Bank Technology News articles from September 2004

Bank Technology News archives from September 2004

Crime: BankHook A Targets 50 Big Banks: Via pop-up ad, 10,000 accounts compromised.
September 1, 2004... A mid-summer cyber attack in which 10,000 global customers' data was stolen highlights just how vulnerable bank Web sites and Internet browsers are, even in today's heightened awareness of security. Amid talk of firewalls and encryption,...

Mortgage: Giants Are Sharpening Their AVMs: RFC, Countrywide and Wamu are honing models.(Automated Valuation Models)
September 1, 2004... In the face of climbing interest rates and lower volumes of mortgages, refinancings, and home equity loans, lenders are keen to find ways to keep profits up. Reducing their own costs is a good place to look, and that's what's driving lenders to...

Auto Financing: Full e-Contracts Leave the Lot: DealerTrack, RouteOne products square off.
September 1, 2004... Auto financiers of all stripes, from banks to captives, are getting the lead out when it comes to adopting electronic auto loan contracts, as dealers, lenders and capital markets players get more comfortable with the latest e-lending makes and...

Consumer Credit Takes Center Stage.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... TowerGroup says banks are still managing their portfolios' credit risk reactively, not proactively. That means more risk. Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com http://www.banktechnews.com

Edit Index.
September 1, 2004... A ABN Amro 42 Alexander Forbes 53 Allied Irish Bank 31 B Bank Administration Institute 70 Bank One ...

The Skinny On Fraud: Banks Aren't That Helpful When It Hits.
September 1, 2004... Telephone and Internet banking afford consumers bill payment and purchasing conveniences at a time when most are desperately seeking an eighth day in the week. Time is so precious that most people can't live without such technological...

Automation: Workforce Management Is Getting Warm and Fuzzy: New strategies in human resource technology are focused on fostering worker comfort and loyalty.
September 1, 2004... They're not going so far as to brand it employee relationship management and put it in the jargon toolbox, but many of the human resources technology platforms being rolled out are taking a decided shift toward employee friendliness over...

News Makers.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... ABA Survey Finds CIO Jobs tough to fill Information-technology positions are among the toughest jobs to fill for community banks, according to an American Bankers Association survey. Also difficult to find are compliance and trust...

Top Tech Deals.(Intelenet Global Services)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Number One Barclays has acquired a 50 percent stake in Intelenet Global Services, an India-based business-process outsourcing firm, from Housing Development Finance Corp. Barclays and HDFC plan to operate the firm as a 50/50 joint venture....

Protection: Getting CERT-ified: Teams Thwart Viruses: Strike teams are one way to keep bank computer infrastructures' safe.(Computer Emergency Response Team)
September 1, 2004... At first glance, it sounds like a pitch for a television action drama. A team of dedicated, technology savvy hotshots band together to thwart computer hackers and rid the landscape of computer viruses and other nefarious cyber beasts. ...

CERT Team Leader Responsibilities.(Computer Emergency Response Team)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... A CERT team leader's job can be a bear. Besides getting management on board, dealing with budgets and fighting viruses, a CERT team leader must also: * Determine and define the team reporting structure, authority and organizational model...

Call Centers: Outsourcing Dominates As Banks Seek Savings: Banks' growing willingness to spend on technology is driving the push. They'll spend $419 million in '04.
September 1, 2004... Despite the American backlash against offshoring, banks that make customer service a top priority aren't keeping call centers off the table. After software hosting, call center services will be the second most common service outsourced by...

Customer Service: E-Mails Falling on Some Banks' Deaf Ears: A consultant says more than 25 percent of financial institutions don't respond to all on-line inquiries.
September 1, 2004... The Internet and e-mail are so much a part of everyday life, you'd think that electronic discourse between bank customers and their institution of choice would be as commonplace as a telephone call. And if that wasn't enough, that most...

Techies.(EquaTerra)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Daniel Taylor was named evp and director of operations and technology at Bancshares of Florida. Technology research firm Gartner Inc. hired Gerald Mintz as president of Gartner Executive Programs. Lisa Maio Ross was tapped as director of...

Message Board.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... "If drug traffickers took over a [foreign] correspondent institution, which has happened in the past, and started moving illegal money through it, domestic FIs wouldn't even know." Chris Mathers, author of "Crime School," on poor...

Risk Management: Is Consumer Credit A Too Risky Business?: TowerGroup says lenders do well with individual risk, but their overall portfolio risk management needs work.
September 1, 2004... Credit risk is a wild card for many lenders. According to Christine Pratt, TowerGroup analyst, lenders do a pretty good job of managing "real" credit risk, which she defines as individual creditworthiness as well as insider-loan fraud, but are...

Recommendations for Protecting Customer Information.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... DO: Minimize the number of employees with access to entire customer records Put unique identifiers in different files Use randomly generated key codes to link files DON'T: Use social security number (SSN) as a key field...

Credit Risk Touches All Processing Segments in Retail Credit.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Originations * Application * Decision * Closing Servicing * Loan review * Discounting (indirect) * Booking * Loan document retention * Payment processing * Statement processing * Collateral...

On the Trail of Dirty Funds: Tailing Money Launderers: Chris Mathers thinks like a criminal. Considering he used to play one in the underworld, that's not a stretch.(Interview)
September 1, 2004... As a former undercover cop in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the DEA and the FBI, Chris Mathers often posed as a money launderer and drug trafficker so he could dive deep below the surface of organized crime syndicates. Now, he's a...

Trading: Direct Execution Goes Mainstream: Even though direct-execution services upend the tradition brokerage model, large institutions are hip to the control it offers. So the NYSE is pushing ahead with Direct Plus.
September 1, 2004... With the acquisitions of Lava Trading by Citigroup and Sonic Financial Technologies by The Bank of New York, the brokerage industry has solidified its movement toward offering direct-execution services to its institutional-investor clients. ...

