Just recently Australia's "Seven News" was interviewing Macquarie Bank’s private wealth adviser Martin Lakos on the financial market's reaction to the Australian Reserve Bank keeping interest rates on hold. Bust as as Lakos spoke, viewers saw a man in the background open an e-mail and peruse a series of near-nude pictures of Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr.
Subsequently in a statement the bank said; "Macquarie takes matters such as the unacceptable use of technology extremely seriously. Macquarie has strict policies in place surrounding the use of technology and the issue arising from today's live cross on 7 News is being dealt with internally."
Friday, 5 February 2010
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Mobile Banking, the Future of Banking
Author: Pankaj Snv
Mobile Banking refers to provision and availability of banking and financial services with the help of mobile telecommunication devices. The scope of offered services may include facilities to conduct bank and stock market transactions, to administer accounts and to access customized information. Mobile banking is known by various other names. Through mobile banking, one can balance checks, complete his account transactions, make payments on time etc. via a mobile device such as a mobile phone. Most customers use mobile banking through SMS or the mobile internet. Some financial institutions take up another method to provide mobile banking to their customers. They make customers download special software on their mobile phones which acts as client for the mobile banking services.
Mobile banking is growing at a very fast pace and will soon become the primary channel for banks to connect with their customers. While the top banks have the financial and technical resources to make moves in the mobile channel, most mid-tier and small banks lack the innovation and funds needed to explore this front. Many of the largest banks have already launched mobile banking services, which are catching on with customers and generating positive business results. The past few months have brought a flurry of mobile banking announcements from mobile banking vendors who are responding to growing demand from their customers and the recognition of their own powerful position in the mobile banking vendor ecosystem.
Mobile banking technology vendors have a big role to play in helping mid-tier and small institutions take advantage of this emerging channel. Due to the increasing interest in mobile banking software, banks should deploy mobile banking software with confidence that their mobile banking vendors will provide the key to start the engine of mobile banking. Recent mobile banking announcements from technology giants represent the beginning of an evolutionary strategy with regard to integrating mobile banking more deeply into the banking infrastructure. As mobile banking software and payments evolve throughout the year, the associated mobile banking vendor ecosystem will change drastically. Mobile banking has reached a level of maturity that warrants action in the eyes of the mobile banking vendors.
Mobile banking is important to mobile banking vendors from the perspectives of both existing customers and new deals. The customers are eager to try out and use mobile banking capabilities, in large part because the top banks have made competitive inroads into the smaller banks' geographic markets. Pure-play mobile banking vendors have a hard time penetrating these smaller institutions because core banking vendors play the role of technology gatekeeper. It is quite possible that the core banking vendors will emerge as key players in the vendor ecosystem for mobile banking. In technology innovation, core banking vendors may not be trendsetters, but they are pacesetters. Because of their familiarity with banks' core operations, these vendors excel at seeing through the hype regarding new mobile banking software for banks and waiting to act until the market has matured to the point when innovation and profitability converge.
About the Author:"Pankaj Modi Says:" mobile banking software is one of the best solutions for time saving. Also the banking becomes easier, quicker and foolproof. For more Interest Visit:
http://www.bank-companion.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Mobile banking, the future of banking
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Is the Financial Crisis Really Over?
By Stanley Epstein - Principal Associate, Citadel Advantage
What is the risk of another financial crisis? The dust has begun to settle. The turbulent events of the past two and a half years seem to be over and the world is looking forward to a period of renewed stability and growth. Across most of the world there are plans afoot for the reform of the banking system to “fix” it so that the dreadful events that we were witness to so recently will not happen again.
2010 – The start of the second decade of the twenty first century is seen as a symbol of hope and a brighter future.
How realistic are these hopes? Is it possible to really repair the banking and financial system? Can we avoid any future pain such as we have seen (and alas are continuing to see)?
This is all good stuff, but realistically speaking the prospects for a quick “fix” are not at all good. In fact one need look no further than to the responses of governments and financial regulators to these recent events to see that the seeds of the next financial crisis have already been sown. And this crisis may not be so far in the future either.
