Australian Banking & Finance back issues from March 2001:
Industry punts on CRM.(electronic customer relations management)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... The world's major financial institutions have admitted they do not know how CRM or eCRM - touted as the key new-age solutions for higher revenue and profits - have affected return on investment. Market analysis firm, Datamonitor, surveyed more than than 500 banks, brokerages and ...
FIRST VOICE PAYMENT GATEWAY.(VeCommerce Ltd. launches VePay, voice enabled real time credit card bill payment gateway)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... THE FINANCIAL SERVICES industry has been presented with Australia's first voice enabled real time credit card bill payment gateway. VeCommerce Ltd, the leading supplier of natural language speech recognition (NLSR) and voice enabled e-commerce solutions, has launched VePay, ...
Commonwealth unseats NAB in funds flow.(Commonwealth Bank of Australia Inc., National Australia Bank Ltd.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 12, 2001 ... COMMONWEALTH BANK HAS unseated National Australia Bank to take top place in new business gained in managing funds for individuals, according to research firm Assirt. About 60% of CBA's $635 million of net retail inflows during the quarter ended December 30 was into its cash management ...
RAMS now part of mortgage portal.(OnePort, Citibank N.A., Risk Analysis Management System)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... RAMS HOME LOANS' PARTNERSHIP with mortgage portal, OnePort is now live. OnePort is Australia's first home loan distribution platform to provide mortgage brokers access to multiple lenders and products via one source. For the first time, consumers will be also able to source a ...
HSBC restructures key business lines.(HSBC Holdings PLC)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... LONDON: GLOBAL BANKING GROUP HSBC has moved to bring its origination and advisory businesses closer together in both debt and equities, reflecting a growing trend among international investment banks. Plans to reorganise its debt and structured finance business were revealed in ...
NCR says it's close to sealing ATM deal.(NCR Corp., eRIC software allows banks to communicate one-on-one with customers)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... NCR SAYS AT LEAST ONE LOCAL bank is close to starting a pilot on its ATM application that made its debut at the Sydney Olympics. The software, codenamed eRIC, allows a bank to effectively communicate one-on-one with its customers. "eRIC takes full advantage of the customer's ...
Credit card fraud on the increase in UK market.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 12, 2001 ... WHILE CREDIT CARD FRAUD HAS been decreasing steadily in the US, it has been rising in the United Kingdom, and bank card executives there say blame the relatively low percentage of phone-authorised transactions. Preliminary figures for 2000 indicate that 0.15% of the total value of ...
Suncorp Metway goes after business custom.(growth of corporate finance)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 12, 2001 ... SUNCORP METWAY IS DEVOTING more time to medium-sized business after growth in this division beat sales expectations by 132% in the latest half year. General manager of business banking, Ray Reimer, said the bank's portfolio, which mainly managed business requiring lending ...
Insurance industry reluctant to outsource.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... AUSTRALIA'S LIFE AND GENERAL insurance industry is bucking a world-wide trend. The industry is reluctant to outsource the custody arrangements for its massive investments, largely because it wants to exercise direct control. In a just-completed ...
on the record.
Mar 12, 2001 ... "We fully accept that we've got to improve the performance of the company and its own efficiency ratios but we think we're on the right track to do that." BENDIGO BANK MANAGING DIRECTOR ROB HUNT, AFTER OPERATING EXPENSES SURGED IN THE LATEST HALF. "We've become a ...
Hockey's Reform Bill may contain surprises.(Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, financial services reform bill)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... THE FINANCIAL SERVICES REFORM Bill is back on the Government's agenda following a surprise announcement from the Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, Joe Hockey, confirming that he would be soon introduce the contentious Bill to parliament. Phillips Fox Manager ...
Private banks lose advantage.(fail to keep with with clients' needs online)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... PRIVATE BANKS ARE FAILING TO keep up with their clients' needs online as a new generation of Web-savvy millionaires turn the tables on the traditional, sedate private banker, a new survey has found. Forrester Research said keeping up with the Web was the single biggest challenge ...
viewpoint.(deregulation of banking industry)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... three respected industry figures have their say Q: Would the financial services industry be better off under a Liberal or Labor Government? Tony Beck, Finance Sector Union, National Secretary Mr Howard - If not you, then who? "Australian ...