Wooing Wealth: 'Family office' Feeling is Key to luring HNW: The $136 trillion in wealth transfer that's expected to occur is alluring to banks. But to attract it, they need to link with businesses that advise families-and get their CRM houses in order.(wealth management)(service integration)
September 1, 2004... Banks and brokers will fail to crack the retail gem that is the high-net worth investor unless they seek unprecedented partnerships with real estate, tax and law experts. They also should spend wisely on cleansing and integrating disparate...

Trouble Shooting: Allied Irish Finds Tonic for Service Pains: The Dublin bank has had some bad press in the wake of a pair of scandals in the last two years, but it believes Managed Objects has a server product that can keep customers from fleeing.
September 1, 2004... The likes of bricks and baseball bats are giving telling blows lately to scandal-weary Allied Irish Bank, a $98 billion firm and one of the top two in that country. They're the kind of bruises-$41.9 million set aside because the bank...

Overdraft Protection: Community Banks Cast an E-Lifeboat: The computerized system automatically covers consumers when they tap out, giving community banks like Lake City, Clarksburg and Metamora a means to compete with large banks.(overdraft-privilege systems)
September 1, 2004... Automatic overdraft-privilege systems are making the tough trick of satisfying customers while increasing fee revenue easier for community banks. Users and purveyors say computerized systems that automatically determine when to foot the...

Good Question: Bank Directors Want Answers From CIOs on IT Issues: Board members need to know what their banks are doing to remain secure and compliant. More than ever, those answers lie with the IT team, forcing bank directors to become tech-savvy and forge close ties with the CIO.(Chief Information Officers)
September 1, 2004... Nothing gets a bank board of directors' attention like the word "liability." Bank board members treat the term liability like vampires react to wolfsbane, or like an eight-year-old responds to broccoli. They hate it. In the bank directors'...

Key Questions Bank Board Members Should Ask Their IT Departments.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Has the IT team reviewed the bank's information security program and is it satisfied that the program addresses the regulatory requirements for securing customer information? Has the IT team reviewed the bank's risk-assessment program and...

Communications Networks: Banks Cave In To Peerless Pressure: ING Direct and ABN Amro are among the early adopters of made-for-government Peerless IP, which is penetrating the private sector. Why? High security, that's why.
September 1, 2004... Just as the Internet can trace its routes to Cold War military strategy, one of the Web's more promising cousins, Peerless IP, or Internet protocol, also has its genesis in an ongoing battle against an omnipresent danger. Security-wary...

Credit Unions: CUs' Projects Get Cybercollaborative: Coast Hills, Sandia and Pennsylvania State Employees credit unions are turning workstations into centers of cooperation, putting everyone literally on the same page.
September 1, 2004... The optimism that Jeff York, CEO at Coast Hills Federal Credit Union, has been exhibiting lately stems from a superior understanding of his business, following installation of a collaborative Web-based application in February that integrates...

Wire Transfers: Browser Product Scores at Arizona's FNBA: Web-based products are gaining traction, as banks address security concerns.(First National Bank of Arizona)
September 1, 2004... First National Bank of Arizona's mortgage business went from zero to five billion originations in just five years, necessitating a major overhaul that's led to Web-enabling its wire-transfer operation, an approach that's gaining traction, as...

Communications Networks Telecom's Future Is in Banks' Hands: Corporate data is now telecommunications' main business line. Retail and investment banks have more demand for information than other market segments.
September 1, 2004... Several themes in the telecommunications industry that have been mostly talk in recent years are coming to fruition in 2004-most notably a gradual move away from residential service in favor of providing corporate data services-and that's...

Merger Conversions: MMBC Keeps it Smooth By Staying Central: A single vendor relationship helps the bank maintain an aggressive buying slate.
September 1, 2004... Merchants & Manufacturers Bancorp. has a busy docket over the next few months: convert a handful of acquired banks, and do the job thoroughly enough to keep customers from becoming disenfranchised and fast enough to be ready for more...

Employee Management: Keeping Staff In Step With Regs, Economics: E-Learning's becoming an indelible part of a bank's compliance and sales toolbox.
September 1, 2004... The pressures of competition, the realities of consolidation and a rapidly changing regulatory environment mean employees at all corporate levels are constantly climbing a steep learning curve, and institutions are increasingly turning to...

Controlling Customer Interaction.
September 1, 2004... Everyone in business today is focused on doing more with less. Organizations are continually looking for ways to cut costs and streamline processes, while still maintaining profitable growth. Most organizations are also faced with much more...

Lender Buys Demand Data Management.
September 1, 2004... The end of the recent refinance boom has caused many to become bullish with respect to the acquisition of new technologies. Not long ago, mortgage lenders could not hire fast enough to process the major influx of volume caused by the low...

Smart-Client Servers Beat Fat and Thin.
September 1, 2004... According to industry analysts, banks are poised to spend more than $550 million on branch renewal in 2004. Banks are adding new technology to their branches, with plans to significantly enhance operational efficiencies, increase customer...

FIs are Using Alerts to Win the Service Game.(Financial Institutions)
September 1, 2004... Financial institutions have long known through customer surveys that service is an important differentiator. But how do you establish customer service as a competitive advantage without "breaking" the bank? The answer for many financial...

Getting Smart About Business Intelligence.(Bank cards )
September 1, 2004... Whether purchasing merchandise or services or paying recurring monthly bills, school tuition or taxes, consumers have embraced plastic payment cards to complete an ever increasing variety of transactions. Last year for the first time,...