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The 'bigger future' for transaction banking

Sixty-eight senior bankers from across the Middle East gathered at iGTB's client advisory event at the Park Hyatt in Dubai to explore the challenges and opportunities presented to transaction banking in the region.




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Photo Credit:Reuters/Yorgos Karahalis  

Representatives of 18 Middle Eastern banks, from the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, recently discussed the outlook for transaction banking in the region, and how they can grow their share of global revenues by at least 25 per cent

The interactive forum - designed to encourage peer-to-peer dialogue - set out to explore how Middle Eastern banks could increase their share of global transaction banking revenues (set to hit $509bn by 2021 1), and featured prominent guest speakers, including Mishal Kanoo, deputy chairman of the Kanoo Group, and Andrew England, senior adviser, transaction banking, McKinsey.
The event sought to address the region's take on the fundamental question of "how do you help a corporation"? In the words of Phil Cantor, iGTB's CMO and master of ceremonies for the day, "the corporate value chain is, at its core, about buying and selling, so banks must ensure their suite of offerings ultimately aligns with this basic underlying requirement. Only by helping corporations buy and sell both home or abroad can banks fuel corporate growth and, in turn, grow their own business".

In order to elicit banks' own views and encourage interactivity throughout the day, each participant was given an electronic voting button to participate in a rolling survey; a survey that immediately threw up some interesting results.

When asked what share of the $509bn market Middle Eastern banks would "catch" by 2025, 93 per cent of the 43 survey participants were optimistic that the region's share would increase, with 34 per cent believing their portion would grow by 50 per cent or more.


A further 28 per cent of participants believed Middle Eastern banks' share of global revenues would increase by between 25-50 per cent.
Such results set the tone for the forum - one of confidence and excitement, with subsequent discussions hinging on how best such rapid development can be achieved.

Seizing opportunity
Andrew England - a senior adviser at McKinsey and newly-appointed director and head of strategy, iGTB - provided a route-map to realising this potential.

He said that transaction banking is undoubtedly enjoying a "gold rush" era thanks to surging global payment flows (related revenues are due to reach $2.3 trillion by 2018), soaring inter and intra-emerging market trade, technological advancements and a renewed appreciation of the role of transaction banking in supporting the "real" economy.

But in order to seize this opportunity, banks must establish a clear framework of priorities and principles.

With this in mind, he defined the "Seven Cs" of transaction banking success. These were:

  • Demonstrating a commitment to transaction banking, both through long-term investment and making sure the importance of transaction banking to the wider bank is understood
  • prioritising core over non-core activities; that is, focusing on core cash and trade capabilities that directly help customers build their business - ensuring operational consistency, and avoiding trying to be all things to all people
  • creating internal connectivity; organisational alignment that ensures the buy-in of bank stakeholders and integrates transaction banking into the bank sales process
  • promoting co-operation through strategic partnership and network models, to penetrate new trade corridors, increase scale, pool expertise and extend product offerings
  • ensuring domain competency, with regard to expertise, end-to-end process accountability, and customer and segment differentiation, with product managers "owning" their business case
  • leveraging digital enablement for customer-centricity, creating a 360° view of the customer
  • and demonstrating conviction through a track record of successful project execution and excellent performance.


Of course, some of these factors may be easier to achieve than others. As Andrew pointed out, while the development of transaction banking skills and competencies in the Middle East has been first class, product management - an extremely important discipline to get right - is not always delivering what is needed.

Similarly, while there seems to be an industry consensus that cooperation models are the way forward, turning theory into practice may not be straightforward. For successful cooperation, banks must understand the culture of their prospective partners, establish a clear delineation of roles and share both processes and people in a true bilateral exchange of resources.

Finally, there is the need to remove any lingering bank confusion around what is meant by "digital enablement"; a must-do that is fundamentally about providing technology-supported functionality to clients in a rich and straightforward manner, creating transparency and enhancing the customer experience.

Opening this conversation to the floor revealed that delegates agreed that the need to innovate is a key concern. In fact, 61 per cent of attendees stated that innovative technology would be the most critical factor in the success of Middle East banks in 10 years' time.

Harshit Jain - head of GTS product management, solutions structuring and delivery, Mashreq Bank - took up this theme in his subsequent exploration of innovation-driven growth, and the importance of leveraging advanced technology at a time when "growing is less risky than not growing".
Harshit urged his banking peers to prioritise innovation if they're to maintain their position despite the emergence of new market entrants such as non-bank payment providers.

