by Adam Oldfield

‘Frictionless Banking’ is one of those industry terms that feels like it has already become a cliché. In reality, it has become a more important topic than ever. Over the last 36 months, the Financial Services industry appears to have reached a consensus on what the term actually means. Broadly speaking, frictionless banking once only referred to the streamlining of back office processes in order to deliver quicker turnarounds and reduce internal costs.

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After the Global Economy Meeting (GEM)1, which took place on the occasion of the BIS Annual General Meeting, Agustín Carstens, Chairman of the GEM, made the following statement. Continue reading…

by Christophe Donay

Results from the UK’s referendum on membership of the European Union (EU) indicate that voters have decided the UK should leave the EU. This result is likely to have wide political, economic and financial market repercussions, leading us to alter our economic and market forecasts and, potentially, our asset allocation. Continue reading…

On 23 June, the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU). This has significant implications for the UK.  The FCA is in very close contact with the firms we supervise as well as the Treasury, the Bank of England and other UK authorities, and we are monitoring developments in the financial markets.

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Following an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority Michael Nascimento (DOB: 28/06/1977); Hugh Edwards (DOB: 13/07/1982); Stuart Rea (DOB: 12/02/1968); Ryan Parker (previously known as Ryan Sell DOB 26/11/1992) and Jeannine Lewis (DOB: 15/09/1967), all of whom live in London and the South East, appeared today before Southwark Crown Court charged with conspiracy to defraud, together with offences under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the Fraud Act 2006.  Continue reading…

Risk management is growing in stature within businesses, but there is more work to be done, according to Airmic’s technical director, Julia Graham. Speaking at the launch of a report by ACE on the changing role of the risk manager, Julia said that risk management is transitioning from a discipline to a profession. “There is no doubt that we are tomorrow’s risk leaders,” she said. “But we absolutely need to make sure that risk managers are equipped with the right skills.”

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Velocimetrics, today announces that firms adopting VMX EndToEnd will be able to provide an unlimited number of users with direct access to its powerful, actionable insights without incurring additional cost or implementation effort. Introducing a new secure browser-based user interface, clients will be able to retrieve VMX EndToEnd’s rich analytics from anywhere via a laptop, desktop or mobile device.  Continue reading…

Damian Clarke, a former equities trader at Schroders Investment Management has today been sentenced to two years imprisonment having pleaded guilty to nine counts of insider dealing. Confiscation proceedings will also be pursued against Mr Clarke.
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by Mark Flinders and Mario Morkos

In the wake of the financial crisis, the cost of complying with new regulations has risen dramatically for financial services organisations. Delivering regulatory change is an expensive business – so much so that, according to the Confederation of British Industry, banks now say that reducing regulatory costs should be the top priority for the UK government[1]. The rise in regulatory costs is tied, in part, to the expansion of the risk management function. Increasingly, however, the function is under the same pressure as other parts of the organisation to reduce costs. Shareholders concerned about falling margins want to see all functions – including the risk management function – play their part in delivering costs savings.

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sanctioned BSI Bank Limited (BSI Bank) and gave notice of intention to withdraw its status as a merchant bank in Singapore for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management oversight of the bank’s operations, and gross misconduct by the bank’s staff. MAS also referred to the Public Prosecutor the names of six members of BSI Bank’s senior management and staff to examine whether any criminal offences had been committed.