Category: AI

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DNSSEC 5th May 2010 at 17:00 UTC | is this another Y2K?

Colin Henderson

A little known event occurs Wednesday.  The 13 root nameservers that run the internet by ensuring those obscure numeric IP addresses resolve as friendly english words for us, are getting a security upgrade. DNSSEC is designed to solve a flaw in regular DNS used by the root servers to date.  When you type in your url, a check is run through DNS servers to obtain the numeric IP address which then locates the site you are seeking.  As clunky as it sounds this happens very quickly in milliseconds.  It does this by caching the dns information held at the root … Continue reading DNSSEC 5th May 2010 at 17:00 UTC | is this another Y2K?

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Finextra turns 10 !

Colin Henderson

Congratulations to Paul Penrose and the Finextra team on this milestone.  I am sure most readers know Finextra which has created a world class site that for many of us represents the document of record for goings on in financial services.  For those who are not familiar, check it out and finextra.com Now we are ten | finextra Ten years on and 30,000 new stories later, we’re about to emerge from another spectacular market crash, slightly frazzled but in a stronger position than ever before, with the online publishing model vindicated and our monthly page view total fast approaching the … Continue reading Finextra turns 10 !

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Bank of America launches text banking | Netbanker

Colin Henderson

Jim at Netbanker notes BofA have quietly launched text banking, and it is rolling out in waves.  As Jim points out there is so much more banks can do with mobile.  Everyone has a mobile device in their pocket, enjoy using it and like to interact with it.  Why not take advantage of it, and not just to shift activity to the channel.  that work is largely done.  Mobile offers the potential to build loyalty through  spending and budget assistance type apps.  Ron recently noted his bullishness on PFM’s and I believe the connection of PFM to mobile will be … Continue reading Bank of America launches text banking | Netbanker

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Incredibly … Citibank was ‘surprised’ by credit problems

Colin Henderson

I read, listen and watch as much as anyone, yet the credit crisis caught me off guard, and not until Aug 2007 did I write about it here.  In fact even I was looking at this from a far too narrow perspective in retrospect. Back to basics and the promise of social lending | bankwatch Social Lending by definition carries the promise of at least eliminating the problem that the financial markets experienced this week. A promise of a simpler financial process, one that is easily understood and explainable. It won’t replace the worlds capital markets, but if it can … Continue reading Incredibly … Citibank was ‘surprised’ by credit problems

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Global risks that affect everything for years to come

Colin Henderson

McKinsey provided a list here of the latest risk assessments done by three groups.  I had the WEF one already, so its was interesting to review and compare the three. World Economic Forum Global Risks 2010 (In collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Thought Leadership group) Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest global business risk assessment Eurasia Group, Top Risks and Red Herrings for 2010 Relevance to Bankwatch: This is a sobering list (see below for complete table of contents of all three.  The news today is full of: Greece, Portugal and Spain country risk problems government debt, particularly US, UK and Japan consumer … Continue reading Global risks that affect everything for years to come

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Survey shows shift in consumer preference away from visiting bank branches

Colin Henderson

This is a significant survey with online banking leading over branches for the first time in consumer preference. (ht netbanker) ABA SURVEY: CONSUMERS PREFER ONLINE BANKING Survey shows shift in consumer preference away from visiting bank branches WASHINGTON – A new survey by the American Bankers Association shows that for the first time, more bank customers (25 percent) prefer to do their banking online compared to any other method. …. “This marks a watershed change,” said Nessa Feddis, ABA senior counsel and retail banking expert. “It tells us that for the first time, more consumers prefer the speed and convenience … Continue reading Survey shows shift in consumer preference away from visiting bank branches

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Alfa follows a good internet media strategy | Russia

Colin Henderson

Daniel notes good practices in managmenent of a merger using web media. Alfa follows a good internet media strategy – covering its merger with Kazna | Retail Banking in Russia An absolute majority of posts at this blog deals with operational aspects of banks business – but recent coverage of Alfa-Bank and Severnaya Kazna merger gives good examples on how a Web-media strategy of a bank can be formulated to better suit the wavering clients of the banks, and convey a positive image of banks in merger. Continue reading Alfa follows a good internet media strategy | Russia

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BofA to Eliminate Wire Transfers from Branches, Moving Volume to Online Banking | netbanker

Colin Henderson

By co-incidence here is yet another chink in the armour of the branch network. Long ago Jim had the foresight to write what others could not admit to at that time, with the 40 year view of The Demise of Branches. Iin that far-sighted piece Jim aimed at the core raison d’etre amongst traditionalists, account acquisition, and developed potential approaches to offer a better value proposition than ‘just being there’. In 2006, Banks were in major branch build out mode, to support their market share objectives. The payback period on those branches is extended to say the least. On the … Continue reading BofA to Eliminate Wire Transfers from Branches, Moving Volume to Online Banking | netbanker

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How Teenagers Consume Media | Morgan Stanley

Colin Henderson

This report has caused quite the stir after MS released it. No-one is seriously suggesting any statistical accuracy, but it is interesting in context of how teens use internet, and we know that generational change occurs based in some part on how teens grow up. Enjoy. Media research note by ‘teenage scribbler’ causes City sensation | FT A research note written by a 15-year-old, who was not born when former chancellor Nigel Lawson dismissed City analysts as ” teenage scribblers “, has become the talk of middle-aged media executives and investors. Morgan Stanley’s European media analysts asked Matthew Robson, one … Continue reading How Teenagers Consume Media | Morgan Stanley