He said Mashreq's clearly successful approach was to focus on product leadership first and foremost, even above operational excellence and customer intimacy, using an integrated technology platform.

Navigating risk and regulation
In answer to questions from the floor regarding regulation-related hurdles to innovation, Harshit pointed out that, in fact, some compliance demands give an advantage in that they can be utilised to move customers away from paper-based processes to full automation, thereby ensuring online banking channels gain traction.

The question of the difficult interplay between investing in innovation while ensuring compliance with regulatory demands tied in with the theme of the next discussion, where Phil Bethel - CMO of iRTM, Intellect - demonstrated that technology-enabled risk-visualisation can help banks and corporates alike to navigate the "regulatory maze". In fact, with the right technology to hand, he stated, banks should be able to view new regulation as an opportunity rather than a risk.

He also pointed out that "Basel now has teeth" (with Bahrain the regional leader in terms of implementation) and 42 per cent of the attendees agreed that evolving regulation was the most significant source of bank risk concerns.

The onslaught of risk and regulation means real-time visibility gained through the consolidation and translation of data is key. This coincides with the banking industry's maturation to what's sometimes referred to as "Treasury 3.0" or "One Treasury": a centralised treasury able to identify and utilise information across numerous streams, from risk and trading to middle office and operations.

Certainly, banks' C-suite executives must have real-time views over everything from exchange rates and volatility to interest rates and trade data, with the ability to overlay both industry regulations and their own controls for a truly 360° picture. This requires the integration of risk and treasury management onto a single platform with a real-time dashboard, enabling detailed analytics and the ability to conduct "what-if" simulations, the latter being vital for stress-testing.
With such tools, banks can not only navigate risk but better identify where investment should be directed to maximise opportunities and improve performance management. The adage "knowledge is power" still holds true - but today such knowledge is digital.

Despite this, Middle Eastern banks - according to 50 per cent of delegates - "significantly" lag behind other regions when it comes to implementing innovative technology; although one delegate was careful to point out that the Middle East is a diverse region, and solutions that may work in the UAE, for example might not enjoy the same success somewhere like Saudi Arabia, due to differences in customer behaviour.

Changing customer needs
Of course, while banks must continue to navigate evolving regulation, they are also faced with fast-changing customer needs and heightened expectations. One example raised by Mashreq Bank's Harshit Jain is the rising popularity of ApplePay: a mobile payment and digital wallet service for users of Apple devices such as iPhones.

Despite the huge take-up of such payment methods (according to The New York Times2, 50 per cent of McDonalds transactions in the US are now conducted using ApplePay), 86 per cent of delegates claimed their organisations were not yet ready for corporate payments to be conducted in this manner.

The changing behaviour of customers is reflected not just in their use of solutions but also in the way in which they communicate with their banks. On-the-ground branches are becoming less popular in favour of "anytime, anywhere" digital interaction, and banks must ensure they're equipped to communicate with customers in a way that suits the customer - yet 58 per cent of attendees said they weren't prepared for dealing with real-time customer complaints through social media such as Twitter or Facebook.

What is clear is that good client service remains paramount; a fact underscored by Mishal Kanoo, deputy chairman of the Kanoo Group, during his chief guest address. For Mishal, drawing on his personal experience, consistency is key; maintaining great client service regardless of client size ("don't discount small accounts"), geography or sector. Indeed, the SMEs of today are the MNCs of tomorrow, and such corporations will ultimately select their primary banking partner - the bank that will benefit from their business during their growth journey - on the basis of strong client service.

Intelligent innovation
While banks should already be leveraging such technology to the benefit of themselves and their clients, they should also be aware of more futuristic concepts and anticipating upcoming capabilities. This was the focus of Henry Gorbet - SVP, Payment Solutions, iGTB - who provided the clear highlight of the day; a walk-through demonstration of Onyx, iGTB's conceptual software designed to spark conversation around the possibilities of "smart" technology.

Currently, the data provided by many bank dashboards still relies on (and informs) a human decision, which then leads to an technology-enabled action, often back on that platform - but is it possible to streamline processes by removing the need for the human intermediary? Indeed, is there a technology that actually understands what you're trying to do?

This was the question asked by Gorbet to begin his session, and participants quickly learned that the answer is "yes": in fact, such technology is more common that we think.

Henry cited non-banking examples such as "nest" - a widely popular self-adjusting home thermostat that seeks to understand your needs and preferences, learns these trends and makes decisions (ie, adjusts the home temperature accordingly) on its own without human intervention.
Henry advised that such examples of "intelligent decisioning" (not to be confused with intelligent advising, or artificial intelligence) are, in fact, fairly common, but have yet to be adopted by the banking industry.