Citibank to extend investment centres.(opens flagship Citibank Financial Investment Centre in Sydney)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... CITIBANK HAS OPENED ITS flagship Citibank Financial Investment Centre in Park Street, Sydney, capping off the bank's multimillion dollar transformation from traditional branch network to innovative financial services provider. Located at one of Australia's busiest intersections, ...
We're reliant on US outcome.(David Murray, Commonwealth Bank of Australia)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... ON THE ECONOMY AND THE BANK'S BUSINESS. "There's no doubt that economic growth is stalling. Whether it will have a big impact on a bank in this half is another question. It would be more of an issue for the following year. "Our credit policies and the structure of our ...
Govt won't retreat on economic reform.(Australia)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS moved to quell fears it will retreat on economic reform in the face of a voter backlash ahead of this year's election, but analysts say big changes are off the agenda. The conservative government is walking a fine line between soothing disaffected ...
How intermediaries can avoid legal liability.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... HOW CAN MORTGAGE INTERMEDIARIES arrange loans for borrowers, yet avoid becoming the agent for the borrower and owing a high duty of care and disclosure? The type of legal relationship between an intermediary and the borrower will determine: * the obligations of the ...
Celebrating the success of our business women.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... Patria won the prestigious 2000 Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award from an overall field of 1,200 successful business women for her significant achievements as Managing Director and co-founder of Dome Coffees Australia. "I was overwhelmed by the response from people all ...
Axiss boosts Asian profile.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... AXlSS HAS STEPPED UP ITS efforts to promote Australia as a regional financial centre by launchlng a series of television advertisements in Asia. Chief executive, Les Hosking, said Axiss was trying to boost its profile throughout the Asia/Pacific region through the commercials ...
CFO's under increasing pressure.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... THE NEW ECONOMY HAS PLACED Herculean demands on all senior executives in today's global enterprises. However, the job of chief financial officer has become exceptionally challenging. According to a new study by Killen & Associates, a leading market research firm that focuses on ...
Takeovers, departures alter list.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... There have been several key changes in the top management tier of Australia's financial services sector in the past year. The most notable, of course, is the departure of Colonial chief executive Peter Smedley following the Commonwealth Bank's $9 billion takeover. ...
Privacy legislation creates opportunity for customer-focused financial institutions.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... ONE COMPANY'S NIGHTMARE IS another company's opportunity, according to Dennis Samuel, Director of Sales and Marketing at Sydney-based Acxiom. "Some banks and financial companies are reeling at the task of complying with the recently enacted privacy legislation. But getting ...
Banks must discard `spray and pray' strategy when relating to customers.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... With the current slowdown in the domestic economy tipped to worsen in coming months, CRM will emerge as the strategy that makes the difference between success and failure in the financial sector. Major banks only pay lip-service to the CRM ideals of eliminating departmental ...
CBA focuses on training.(Commonwealth Bank of Australia)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... AS AUSTRALIA'S SECOND BIGGEST bank, the Commonwealth has an immediate advantage in implementing its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies. Head of personal customers, Hugh Harley, says while growing its overall base is important to the bank, the biggest opportunities ...
Unifying people processes and info.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... GETRONICS BELIEVES THAT AN effective CRM strategy involves unifying peopl.e, processes and information at the point of service -- the point of customer contact. Getronics developed the quiz below as a tool to help financial institutions rate their customer relationship ...
Technology upgrade essential.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... BANKING AND FINANCIAL services companies need to enhance and upgrade their CRM technology to incorporate customer interaction on the Web, in order to secure client retention. Peter McNamee, managing director of Aspect Communications Australasia said "perhaps nowhere has the ...
Combining operations and analysis.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... ORGANISATIONS HAVE RUSHED TO embrace what's touted as operational, CRM in the hope of building customer interaction like never before. However, there are two key reasons preventing such hoped for customer utopia. One, large organisations have multiple systems containing customer ...
