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Tag: Banking

  • South Korean bank launches hand palm recognition verification

    South Korean bank launches hand palm recognition verification

    A South Korean bank has launched a service allowing customers to use palm recognition to withdraw cash – a likely precursor to similar technology becoming available in retail stores.

    KB Kookmin Bank says by using palm prints, customers no longer have to use a bankbook, stamp or password.

    The bank explained that palm vein recognition is safer and more precise than other biometric identification methods such as fingerprint or iris recognition. It believes the service will appeal to older customers who often have difficulty recalling passwords.

    According to a report, using palm recognition is also quicker than current means. Palm vein patterns differ by individual, allowing the scanner to correctly identify the customer.

    Similar palm-vein scanners are already being used at automated teller machines (ATM) from major banks worldwide, including Barclays in the UK and Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank in Japan.

    To prevent biometric information from leaking, the bank will encrypt the vein pattern database and work with the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute to store the information. The data will be disassembled into multiple blocks when stored, and reassembled when used for transactions.

    KB Kookmin Bank expects that the new palm-recognition service will particularly benefit senior customers who often have a hard time remembering passwords.

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  • Vietnamese banks find out car loans not low-hanging fruit

    Vietnamese banks find out car loans not low-hanging fruit

    Vietnamese banks are struggling to recover overdue car loans since many customers mortgage vehicles bought using bank loans. Dao Minh Tuan, manager of the debt recovery department at private lender Vietnam International Bank (VIB), said 50 percent of non-performing car loans are because of this.

    Borrowers are supposed to get the bank’s permission before pawning a car, but most don’t, which makes it difficult for the bank to repossess the car, he said.

    “Pawn shop owners decline to meet our staff while our customers are unreachable. As the banks do not technically own the car, we have trouble recovering the debt.”

    Since banks normally lend 80-100 percent of the cost of a car, getting the cars back by paying off pawnbrokers would cost too much, he said.

    “The last resort would be to sue the customer, but this will take a long time and cause damage to both sides.”

    Banks also have to pay a commission to car dealers of 0.7-1 percent and offer competitive interest rates of 7-9 percent in the first year. All this means, in a competitive, crowded segment, banks are unable to earn much.

    A banking expert who asked not to be named said: “Banks which want to maintain high credit growth often focus on increasing the amount of car loans, not quality.”

    Those focused on this segment are usually banks which are not competitive in other areas with higher interest rates, such as real estate, the expert said.

    The auto loans segment has seen average growth of 38 percent in 2012-2016, according to data from Viet Capital Securities VCSC.

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  • Vietnamese stocks slide as lack of information hits large-caps

    Vietnamese stocks slide as lack of information hits large-caps

    Vietnamese shares slid yesterday as large-cap companies faced strong selling amidst a lack of supportive information while investors awaited discussions on the amended securities law. The benchmark VN-Index on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange fell 0.91 per cent to end at 988.48 points.

    The southern market index climbed 0.84 per cent on Monday.

    More than 165 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VNĐ4.24 trillion (US$182 million).

    Market breadth was negative with 207 declining stocks, while 111 stocks advanced and 45 ended flat.

    Fifteen of the 20 sector indices ended Tuesday on a negative note, dragged by real estate, energy and petroleum, rubber and plastics and consumer staples.

    Those sector indices lost between 1.1 per cent and 3.1 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed.

    The energy and petroleum sector was the worst-performing one on the stock market.

    Petro stocks such as PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) reversed after oil prices encountered volatility on Tuesday.

    GAS shed 1.9 per cent while PVD slipped 3 per cent.

    Real estate firms also dragged the market down, with the industry index falling 2 per cent.

    Among the worst-performing property developers were Vincom Retail (VRE), Vingroup (VIC) and Hòa Bình Construction Group (HBC).

    According to MB Securities Co (MBS), the VN-Index slid as leading stocks moved in different directions and pressured market sentiment.

    Foreign selling also caused negative movement for the stock market, which ended at a net VNĐ277.4 billion, MBS said in its daily report.

    In addition, gloomy earnings forecasts for 2019 for listed companies weighed on investors’ confidence ahead of the National Assembly Standing Committee meeting on April 10-18, in which the draft on amended Law of Securities will be discussed, MBS noted.

    “The stock market is clearly in its instability stage as large-cap stocks are still heavyweights. It is likely the VN-Index will fall whenever large-cap stocks are hit by strong selling,” Thành Công Securities Co (TCSC) said in a note.

