What we are reading … 3rd April 2013

Mobile Chat – Passing Fad or Key Capability? http://shar.es/d7doo

Uganda: Easing Mobile Money Transfer http://shar.es/drnzU

US Lawmaker Readying Bill to Punish Companies That Use Hacked Secrets: Report http://dld.bz/cubpq

Ban social media as a distraction? No, it boosts productivity http://dld.bz/cubpp

What do consumers want? Do an RBS and ask them http://www.finextra.com/Community/FullBlog.aspx?blogid=7512 U.S. Banks Fighting ATM Malware http://www.fastcompany.com/node/3007608

Consumer Using Phones to Bank, but Not Buy

“Americans are increasingly using their phones to avoid a trip to the bank, but they still have little interest in having mobile devices replace their wallets.

The cellphone users tapping into banking services increased 33% during 2012, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday. Nearly half of those with smart phones accessed a banking app or mobile website in the past year, the survey of 2,600 consumers found.”

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What we are reading … 2nd April 2013

New City watchdog to trawl Twitter for bad bank behaviour http://dld.bz/cubph

Why Banks Love Debit Cards Again http://ti.me/14y7rm8

Tablet Banking Forecast 2013-2017 http://dld.bz/cubpd

Small Businesses Prefer Traditional Banking And Still Rely Heavily On Branches http://bit.ly/14xpn06

U.S. Banks Fighting ATM Malware http://www.fastcompany.com/node/3007608

Snap happy mobile banking customers deposit checks via photos http://dld.bz/cubnE

The Benefits of In-House Training

Citadel Advantage Training provides tailored training solutions delivered at a location of your choice. Using the combination of the experience of our conference and course trainers and the specific needs of your organisation, we can deliver a cost effective training solution in a format which best meets your organisational goals.

By using our In-House training, you will benefit from the expertise and knowledge that is associated with Citadel Advantage gained over many years of hands-on in--the-field experience. Whether it is one-to-one coaching or group training for a small team or an entire department, Citadel Advantage In-House Training will provide you with a development programme to meet your business objectives.

Citadel Advantage offers a wide and comprehensive range of professional courses and training for commercial and central banks in the three core areas of operational risk management,, payment systems and operations/back office management.

Examine our wide range of course offerings at http://www.citadeladvantage.com/catalog.htm

Benefits of In-house Training include:

A tailored solution to fit around your organisational needs

• Our product offering ranges from our off the shelf conferences or courses to creating a a specific training solution to meet your organisations exact needs. 

Experienced trainers with in-depth knowledge

• Our small team of trainers are professionals who are not only experts in their field but also have extensive in-depth business-specific knowledge, with exceptional ability to communicate this to participants.
• Our trainers have a long standing track record of delivering outstanding training programs in the UK, USA, Europe, Africa, China, Dubai, Singapore, & Hong Kong

Better working practices and improved internal communications

• When training at a team level, your staff achieve more than just training on the course subject area.
• In-house training allows the team to interact in a positive way with co-workers at a peer level as well as management providing added organisational benefits.

Reduced costs

• Save money on costs associated with expensive air- travel to training venues, hotel accommodation, meals and time out of the office.

In-depth evaluation

• Extensive feedback package following the training, with contributions from the facilitator as well as the participants.

To discuss your organisations training needs please contact Mr. Richard Barr

• by telephone:

    Asia Pacific: +852 8175 7916
    Europe: +44 20 7193 5913
    North America: +1 408 627 7607

• or by e-mail: at richard@citadeladvantage.com

• or on-line:  CLICK HERE to indicate your interests and we will get back to you.

Move Your Money

Events these past few weeks in Cyprus have left most of us in a state of shock. All those lofty principles and guarantees built around  the euro have been proved to be nothing more than a mirage. The warning could not be clearer for depositors, be they private individuals, businesses or large corporations. The Eurosystem exists solely on trust - and if trust goes perhaps ones money should be moving too.

The following video, from the Move Your Money project which is a US based non-profit campaign that encourages individuals and institutions to divest from the nation's largest Wall Street banks and move to local financial institutions. 

The Move Your Money project states this clearly; "Little has changed to prevent another financial crisis or to end 'Too Big To Fail,' and with Congress unwilling to act, we are encouraging individuals to take power into their own hands by voting with their dollars and no longer contributing to a financial system that has led our country astray. We are a campaign that gives people real, concrete actions they can take to create a more sane, stable and localized banking system."

The sentiments expressed are as valid for Europe as they are for the US - neither bankers nor politicians can be trusted.

For additional information read Leo W. Gerard’s “Bank on Being Bilked”

US Judge finds for banks, dismisses most claims in Libor lawsuits

“A judge on Friday dismissed a "substantial portion" of claims facing a number of banks in a barrage of lawsuits accusing them of interest-rate rigging.

U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan ruled for the banks, which include Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and others, of allegedly manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate, commonly known as Libor.

The judge granted the banks' motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' federal antitrust claims and partially dismissed their claims of commodities manipulation. She also dismissed racketeering and state-law claims.

The decision is a significant setback for private plaintiffs, whose lawsuits had been consolidated before the New York judge as part of a multidistrict litigation proceeding.”

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The End of Indian IT Staffing as We Know It

“India's IT outsourcers are promoting "mini CEOs" capable of running businesses on their own, while trimming down on the hordes of entry-level computer coders they normally hire as they try to squeeze more profits out of their staff.’

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