How to quick-track the sales process.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... WITH ALL THE TALK ABOUT CRM and e-commerce solutions being the dominant worldwide issue for financial services companies a new Internet Selling Solutions vendor has recently opened offices in Sydney to introduce Selectica to Australia. The sales technologies team are CRM ...
Major banks set to compete for customer satisfaction: National.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... Australia's major banks are set to compete strongly for customer satisfaction as they enter a new growth phase. According to the head of the National. Australia Bank's operations in Australia, Mike Pratt, recovery of customer satisfaction "is both a commercial, and shareholder ...
INFORMATION GATEKEEPER A CRITICAL ELEMENT.(customer relationship management)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... THESE DAYS, MOST COMPANIES are investing in CRM-related technologies to gain a better understanding of their customers. But according to Georges Tsitos, the managing director of LASERCOM, the age of CRM poses three primary challenges that every organisation must meet if it is to ...
THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRATION.(digital services in the financial industry)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001 ... In our first Headstrong Opinion, we outlined the key imperatives for achieving success in the digital economy in 2001. One of those critical, factors is integration. As we currently examine the digital focus of most Australian financial institutions, we normally see a series of ...
CBA-Colonial systems almost compatible.(IT systems merge as companies merge)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... THE AMALGAMATION OF THE Commonwealth Bank and Colonial. naturally incorporates the merger of the two banks' IT systems and Peter Clare, head of merger program, believes the end result will be a better bank for all concerned. Colonial's IT systems are migrating to those of CBA's, ...
Security firms team up to provide online service.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... INTERNET SECURITY COMPANIES eSign and SecureNet have joined forces with iPlanet to provide an e-commerce Identrus solution for banks and financial institutions in Australia. Identrus is an identity service which was formed by global institutions to encourage the growth of ...
Kiwi bank likely to lure low-value customers.(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... THE PROPOSED FORMATION OF the new "Kiwi bank" to take on the mainly-Australian owned banks in New Zealand is not worrying our boys too much. In fact, it may even be a godsend. Several commentator, including a senior lecturer at Massey University's Centre for Banking Studies in ...
Batchelor wields axe.(Stephen Balme leaves AMP)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... AMP'S NUMBER ONE MAN PAUL Batchelor's take-no-prisoners approach to business has been exemplified again with the sudden departure of AMP Banking head, Stephen Balme. Seems Balme and his crew were not moving quickly enough in getting the banking operation into the black, even ...
CBA poaches custody head.(Gary Angel to head Commonwealth Custodial Services)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... THE CBA HAS POACHED GARY Angel from Westpac to head up the investment services team within Commonwealth Custodial Services. Angel has been involved with the custody industry for more than 20 years. Angel, who starts work on April 2, will have responsibility for all management ...
YOUR CHEQUE'S IN THE MAIL.
Mar 12, 2001; ... NEW YORKER GLEN GOLDSTEIN KNOWS HOW TO avoid paying bank fees ... he bank's by mail to an institution in Texas. He ...
Citibank looks to Feng Shui for comfort.(Citibank N.A.)(Brief Article)
Mar 12, 2001; ... RECOGNISING ITS COMMITMENT to a largely multi-cultural customer base, Citibank has gone to great lengths to ensure its customers feel welcome and comfortable in its new financial investment centres around Australia. Since 1991 Citibank has put its faith in the ancient Chinese ...
capital gains.
Mar 12, 2001; ... "Your pot o'gold b doing nothing for you sitting at the end of the rainbow ....
Banks to recoup card loss.(interchange fees on credit cards, possible regulation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001 ... LIKELY RESERVE BANK regulation and the opening up of the credit card market to new entrants poses few material problems for the banking sector. Market analysts say interchange fees on credit cards comprise only a small proportion of total earnings, which would be easily recouped ...
Shares slump as investors dismiss safe-haven theme.(Australian banks report negative returns)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001 ... NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK AND its four biggest rivals occupied five of the top eight places in the S&P/ASX 20 Leaders Index last year. In the past two weeks they are five of the 10 worst performers. Australia's banks had reaped record profits from the nation's nine-year economic ...
