Commentary

Unlocking the synergies between Affluent/HNW and SME banking

Asian-based banks are aggressively expanding their Affluent/High Net Worth (HNW) banking value propositions in light of growing economic prosperity and affluence within the region.

Unlocking the synergies between Affluent/HNW and SME banking

Asian-based banks are aggressively expanding their Affluent/High Net Worth (HNW) banking value propositions in light of growing economic prosperity and affluence within the region.

Indian Central Bank issues liquidity infusion

Last week the Indian Central Bank took us by a surprise with some of the retrograde steps which calmed down the unrest in the fixed income and equity market.

Here are the key challenges for the new authority of finance in Taiwan

Head of Financial Supervisory Commission in Taiwan has been replaced in July. In his inauguration speech, Mr. Tseng M.J. pointed out that cross boarder business development will be his priority for upgrading Taiwanese financial institutions.

Why linking central bank base interest rate to unemployment level is unwise

Consultants and others who have perfected the art of talking a lot without saying anything (and getting paid for their efforts) are frequently in the habit of referring to "paradigm shifts", even if not everyone is sure what "paradigm" actually means.

Why customer 'sensation' is important in Asian retail and premium banking (part 1)

The retail and hospitality industries have long cottoned on to the fact that enhancing the customer’s 360 degree experience of a brand are ninth tenths of the battle for market share.

Analytics help fuel growth & detect fraud in the financial sector

Financial services institutions (FSIs) are among the most data driven of all businesses. Operating under strict regulatory environment, commercial banks and insurance companies are required to store and process many years of transaction data. The pervasiveness of electronic trading has also meant that the capital market firms both generate and act upon hundreds of millions of messages and data every day.

4 things banks need to know about DDoS attacks

To cope with an increased number of large distributed denial of service attacks, banks must not only have plans in place - they should consider a broad set of defensive tools that combine on-premise technologies and cloud-based scrubbing services.

RMB offshoring gathers pace

Over the past couple of years, the issuance of offshore RMB bonds has soared, with levels expected to reach the equivalent of 360 billion yuan this year. To address the growing interest from international investors, a number of markets - in particular Taiwan and Singapore - have established offshore RMB centres in an attempt to capture a share of this lucrative business.

What Asian banks need to know about customers' trust and fair treatment (Part 4)

In the fourth and final part of a special series of reports regarding conduct risk consumer protection regulations, we focus on some of the tactical implementation activities that will be required to demonstrate commitment to the fair treatment of customers.

2 reasons why the Sino-US Dialogue did not focus on the value of RMB

The fifth China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue concluded on 11 July. Unlike previous meetings, the emphasis was not on the value of the renminbi (RMB). There seem to be two reasons. First, China’s current surplus has come down to 2.3% of GDP in 2012, comfortably below the 4% proposed by the US as a way of defusing tension over currencies. Second, the RMB has appreciated 3.4% against the USD since Aug12; the most among Asia ex-Japan currencies. Over the same period, the RMB has strengthened 6.6% in nominal trade-weighted terms.

An over-engineered finance industry has gone too far

The other day I conducted a simple statistical experiment. I calculated the “value-at-risk” exposure for an hypothetical investment portfolio consisting of just one bond holding.

6 implication areas in digital strategy Asian wealth managers should bear in mind

Wealth management companies, like those in many other industries experiencing digital disruption, need to adapt quickly and pragmatically to determine their digital strategy.

Legal principles to watch out for in trade credit insurance

In my last article, I wrote about Trade Credit Insurance (TCI) and its usefulness.

Check out the most in demand jobs in Asia's banking and finance sector

There are still pockets of skills shortages throughout the Asian finance and banking sector – giving us evidence that employers are looking for people who can help them make informed business decisions, maintain costs and comply with regulations. 

What you need to know about the Indian debt market

Debt market outlook Indian debt market witnessed heightened volatility during the last week due to Central Bank’s measure to curb liquidity in the system by reducing the limit on LAF repo window to Rs 75,000 Cr and simultaneously increasing the cost of borrowing under the marginal standing facility rate by 200 bps to 10.25%.

Which Asian transaction bank really understands their customers?

Understanding the Customer is a key metric in Asian Transactional Banking Markets, and is influenced by a growing number of product and service attributes. But how well do Asian Banks really understand their customers?

Why Southeast Asia is a hotspot for financial services M&As

Despite the global economic and regional political uncertainty leading to a cautious approach towards M&As, the financial services sector in Southeast Asia’s (SEA) developing markets has seen buoyant activity. In H1 2013, several big-ticket transactions took place.