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How to Run a Bank

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:34:11 +0000

Long before subprime found its way into everyday conversation The Banker and Maris Strategies ran a story on corporate governance, called How to Run a Bank, which generated huge interest from readers, who rang in asking if they could buy a copy of the book. With the financial meltdown continuing its inexorable progress, The Banker’s editors and Joe DiVanna, CEO of Maris Strategies, thought that maybe it was time to actually produce the book. So we invited bank CEOs, academics and banking experts to contribute thought-pieces towards a compendium of the best in bank management.

In October 2008, How to Run a Bank was published. It covers every theme important to senior management, from the strategic positioning of a firm, to the development of competitive strategies, and making the most of outsourcing, partnerships and white-labelling. It ranges from what makes effective risk management and compliance, to balance sheet management and capital raising, to corporate governance, sustainability and the environment.

The book begins in the CEOs office, with the leading article from Michael Geoghegan, group CEO of HSBC. Who better to discuss strategic positioning in the new competitive landscape?

Three other key articles come from luminaries from the Institute of International Finance, which is playing a key role in the post-crisis debate. These came from Josef Ackermann, CEO of Deutsche Bank; Scotiabank president and CEO, Rick Waugh, and former ING CFO, Cees Maas.

Other contributors include: Jian Jianqing, chairman of ICBC; Herbert Stepic, CEO, Raiffeisen International; Deanna Oppenheimer, chief executive UK Retail Banking, Barclays Bank; and Brandon Davies from the Global Association of Risk Professionals.

The State of the Islamic Banking Industry

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:33:25 +0000

Using statistics compiled for his publication of The Banker magazine’s Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions, this lecture is an analytical review of the trends, growth, performance, volume, profitability, and major issues of Islamic finance as an industry. An analysis of 1,105 institutions offering Shariah financial services is presented as a topology to understand the evolving regulatory structures, banking capacity and financial depth of the industry as it continues toward its next evolutionary phase as a financial bridge across nation states. Placing the industry’s transformation into a global context, this analysis examines the three dimensions of industry growth (product proliferation, customer acquisition and market expansion) into a connecting relationship between rapidly changing global factors such as politics, socioeconomic trends, attitudinal changes in Muslim and non-Muslim populations, and the influence of the economic crisis on the industry.

Channel Management in Financial Services

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:26:24 +0000

From his forthcoming book, Joseph DiVanna examines how banks are using a wide range of technologies to reach their customers but consistently fail to learn which banking services customers really want. Most banks simply buy technology without really understanding what is driving their customers’ behaviours. Using examples from around the world, Joe DiVanna argues that although banks spend a great deal of money on technology, they are severely underutilizing their technological capabilities to reach their customers because they lack a process to know their customers wants, needs and desires which is a requirement to develop customer intimacy.

Master class on Islamic Finance: Competitive Strategies for Shariah-Compliant Banks

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:24:48 +0000

During the past five years, Islamic banking has enjoyed a renaissance, hailed as the biggest phenomenon in banking in the last century. Now, the party is over. Rising competition, social unrest coupled with the effects of global financial crisis are being felt in domestic markets resulting in a slow down in the growth rate of Islamic banking industry.

Shariah-compliant banks face a new challenge: customers who demand more products, better service quality at competitive rates. As Muslims across the world gain greater access to Islamic financial services, the nature of competition in domestic markets is being redefined. Changes in market dynamics present an opportunity for Islamic banks to rethink how they approach the market, apply technology, brand products, package services and connect with their customers. Joseph DiVanna, banking industry strategist and author of numerous books on banking and Islamic finance, presents a workshop to address key issues that banks must master to compete in their local markets.

