All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
Instant issuance comes to m-banking
US instant issuance vendor Dynamic Card Solutions (DCS) and m-banking solutions provider Tyfone have partnered to enable US banks to offer customers in-branch mobile phone personalisation Under the agreement, DCS mobile personalisation platform CardWizard Perso-to-go personalises cardholder information onto a chip embedded in Tyfones SideTap MicroSD memory card.
ASB launches NZ savings first
New Zealand-based ASBhas launched Save the Change, the latest attempt by a major bank to promote a savings-based affinity programme in a bid to encourage the savings habit A first in the New Zealand market, ASB customers can now elect to round up their debit card transactions to the nearest multiple of NZD1 ($0.75), NZD2, NZD5 or NZ10, depending on their savings goal.
OCBC unveils elite card for millionaires only
With rising affluence in this region, there is an opportunity for a well-designed credit card programme catering for a group of global consumers who are prepared to pay for hard to come by luxury products and unique experiences,” said Alice Goh, OCBCs head of credit cards.
Emirates Q3 profits drop by 60%
The United Arab Emirates largest bank by assets, Emirates NBD, has posted a third quarter net profit of AED 424m ($115.4m), down 60 percent from the year ago quarter, missing analysts forecasts. Net interest income declined 6% to AED 5.17bn in the first 9 months of 2010, compared with AED 5.49 billion in the comparable period of 2009 due to a 24 basis point reduction in the net interest margin to 2.55 percent.
Banking on the future
Although digital technology is making bank transactions more efficient, it is increasingly difficult for lenders to build close relationships with consumers Author and marketing consultant Brett King tells Douglas Blakey the banking system is broken: not because of regulation, but because banks no longer understand their customers.
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Multichannel investment yet to pay off
Investment in multichannel distribution in retail banking is yet to contain cost or increase revenue A survey from consultants Oliver Wyman concludes multichannel is a topic higher on the agenda than ever but remains an organisational and operational challenge, owing to limited distribution models
Centre of gravity has to change
An RBI roundtable held in Dubai brought together senior retail bankers from the region to discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead, as the banking market recovers from the downturn
Citi set for £175m Egg loss
Citigroups sale of UK-based online subsidiary Egg is nearing a close with Barclays, private equity group Blackstone and one other unnamed bank reportedly among the remaining bidders. Egg is expected to be sold for up to £400m ($631.4m) – £175m less than Citi paid for the division it acquired from Prudential in 2007.. In September 2009, Citi told RBI that the banks retail interests in the UK, Belgium, Spain and Greece had been assigned to the banks non-core CitiHoldings unit.
Regulation, trust and recovery dominates Sibos 2010
Sibos 2010 will kick off for one week on 25 October in Amsterdam, with around 8,000 attendees expected at Europes biggest banking conference of the year. Headline speakers at Sibos 2010 include: Stephen Hester, CEO, Royal Bank of Scotland; Om Prakash Bhatt, chairman, State Bank of India; Hans van der Noordaa, CEO, Banking Benelux, ING and Martin Blessing, CEO, Commerzbank. Organised by the member-owned cooperative SWIFT the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication the event is now in its 37th year.
Sales gap narrows among branch staff
The performance range between the highest and lowest-performing banks narrowed during 2009, while average sales continue to trail the strongest-performing banks in Western Europe, according to Finalta. Finaltas 6th annual Sales Productivity Benchmarking and Best Practice Study, found the difference between the top and bottom-performing mass market advisers (or personal bankers) at UK banks had reduced to 18% in 2009, from a gap of 47% in 2008.