LEADERS PROFILED IN EXCITING SERIES.(Australian Banking and Finance and SAS Institute to launch financial services executive profiles)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001 ... AUSTRALIAN BANKING & FINANCE newsmagazine has teamed with SAS Institute to launch an exciting initiative focusing on the financial. services industry's push into e-commerce, The "E-Banker Leadership Series" will profile four executives driving the change process at our major ...
Westpac profit figures in line with budget.(Westpac Banking Corp., profits for year ending September 30, 2000)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001 ... WESTPAC BANKING CORP SAYS ITS profit performance so far for the year to September 2001 is on track with no systemic credit quality concerns at this point. "Year to date profit performance remains on plan and we are not seeing any systemic credit quality concerns at this point of ...
Macfarlane to chair Asian banking council.(Ian Macfarlane)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001 ... THE BIS HAS ESTABLISHED AN Asian Consultative Council (ACC), comprising the Governors of the BIS member central banks in the Asia/Pacific region. The purpose of the ACC is to provide a vehicle for communication between the Asian and Pacific members of the BIS and the board and management ...
Macquarie creates spectrum market.(MacQuarie Bank launches online radio frecquency rights exchange site)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001 ... MACQUARIE BANK HAS LAUNCHED an online exchange for trading Australian radio frequency rights, creating a secondary market that it hopes will develop into a multi-million dollar business. It said the Spectrum Desk web site is designed to host buyer and setter auctions between ...
Comminsure doubles policy numbers.(Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd., online service)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001 ... THE COMMONWEALTH BANK Group's fast-growing interactive online general insurance site, comminsure.com, is celebrating its first birthday, having more than doubled policy sales in the last six months and being highly rated in e-commerce rankings of Australia's general insurers. ...
AFG to distribute HSBC loan products.(Australian Finance Group, HSBC Australia Ltd.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001 ... AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST THIRD party wholesale introducer of mortgages, Australian Finance Group (AFG) has reached an agreement with HSBC Bank Australia Limited (HSBC) to distribute HSBC's range of mortgage products through its third party channels. Independently owned AFG is the ...
Households draw on savings accounts.(ING Mercantile Mutual Bank report)(Brief Article)(Polling Data)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001 ... MORE AUSTRALIAN HOUSEHOLDS are drawing on their savings and borrowing money as the economy slows, according to a survey of 1,200 people by ING Mercantile Mutual Bank. The report from the Australian unit of the Largest Dutch ...
Moving to a new service model.(Australian financial services, mergers and aquisitions)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Industry Overview)
Mar 31, 2001; ... THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL services sector has, over the last year, witnessed its most significant rationalisation ever. Despite the longevity of Four Pillars, two of the four banks have made multi-billion dollar acquisitions and have been surrounded by a rash of smaller ...
ABA responds to concerns of community.(Australian Bankers Association)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001 ... THE AUSTRALIAN BANKERS' Association (ABA) has unveiled a comprehensive program aimed at addressing key community concerns about affordability of banking services, better access to banking facilities for older people, people with disabilities, those in rural. and remote areas. ...
Macquarie heads for strong result.(Allan Moss forecasts Macquarie full year profits)(Brief Article)(Interview)
Mar 31, 2001; ... Macquarie Bank managing director, Allan Moss, has foreshadowed another strong profit for the full year ended March 31, which will be announced in May. He explains why. "While it is too early to be specific about the result, most of the bank's operating groups have been ...
Fixed income markets to face securities shortage.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001 ... THE RESILIENCE OF THE Australian fixed-income markets following their rapid restructuring since the mid-1990s will face its sternest test later this year when an unprecedented $30 billion of maturities and coupon payments - equivalent to nearly 20% of the market as a whole - will flow to ...
Kiwi bank may have short life.(New Zealand to establish new bank)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001; ... THERE ARE ESSENTIALLY TWO sets of arguments that have led to the recent decision by the New Zealand Government to establish a new bank. One of the concerns to observers of this process is whether there are enough strands in common between the two sets of arguments. ...