Five 40-minute interactive sessions discussing:

The state of the global Islamic finance industry
The competitive factors and market maturity
The changing landscape of competition in domestic markets
The value proposition of Islamic banking and product development
How to engage customers: demographics, segmentation, service quality and marketing

Based on internal strategy sessions conducted in financial institutions offering Shariah-compliant financial services, this workshop is designed to update senior bankers to the state of the art in providing banking services to Muslim and non-Muslim markets. Do not to miss out on a unique opportunity to sharpen your strategic thinking skills in providing Shariah-compliant banking.

The Socio-Economic Implications of Consumer Credit

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:21:14 +0000

The nature of how consumers are using credit is changing at such fast a rate; that bankers cannot always invent new products fast enough to match it. Innovations such as “interest only mortgages”, “intelligent financing”, and “low-interest for the life of a balance credit cards”, are the results of banks reactively responding to customer demand, playing an endless game of follow the leader. Consumers now have new options for borrowing from companies that are providing access to lending in which consumer borrowing is negotiated directly between consumers without any bank intermediation. This half-day workshop examines the implications and applicability of these Euro-American concepts on other regions and on non-interest based financial systems.

Of Partners, Payments and Thieves: A Multifaceted View of Fraud and Risk Management

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:19:19 +0000

Today’s financial services institutions face the ongoing challenges of risk management and payment fraud in a rapidly changing global-technological environment. Are these merely symptoms of a looming future problem? Joe DiVanna discusses the future of payment systems and the birth of 3-dimensional operational risk. This lecture examines fraud and risks from several perspectives: how do we mitigate risks in current state of operations, what are the new opportunities for fraudsters in an uncertain future, and how institutions must manage a portfolio of ever-changing risk scenarios? This half-day workshop puts forth a view that risk and fraud must be assessed, managed, and mitigated at each intersection point of an institution’s internal-external transaction process, while simultaneously assessing the organizations, customers, and partners that interact or generate transactions.

Bank Strategy Implementation and Performance Evaluation

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:18:19 +0000

All banks have some form of strategy; what separates great performing banks from their less successful counterparts is how they execute the implementation of their strategic efforts and how they measure their performance. This 1 or 2-day programme will examine the fundamentals of developing a banking strategy, how different approaches to implementation deliver vastly dissimilar results and how to establish meaningful performance criteria.

When Customers design banks: Cashless, No Fees, High Touch, Multi-channel and Multi-national

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:16:36 +0000

Technology is redefining how financial service providers interact with customers. To date the provider has been in control; however, the relationship with customers is about to take a drastic change as customers will soon be able to design their own banking relationships. However, on the horizon are new opportunities for fee income, cross selling, cost savings and revenue enhancement from understanding the fundamentals of customer expectation management, transaction data, segmentation and relationship building. This lecture examines how banks can capitalize on the new wave of banking products as customers become the drivers of delivery technologies, channels, products, fees and services. This look at the trends that are reshaping the industry spans 12 countries and 3 decades to give us a glimpse of what is to come during the next 5 years as banking reinvents its relationship with customers.

Money Makes the World go Round, but who is minding the Digital Mint?

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:14:55 +0000

The intrinsic significance of money is relative to society’s perception of what is valuable. This lecture takes an informative but light hearted look at the nature of money, how society values money and how with today’s technology anyone can mint their own currency. Money systems like M-Pesa in Kenya, airline miles and various other value-based schemes are redefining money in today’s society. Joe DiVanna discusses the iconographic and social significance of currencies, little known historical facts, and how technology is changing the world’s perception of money. This discussion examines how currency technologies spawn a revolutionary change in “how we value things” and an evolutionary process of “why we value things”.

Developing a can do culture: embracing global innovation leadership

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:13:18 +0000

Why are some organizations exciting places to work? Why are some employees empowered to make decisions, why is innovative thinking part of a group culture, resulting in quantum leaps in productivity? This lecture uses examples from various industries to examine the nature, behaviour, attributes and culture of organizations and banks that excel at achieving a culture that is focused on doing. This presentation puts forth a roadmap of things banks should avoid along their journey over the next decade.