New concepts such as Onyx are a call to arms to rectify this. Onyx, for example, can "proactively scan news sources for developments that could impact your organisation, distinguish between these impacts as either positive or negative, analyse what the potential effect would be and make a recommendation".

This could be in the form of giving decision options to an accounts payable clerk, or interpreting news data regarding potential mergers for the benefit of a relationship manager. Such solutions present an opportunity for banks to provide enormous differentiation from their growing non-bank competition, to bring transaction banking firmly into the 21st century.

Next steps
Hani al Maskati - publisher of Cash&Trade - chaired the final group discussion of the day, based on the survey results. Insights of note included the view that many Middle Eastern banks are moving towards further or more effective integration of their cash and trade functions, although 61 per cent of delegates believed such functions currently remain "very distinct", and not a single participant believed cash and trade to be fully integrated. While these figures suggest considerable room for improvement, delegates agreed with Hani's view that local and regional banks have taken significant steps in offering more integrated solutions to their corporate clients, investing "serious money" into this area within the last five years.

A perhaps unsurprising result revealed that a third of the senior bankers present viewed regional socio-political uncertainty as the most significant source of their corporate clients' risk concerns.
The ability of banks to help their clients address such upheavals will depend in part on the ability of transaction bankers to demonstrate their importance to stakeholders across the wider bank. In particular, Hani stated, "corporate relationship managers must view the transaction banking arm as a key influencer of corporate strategy, rather than misjudging it as a purely operational unit". While the speakers and delegates continued to interact and debate the best route forward, one thing was clear: there is plenty to talk about, as transaction banks adapt to the "new normal" of the post-crisis environment, and seek to better-support their clients no matter what regulatory or economic challenges lie ahead. It was on this note that Manish Maakan, iGTB's CEO, wrapped up the day, with the announcement that the event will be held again next year, on Wednesday 24th February, 2016. It will be interesting to monitor the sector's progress in a year's time.

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by Ponee
on Tue Jun 09, 2015 8:31 pm
 
Search in: IRAQ and DINAR -- ARTICLE BASED INFORMATION and DISCUSSIONS
Topic: The 'bigger future' for transaction banking
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Emboldened in Syria and Iraq, Islamic State may be reaching limits of expansion


LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - With its two biggest victories in nearly a year in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State has energised its fighters, littered the streets of two cities with the bodies of its enemies and forced Washington to re-examine its strategy.


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The near simultaneous capture this month of Ramadi west of Baghdad and Palmyra northeast of Damascus has reinforced the sway of the self-proclaimed caliphate of all Muslims closer to the ramparts of Islam's two great historic capitals.

But although the fighters sound triumphant on YouTube, vowing to press on to Baghdad and Damascus, there appears to be little room for them to expand their territory much further -- at least for now.

In both Iraq and Syria they have lost ground in recent months as well as gained it. The weakest targets are already in their grasp, and they will have to devote as much effort to holding and administering the areas that they already control as to attempting to extend their onslaught.
In Iraq, Islamic State fighters already hold most of the land where their fellow Sunni Muslim Arabs predominate. The Shi'ite-led government has responded to the loss of Ramadi in the Euphrates River valley by dispatching Iran-backed Shi'ite militia, fresh from beating Islamic State fighters in the valley of Iraq's other great river, the Tigris.

In Syria, rival Sunni Arab insurgent groups, once seen as feeble in comparison with Islamic State, have drawn support from Arab countries and grown stronger, expanding their own territory at the expense of the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

In both countries, Islamic State has also suffered defeats at the hands of Kurds.
But even if there are limits to how far Islamic State -- also known as ISIS -- can expand its territory for now, the victories this month give it crucial momentum, important for maintaining the support of people in the places it rules over.

"The priority for ISIS now is to capitalise on the momentum that is gained from taking control of Ramadi and Palmyra because this war has been about momentum shifts," said Ahmed Ali, senior fellow at Washington D.C.'s Education for Peace in Iraq Center.

"Up until (when) ISIS was able to take control of Ramadi, the momentum was against ISIS. Now this is a prime opportunity for ISIS to keep pushing, because it's trying to regain its reputation as this invincible force."

LIMITS IN IRAQ
In Iraq, after the army collapsed last year and Islamic State seized much of the north of the country in a lightning advance, the government and its allied Shi'ite militia rallied to halt the offensive before the gates of Baghdad.

