Today's Top Stories Also Noted: Spotlight On... Wall Street firms ban Facebook; News vendors rap China on distribution of data; Financial companies cut online advertising; and much more...
1. Banks to stay course with mobile banking? A lively debate at Bank Technology News: The future of mobile banking. We seem to be at a crossroads again. The idea has been on a roller coaster of opinion for years now. Mobile banking was a non-starter back in the 1990s, but interest in the idea has cropped up again thanks to the rise of Blackberries and similar devices. Bank of America recently launched a browser-based mobile solution. Citibank plans to offer an application developed with mFoundry. Wachovia, SunTrust, Regions Financial, Synovus and BancorpSouth have inked agreements with Firethorn for a mobile application. So why are people still wondering if this will ever take off? Stoking debate, Gartner predicts that by 2010, banks will begin shuttering full-service mobile-banking apps in part because they are too expensive. For more: 2. Is biometric security the answer for SocGen? In the the wake of the rogue trader scandal at Societe General, you have to wonder whether it can happen elsewhere. You can bet that many banks are reviewing their controls right now. But when you are up against a wily rogue, it's not easy. Using colleagues' log-ons, whether they know it or not, seems all too easy. According to media reports, SocGen is pondering the use of biometric technology to aid its cause. It would make the trading floor that much more colorful. Some traders almost certainly will rebel against an eye check before logging on in the morning. Still, you have to admire the zeal. This hardly is the complete answer, but it is an important part of it. It certainly sends a message. For more: 3. Banks go green in virtualization of data centers Banks efforts at embracing green initiatives have been pretty well covered. So it's not a real surprise that they're aiming to green their data centers, traditionally one of the least energy efficient enterprises in most banks. Bank Systems & Technology notes that data centers are notorious energy pigs--and that is starting to really lift costs. Wachovia, among others, is grappling head on with the issue. Virtualization has been a big priority; it makes sense to consolidate servers when possible. This is a relatively new technology for data centers, and most are moving cautiously. Lots of vendors, however, are sensing that data centers represent a good marketing entry point. Microsoft is expected to get in on the act soon. For more: 4. Buyside searching for dark pool transparency The proliferation of dark-pool like services poses big issues for buyside managers. They've got a lot to sort through, and the stakes are high. Brokers are bent on offering every bell and whistle they can think of. Most offering access to dark pools seem to have settled on liquidity as marketing issue No. 1. That makes sense, but it really all comes down to the technology--and that includes the interface. So the great race for an easy-to-use, all-inclusive, high liquidity system is on. As Advanced Trading makes clear, transparency of the algorithms that brokers use to provide access to dark pools may end up being the critical differentiating feature. Citi, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs have encoded dark pools into their software. But you've got to reassure that liquidity is being routed in ways that serve their best interests. It also matters when it comes to fee justification. A tricky area. For more: 5. What to do with XBRL? In the investment game, you have to think seriously about what to do with XBRL. (I'm talking about on the customer end.) The new optimized XML tags will make possible a whole host of new front-end applications, the likes of which we have not seen before. As a mere taste, the SEC has released a "Financial Explorer" on its website to help investors analyze financial data. Financial companies will have to ponder how to use this to enhance their customer experiences. At a minimum, they need to craft applications that will give customers better point and click views of data. Firms also need to think through how these cuts might be integrated with proprietary and other research. It's possible that the new format will lead to a new level of customer-friendly technology--the next round in the brokerage wars. It's still early, but it may be worth it to think about where all this is going. For more: ALSO NOTED TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT... Wall Street firms ban Facebook Company News: Industry News: Regulatory News: And Finally... How to get more from your vendor. Article FierceFinance is the financial services daily monitor. Editor: Jim Kim - jimkim@fiercefinanceIT.com Advertising: Jason Nelson at jason@fiercemarkets.com or call 202.628.8778x10 You may enjoy our sister publications: New to FierceFinance? Sign up for free at www.fiercefinanceIT.com FierceFinanceIT © 2008 FierceMarkets Inc - ® All rights reserved |
Comment
Forward to a friend