Commentary

How Asia Pacific's treasurers should think about Basel III

As a consequence of the financial turmoil in 2008, Basel III adds new requirements for the composition and quality of capital to financial institutions. In Asia Pacific, the first countries already began transposing Basel III into local regulatory rules in 2013 whereas globally, most countries started implementation in 2014.

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How Asia Pacific's treasurers should think about Basel III

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Why banking and finance firms should treat the talent pool as a portfolio

Over a decade ago, factors such as globalisation, deepening of financial product usage, and demographic change led the banking and financial sector on a dynamic trajectory. Essentially, the financial services industry (FSI) built its growth and returns model around these drivers.

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Turning the spotlight on the backstage office

Like any superstar, the front office in financial institutions often hogs the limelight when the firm excels. Nevertheless, everyone knows a good show cannot run without outstanding backstage support.

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Here are Asia's in demand banking and finance jobs right now

Internal Auditors, Regulatory Reporting Analysts, and Financial Planning & Analysis professionals are among the skills in high demand across Asia, according to our latest Hays Quarterly Report of jobs in demand.

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Here's why less is more in Management Information

Banking executives are generally frustrated by the lack of efficient and effective Management Information (MI) that they receive to run their businesses in Asia. Sources of this frustration include MI duplication which often exists across business functions; laborious and error-prone manual production of MI; production of reports that lack focus or insight; gaps in MI such as missing HR and/or sales data; and poor MI storage, governance, and delivery.

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Trade finance woes in emerging Myanmar - Part 2

On the sanctions front, the EU recently lifted all sanctions against Myanmar (the UN does not sanction Myanmar at all), however, the US approach is still complicated. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets and Controls (OFAC) regulations still “does not authorise, in connection with the provision of security services, the exportation of financial services to the Burmese Ministry of Defense, state or non-state armed groups (which includes the military) or entities owned 50% or more by any of the foregoing.”1

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Top takeaways for security in Asian banks

Cybercrime has become a major global issue that is seeing increased sophistication with cybercriminals striving to find new and improved ways to access networks. The result is a sizable financial loss to individuals and organisations with serious damage to brand image and reputation.

Commentary

Trade finance woes in emerging Myanmar - Part 1

“Moving forward in unity to a peaceful and prosperous community,” the Myanmar slogan echoed as it chaired the 2014 ASEAN summit. This was the first time Myanmar has chaired ASEAN since joining in 1997 and the latest step in a series of events that Myanmar has taken to join the international community.

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Applause for the MAS's new securities trading rules

Last October’s penny stock crash that wiped out an estimated S$8 billion and rattled Singaporean investors’ confidence prompted the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to develop new guidelines designed to bolster the strength of the local stock market.

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Is the fraud strategy of Asian banks ready for the football fever?

As hordes of travelers descend upon Brazil to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime festivities of the World Cup, many of them will be blissfully unaware that fraudsters are already putting into action new ways to steal their credit card details.

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CNH: Offshore loans set to grow and here's why

Ten years into the internationalisation of the currency, Hong Kong’s yuan loan business has lagged behind other offshore business. Current outstanding yuan loans of Hong Kong banks, for example, total only RMB123 billion, about one-sixth of the RMB704 billion dim sum bond market (including certificates of deposits) (Chart 1).

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Here are the skills in demand in the Asian banking and finance sector

All-round Finance Managers, Regulatory Reporting Analysts, and Financial Planning & Analysis professionals are among the skills in high demand across Asia, according to our latest Hays Quarterly Hotspots list of jobs in demand.

Commentary

Here's why the "through-train" scheme is a win-win

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), on 10 April, approved in principle, the development of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, a pilot program for establishing mutual stock market access between China and Hong Kong.

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What you need to know about the use of yuan for trade finance

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced its intention to widen the official ±1% trading band on 19 February. Since then, it steadily fixed the official USD/CNY parity rate higher to 6.1475 on 21 March, a level not seen since early November.

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Rising standards in the funds industry

There is a current trend in offshore fund and deal structuring towards more compliance and corporate governance. This is evident across two strong investment themes in which our clients are involved.

Commentary

When satisfactory is no longer enough for your risk, compliance, and audit function

At a conference in November 2012, Thomas J. Curry, Head of US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said: “We are no longer willing to accept audit and risk management functions that are simply satisfactory. We are looking for excellence. Our expectation now is that large institutions will meet the standard of ‘strong’ for audit and risk management functions, and that the independent directors will take a strong hand in ensuring compliance.”

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What threat legacy systems pose to financial institutions

In Singapore, the investment management industry and related financial institutions often face the issue of legacy IT systems built in the 1980s or 90s.

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