Islamic State fighters fell short of their objective of seizing Samarra north of the capital, site of one of the most revered Shi'ite shrines, which they had pledged to destroy.

The government and its militia allies are now firmly in control of the majority-Shi'ite capital itself, and have so far prevented Islamic State from securing strong footholds in Sunni farmland on its southern and western outskirts, territory known as the "triangle of death" during the 2003-2011 U.S. occupation.

In March, government forces and the militia advanced north of Baghdad into the Tigris valley, recapturing former dictator Saddam Hussein's home town Tikrit.

The Shi'ite militia, with Iranian funds, weapons and advisors, have proven a particularly capable force on the battlefield, although Washington is worried that their presence will exacerbate sectarian tensions.

Until now, the government had kept the Shi'ite militia out of the overwhelmingly Sunni Euphrates valley west of the capital. But the fall of Ramadi has forced Baghdad to dispatch them, meaning Islamic State will now face a more formidable foe.

Washington's fear is that the presence of the Shi'ite militiamen will drive local tribes to embrace Islamic State. The Pentagon described as "unhelpful" a decision by the Shi'ite militia to give their advance a sectarian slogan as a code name.

But just as in 2006 and 2007, when the brutality of Islamic State's al Qaeda predecessors drove many Sunni tribesmen to make peace with hated U.S. Marines, the fighters' extreme violence means some locals may tolerate even the feared Shi'ites.

Islamic State fighters contacted by Reuters in Iraq say their main task for now is combatting the "awakenings" -- Sunni tribesmen who have resisted their rule.

They have killed hundreds of sheikhs and local tribal leaders in the Euphrates valley. But that sort of violence brings blood feuds that in the past made their rule short-lived.

Michael Knights, an Iraq expert at the Washington Institute, said that with the capture of Ramadi, the fighters had reached the natural boundaries of a state to rule Sunni territory.
Although they could still launch attacks on Baghdad itself, those would more likely be isolated attacks rather than a campaign to seize the city.

"In Iraq, ISIL is still losing ground, not gaining it, regardless of tactical gambits like Ramadi," he said, using another acronym for the group. "ISIL is only capable of tinkering at the peripheries of the areas it already holds."

OPPORTUNITIES IN SYRIA
Syria, where Assad's government has been on the back foot in recent months, offers greater potential opportunities for Islamic State to advance further. Unlike in Iraq, Sunni Muslims are the majority across the country, so a group seeking to rule over Sunnis faces fewer natural limits to its expansion.

While Washington supports the Iraqi government and has used its air power to fight Islamic State in Iraq in conjunction with Baghdad, in Syria it remains opposed to Assad and has no strong allies on the ground.

"On the Syria side, it's a completely different dynamic because ISIS there does not have a formidable force in front of it," said Ali. "It's able to attack Syrian government forces and we have seen so far that the Syrian government forces have been retreating in front of ISIS attacks. So Syria might actually be more of an objective ... than Iraq."

Nevertheless, unlike in Iraq, Islamic State in Syria is only one of a number of Sunni Muslim insurgent groups, which run the gamut from hardcore jihadists like the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front to comparatively secular nationalists.

When Islamic State was surging into Iraq last year and bringing advanced weaponry seized there back into Syria, it seemed like many of those other Sunni groups would fade into irrelevance.
But in recent months, Sunni groups that have resisted joining Islamic State have been receiving more weapons and funds from U.S.-allied Arab states and possibly Turkey.

They have become more potent, inflicting defeats on Assad's troops and allies in the heavily populated southwest and northwest, and have remained more united than in the past.

Islamic State has also made gains, and tries to recruit other jihadists to join it. But many Syrians resent its foreign fighters and its Iraqi caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Commanders of other groups know that the only way to keep the Arab guns and money flowing is to resist any alliance.
But the victory in Palmyra, known as Tadmur in Arabic, helps Islamic State make the case that it is still the most effective Sunni fighting force in Syria, which in the battle for loyalties is more important than the strategic value of any one target.

"We are working on bringing in more fighters. That is why seizing Tadmur was very important, it is significant," said an Islamic State fighter reached by telephone, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

"New fighters are now joining. Syrian fighters. They have discovered that the State is true and fulfils its promises and brings back your dignity." (Reporting by Reuters journalists in Baghdad, Erbil, Beirut and Washington; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

© Reuters 2015


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by Ponee
on Tue Jun 09, 2015 1:30 pm
 
Search in: SYRIA
Topic: Emboldened in Syria and Iraq, Islamic State may be reaching limits of expansion
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