Zafin Labs

From Mirage to Oasis: Transparency, Regulation and The Future of Banking

 

On Wednesday May 8^th Zafin Labs hosted a panel webinar titled From Mirage to Oasis: Transparency, Regulation and the Future of Banking. We were thrilled to have participants join us from all over the world to hear what some of the industry’s best and brightest had to say on this hot topic.

We were also fortunate to have Martin Whybrow, Editor-in Chief of IBS Intelligence, as our guest moderator for this panel discussion. Martin is widely regarded as an expert in core banking, back office systems and operations.

Martin facilitated a lively discussion among our industry expert panel which included, Harsh Raut, VP of Global Cash Management, Barclays, Alexandra Roddy, Senior Vice President, Retail Strategy and Delivery, Bank of the West, and Frank Mackris, Partner, Capco.

The discussion on transparency and regulation spanned topics like:

·      Links between inward vs. outward transparency for banks

·      Day-to-day challenges with transparency posed by...

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Easier said than done: Three pillars of effective regulatory management for banks

Dodd-Frank.

FATCA.

Know Your Customer (KYC).

Basel III.

SEPA.

TARGET2-Securities (T2S).

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID).

Banks face considerable regulatory pressure on all fronts. What can you do to prepare for regulatory changes and drive a competitive advantage? 

Be strategic

As an organization, assess where you are now and where you need to be. How will the proposed changes impact your business operations, internal stakeholders, counterparty relationships and competitors? Which markets, systems and processes are affected? Where are the gaps? What are the deadlines to comply?

Take a holistic view

Amidst a backdrop of increasing scrutiny, more stringent data requirements and tighter timelines to deliver, the idea of tackling individual regulatory requirements with ad-hoc, reactive ‘firefighting’ activities is not a long-term solution. Consider the broader themes spanning across related regulations, such as the need for...

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Getting More from the “Core”

 

Fostering transparent and profitable banking relationships

Let’s face it. The status quo in banking is no longer an option.

For years, banks have lived off the margin between the rate at which they borrow money from central banks and the rate at which they lend money to customers. However, the current low-interest rate environment quickly renders this margin unsustainable as a source of long-term revenue. Amidst a backdrop of increasing competition from new market entrants and stringent regulations around transparency of information, banks quickly realize that they need to do more with less and find new ways to generate revenue with their customers they already have.

First things first

To start, let’s move away from the typical product-centric orientation and refocus on what matters – the customer relationship. In a customer-centric model, the name of the game is transparency. Not only do customers gain an essential understanding of what they are buying...

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Zafin looks to make its mark at Innotribe

Last week, we received word that Zafin was named a semi-finalist for the Innotribe Startup Challenge, SWIFT’s initiative to enable collaborative innovation in financial services.

On April 18 in London, we’ll be presenting as one of five participants in the ‘Growth-stage innovator’ category. London is the first of three Challenges scheduled, with Singapore (May 16) and New York City (June 13) to follow. The winners of the London showcase will go on to compete against the winners from New York and Singapore in the grande finale at Sibos, SWIFT’s annual conference, in Dubai in September. 

This marks the first time Zafin will compete as part of Innotribe and we couldn’t be more excited. Since the company was founded over a decade ago, Zafin’s evolved into a leading technology provider of relationship banking solutions for banks worldwide. We’re a profitable, privately-held company with 20 bank customers worldwide and a reputation for delivering results.

...

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Beyond Pricing and Billing: Product Lifecycle Management

“If you bill too much, the client will tell you, but it tends not to work the other way around.”

– Bernd Richter, Capco

In early February, IBS Intelligence published a great high-level summary of the major players and solutions in pricing and billing, which is particularly useful for bankers who are relatively new to this space. We were also fortunate to have IBS publish a comprehensive case study on Bank of the West’s miRevenue installation. 

At Zafin Labs,...

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