Archive for the ‘Special Features’ Category

Wachovia Bank wants three things for its external customers, said Jesse Fearrington, director of cross-channel solutions in retail and channel technology. “We want consistency. Regardless of which channel they come to us on, we want them to get the same information. The channels have grown up with their own sets of logic so in ... Full story

In studying over 200 financial institutions, Accenture found that strong organic growth is a distinguishing characteristic of high performing businesses. In many cases, market premiums from growth leaders exceed 20 percent. A closer look at these businesses shows they have de-emphasized cost-cutting and efficiency programs as a way to deliver long-term positive market ... Full story

Microsoft introduced a new approach to banking at the BAI Retail Delivery Conference. Branded “experienceBanking,” this new approach flips the usual Microsoft strategy on its head, and looks at banking technology from the customer’s point of view. What does the customer want, how can the bank respond, and how can technology help rather than, as often happens today, stand in the way? At the conference, Microsoft ... Full story

The industry is moving slowly on Check 21, partly because several major banks have just completed mergers, while small banks which lack research capabilities are waiting to see what the big players do. Analysts at Financial Insights predict that the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act will lead to a state of ... Full story

Washington Trust Bank, looking for a way to grow its retail banking business, saw sales referrals leap by 620 percent in one month, after installing Fincentric’s Wealthview Leadbuilder and training its branch staff in sales. “The results were so dramatic that we hadn’t quite thought through how to manage all these referrals,” said Jim ... Full story

Moving beyond the hype, Roger Lang, director, marketing and development at NYC’s Cornell Theory Center, shows how Web services will underpin explosive growth of high-performance computing in financial applications. An increasingly complex and competitive global trading environment, shortened product development cycles, enormous pressure on costs – these are some of the conditions defining what we may as well call reality financial services. With regulators, clients and investors ... Full story