Consider the facts. The overall response of governments and regulators alike to the recent financial crisis has sent a totally wrong message out to the banks. This misguided response has vastly increased the possibility that the same events will repeat themselves in the not too distant future.
To make matters worse, when the next crisis occurs countries may just not be able to take the strain. The events of recent days in Iceland regarding the reimbursement of the British and Dutch governments in the “Icesave Bank” saga and the ongoing financial problems in Greece are portents that the next crisis could be much, much worse.
The single distinguishing feature of the 2007-9 crisis was the huge amounts of financial assistance that was literarily thrown at the banks. Governments across the globe went almost berserk to avoid a systemic collapse of their individual country’s banking systems.
By taking this course of action governments simply reinforced the existent cavalier attitude of the banks. The banks who benefitted the most from the support of the state were in all probability the ones who presented the most serious risks to the financial system; the banks who should most probably been allow to go to the wall.
Because governments and regulatory authorities provided such massive assistance to banks and securities firms these governments have in effect created a sort of automatic disaster insurance fund. Bank executives now know that their banks will not be allowed to go under. This is going to lead the banking industry generally to their bad pre-crisis habits; habits of taking dangerous and unjustified risks once again, in the certain knowledge that that they will not be allowed to fail. “Too-big-to-fail” was (and is) the cry and governments have been all too eager to dance to this tune.
A factor which is so conveniently ignored is that for many banks across the globe the pain is not yet over. These banks are going to continue to experience losses for some time to come. These losses could still be extensive, as foreclosures continue to mount amidst a stagnating property market and continuing high levels of unemployment.
If governments could say with any absolute conviction that they would never, ever bail out another bank again, there would be some hope of averting a future crisis. However governments are fickle, driven by the winds of political opportunism.
When the crisis returns, as it surely must, we will see a replay of what we saw before. Indeed certain recent developments at some of the banking culprits from the last round are a clear indication that some banks are back to their bad old ways with massive profits and obscene bonus payments becoming the norm once again.
Clearly any attempts by various governments to “fix” the system have been a non-starter. To be brutally blunt – it has failed! And the same unfortunately applies too, to “fixes” that are planned. If they haven’t been started on yet the chances of them ever happening are less and less likely with each day that passes.
Unless governments and regulators seriously look at the failed systems and repair them properly in a manner that avoids the current implied guarantees of support “no matter what“, we are doomed to relive the events of 2007-9 again and again and again.
What is the risk of another financial crisis? The dust has begun to settle. The turbulent events of the past two and a half years seem to be over and the world is looking forward to a period of renewed stability and growth. Across most of the world there are plans afoot for the reform of the banking system to “fix” it so that the dreadful events that we were witness to so recently will not happen again.
2010 – The start of the second decade of the twenty first century is seen as a symbol of hope and a brighter future.
How realistic are these hopes? Is it possible to really repair the banking and financial system? Can we avoid any future pain such as we have seen (and alas are continuing to see)?
This is all good stuff, but realistically speaking the prospects for a quick “fix” are not at all good. In fact one need look no further than to the responses of governments and financial regulators to these recent events to see that the seeds of the next financial crisis have already been sown. And this crisis may not be so far in the future either.
Consider the facts. The overall response of governments and regulators alike to the recent financial crisis has sent a totally wrong message out to the banks. This misguided response has vastly increased the possibility that the same events will repeat themselves in the not too distant future.
To make matters worse, when the next crisis occurs countries may just not be able to take the strain. The events of recent days in Iceland regarding the reimbursement of the British and Dutch governments in the “Icesave Bank” saga and the ongoing financial problems in Greece are portents that the next crisis could be much, much worse.
The single distinguishing feature of the 2007-9 crisis was the huge amounts of financial assistance that was literarily thrown at the banks. Governments across the globe went almost berserk to avoid a systemic collapse of their individual country’s banking systems.
By taking this course of action governments simply reinforced the existent cavalier attitude of the banks. The banks who benefitted the most from the support of the state were in all probability the ones who presented the most serious risks to the financial system; the banks who should most probably been allow to go to the wall.
