driven controls. In short, CTC provides financial institutions with a robust, comprehensive and cost effective solution to meet the increased focus on real-time financial certainty.

More demanding clients, onshore wealth management on the upswing: the Avaloq software solution allows comprehensive client advisory services with the greatest strategic flexibility.

Greater Flexibility
The solution is customised to your individual needs and provides rapid time to market for the introduction of new products and the implementation of new business models.

CollateralPro delivers a comprehensive, enterprise-wide collateral management system that enables global investment banks, asset managers and service providers to transform regional and global operations. This Broadridge solution empowers firms to mitigate counterparty risk, comply with changing regulations, and embrace growth.   Its end-to-end collateral management capabilities support bi-lateral and cleared derivatives, as well as securities financing transactions.

An integrated risk management solution with predictive analytics, multi – asset class coverage and multiple delivery options. As a truly complete solution Risk Master’s functionalities encompasses all steps of risk control and enterprise-wide decision making. Another value of the product is in its multi-asset class data to analyze risk exposure across markets, trades, counterparties, and portfolios.