Value creation key to M&A success.(mergers and acquisitions)(Brief Article)(Polling Data)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001; ... A RECENT GLOBAL STUDY BY Andersen on mergers and acquisitions in the financial services sector has found that in the race to enter into mergers, acquisitions and alliances, many financial institutions are underrating key factors critical for long term value creation. The report ...
New Economy Technology; Old Economy Workforce.(internet influences banking industry)(Brief Article)(Column)
Mar 31, 2001; ... CLICKS HAVE FOREVER CHANGED bricks. Banking's original physical structure worked well providing security and access. Now much of that purpose is served via the Internet and other advances. So the challenge now - what is the workforce counterpart to the Internet? The Internet revolutionised ...
E-intelligence: power to know for street-wise business.(electronic intelligence improves web site performance)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001; ... THE RULES OF BUSINESS haven't changed, or at least not fundamentally. The Internet is a new sales channel. And the same rules apply if you extend the Web infrastructure back along the supply chain, and internally to manage processes and employee communications. The question is, ...
Wood moves to position Macquarie's e-division at innovative end of market.(Rahn Wood heads Macquarie Bank elecronic commerce division)
Mar 31, 2001; ... In the first of a four-part series on the people leading the financial services industry's charge into e-commerce, SARAH WALL spoke to Macquarie Bank's e-division head, Rahn Wood. RAHN WOOD HAS SEEN A GREAT deal of change in the course of his career and has played a not ...
Are you taking enough risks?(assesing risk management practices)(Brief Article)(Column)
Mar 31, 2001; ... ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH the risk management practices adopted by your corporate and other commercial business customers, to whom your bank extends credit? How robust are your bank's assessment procedures for such risks, that go beyond merely corporate financial analysis? ...
viewpoint.(Australian banks, possible offshore stock exchange listing)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001 ... Would Australian banks benefit from an additional listing offshore? Ian Shiels, managing director, financial services, KPMG Consulting "The opportunities for significant further growth for of the majors domestically are very limited." Graeme Thompson, chief executive ...
Expansion of services to follow solid take-up rate by customers.(Australian banks offer online services)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001; ... WITH THE CLICK OF A BUTTON you can transfer funds, pay your bills or even apply for a loan. No more queues, no more `banker hours', and the bonus of lower fees. At face value, internet banking is easy, convenient and mutually beneficial for those involved. Australia's major banks have ...
Profits still a way off.(internet banking)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001; ... Australians have embraced internet banking relatively quickly, but banks still have a way to go before they reap the full financial rewards, a recent report by Macquarie Research Equities has shown. THE REPORT, INTERNET Bankmetrics, looked at numbers of Australians banking ...
Westpac website has greatest reach.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Mar 31, 2001 ... INTERNET BANKING RESEARCH conducted by Red Sheriff showed the Commonwealth Bank's website to have the highest number of unique visitors, but revealed Westpac's web-site as having the greatest reach: The research investigated customers' experience of internet banking, and ...
Schwab pins hopes on value for money.(Charles Schwab Australia, customer services)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001 ... LYNNDA SARINSKE, THE CEO OF Charles Schwab Australia, firmly believes that a great opportunity exists to encourage Australian investors to become active long-term investors. The retail broking market is being hotly contested with a number of players, both offshoots from the big ...
Consumers rate price as top factor in online trade.(international share trading)(Brief Article)(Polling Data)
Mar 31, 2001 ... LATEST RESEARCH FROM AMR Interactive shows that the opportunity to trade international shares still offers relatively limited appeal for online broking consumers. In a survey of over 1000 consumers, respondents were asked to rate the appeal of 16 attributes of an online broking ...
Choosing the right service.(online investment services)(Brief Article)
Mar 31, 2001; ... ONLINE INVESTING IS BECOMING a key area of competition between Australia's four major banks, and they continue to lead the way in this increasingly popular area of financial services. Online investing has quickly developed from discount share broking for day-traders to become a ...