Because governments and regulatory authorities provided such massive assistance to banks and securities firms these governments have in effect created a sort of automatic disaster insurance fund. Bank executives now know that their banks will not be allowed to go under. This is going to lead the banking industry generally to their bad pre-crisis habits; habits of taking dangerous and unjustified risks once again, in the certain knowledge that that they will not be allowed to fail. “Too-big-to-fail” was (and is) the cry and governments have been all too eager to dance to this tune.
A factor which is so conveniently ignored is that for many banks across the globe the pain is not yet over. These banks are going to continue to experience losses for some time to come. These losses could still be extensive, as foreclosures continue to mount amidst a stagnating property market and continuing high levels of unemployment.
If governments could say with any absolute conviction that they would never, ever bail out another bank again, there would be some hope of averting a future crisis. However governments are fickle, driven by the winds of political opportunism.
When the crisis returns, as it surely must, we will see a replay of what we saw before. Indeed certain recent developments at some of the banking culprits from the last round are a clear indication that some banks are back to their bad old ways with massive profits and obscene bonus payments becoming the norm once again.
Clearly any attempts by various governments to “fix” the system have been a non-starter. To be brutally blunt – it has failed! And the same unfortunately applies too, to “fixes” that are planned. If they haven’t been started on yet the chances of them ever happening are less and less likely with each day that passes.
Unless governments and regulators seriously look at the failed systems and repair them properly in a manner that avoids the current implied guarantees of support “no matter what“, we are doomed to relive the events of 2007-9 again and again and again.
Friday, 1 January 2010
New Year - Welcome 2010
Welcome 2010! On this first day of the new year and the first day of the second decade of the 21st century we take a quick look at what folk on the street in London see and hope for (courtesy of The Economist).
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Training Courses for Q1 & Q2 2010
Citadel Advantage's scheduled training courses for Q1 & Q2, 2010 are now available to view or to download as a PDF for handy reference.
Monday, 21 December 2009
Some Great Quotations
Another year is drawing to a close … The year that is passing has unlike recent years been a tumultuous year, a year of concerns and of disappointments.
Now as we pause at the brink of 2010 it is time to reflect … on our lives, our disappointments, the future ….
There are many great leaders both past, present. Are you one of them? Here are some words of wisdom to live by.
Take a quick peek at this moment of inspiration and ask yourself "Who do I respect and who can I emulate to be a better person - who is emulating me? "
Click here for GREAT QUOTES FROM GREAT LEADERS
Royal Bank of Scotland's cheque system falls because of EDS mainframe failure
The Royal Bank of Scotland's cheque clearing system fell over on the 15th December after a massive mainframe failure at HP Enterprise Services (formally EDS).
An IBM Z10 at HP Enterprise Services's site in Stockley Park, near London apparently failed because microcode fixes had not been applied. The vendor's disaster recovery plan saw processes switched to an IBM Z10 in Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, but this machine also failed to work, according to a report in UK technical journal. “The Register”.
The problem affected several large customers, including RBS, which saw its cheque clearing system go down for at least 12 hours, causing a huge backlog, says the Register, citing "insiders".
EDS was acquired in a $13.9 billion deal last year by HP, which promptly revealed plans to axe over 24,000 jobs worldwide.
According to “The Register” the Stockley Park hardware team, who would have made the microcode fixes, have all been made redundant, with a similar problem facing the Mitcheldean site.
An IBM Z10 at HP Enterprise Services's site in Stockley Park, near London apparently failed because microcode fixes had not been applied. The vendor's disaster recovery plan saw processes switched to an IBM Z10 in Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, but this machine also failed to work, according to a report in UK technical journal. “The Register”.
The problem affected several large customers, including RBS, which saw its cheque clearing system go down for at least 12 hours, causing a huge backlog, says the Register, citing "insiders".
EDS was acquired in a $13.9 billion deal last year by HP, which promptly revealed plans to axe over 24,000 jobs worldwide.
According to “The Register” the Stockley Park hardware team, who would have made the microcode fixes, have all been made redundant, with a similar problem facing the Mitcheldean site.
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