    In addition, listed firms are experiencing a lack of supportive information, making investors unwilling to buy their stocks and reducing market liquidity, TCSC said.

    Therefore, the VN-Index may struggle at the current level of 990 points in the next trading days with focus shifted to companies with positive first quarter earnings, the company said.

    On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index slid 1.12 per cent to end at 107.71 points.

    The northern market index climbed nearly 1 per cent in the first trading day of the week.

    Nearly 48 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VNĐ669 billion.

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  • Insurance industry growth surges 17% in Q1

    Insurance industry growth surges 17% in Q1

    Việt Nam’s insurance industry maintained positive growth in the first quarter of this year, with total premiums surging by 17 per cent year-on-year, according to reports from the General Statistics Office.

    Life insurance surged by 23 per cent, while non-life insurance increased by 9 per cent.

    According to the Ministry of Finance’s Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA), the insurance industry is targeting a growth rate of 20 per cent this year.

    Experts remain upbeat about the industry’s health in the coming years, forecasting that it will maintain an annual growth rate of 10-20 per cent. Many banks that co-operate with insurers to provide bancassurance products even expect an annual growth rate of up to 30-40 per cent.

    The fast-growing domestic insurance market should thrive thanks to rising living standards and a high gross domestic product (GDP) growth of more than 6 per cent annually over the next three years, experts said.

    The growth potential is great as the country has one of the world’s lowest life insurance penetration levels at less than 1 per cent of GDP. The average insurance premium in Việt Nam stands at US$30, much lower than the global average of $595 and Southeast Asia’s average of $74.

    To maintain high growth, Deputy Finance Minister Huỳnh Quang Hải said the Insurance Association of Vietnam (IAV), in conjunction with other relevant agencies, must raise awareness about insurance.

    IAV also needs to promote closer co-operation among insurers so that businesses can join hands to build and fine-tune the industry’s databases, which will improve the quality of their services, thereby raising their financial capability and competitiveness, Hải said.

    Hải also told insurers to work with IAV and the Ministry of Finance to develop a new insurance business law to contribute to the development of the local insurance market.

    The ISA reported that the country has 64 insurance companies, including 30 non-life insurers, 18 life insurers, two reinsurance companies and 14 insurance brokerage companies.

    There are up to 850 non-life insurance products and 450 life insurance products sold on the Vietnamese market.

    Read more at https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/518204/insurance-industry-growth-surges-17-in-q1.html#lVqMUB0GwB3zyHU6.99

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  • Millennials in Singapore eshew power and famefor self-fulfillment and caring for the community

    Millennials in Singapore eshew power and famefor self-fulfillment and caring for the community

    The majority of Singapore millennials are extremely passionate about social causes such as human rights, poverty and helping the elderly, and prefer to gain life experiences when they have the financial means, rather than physical possessions.

    These key insights of millennials were revealed in the inaugural annual FRANK by OCBC survey, the FRANKly Asked Questions, which aims to understand and track four psychographic variables – values, attitudes, interests and desired experiences – of millennials over time. Conducted between January and February 2019, 866 students and young working adults aged 16 to 29 years old were asked a total of 50 questions in an online survey. Forty-five per cent of the respondents were students from all Singapore universities and polytechnics.¹

    An integrated banking programme for millennials in Singapore

    OCBC Bank created the FRANK by OCBC banking programme in 2011. It remains the only programme which provides millennials with banking products and solutions designed for them as they go through milestones in life as tertiary students, to entering the workforce as young professionals. FRANK by OCBC offers millennials deposit accounts, credit and debit cards, insurance, investment products and study loans. The other programme activities in place today include:

    • Financial literacy seminars organised regularly for FRANK by OCBC customers to learn how to invest and manage their finances
    • Helping youths give back to the community

    o   Organising youth dives to clean up the reefs of plastic waste

    o   Supporting campus programmes such as at Prinsep Street Residences, where SMU students organise overseas Community Involvement Programmes and programmes to support the elderly in the Bras Basah area

    • Helping youths prepare for future careers

    o   FRANKpreneurship – learning human-centred design and start-up business principles as they are mentored by The Open Vault at OCBC and different teams in OCBC Bank to tackle real banking challenges

    Insights from the FRANKly Asked Questions survey will help FRANK by OCBC develop more comprehensive programmes on financial literacy and beyond to meet millennials’ holistic needs. They will include:

    • Helping youths to build their wealth

    o   Looking to introduce new investment and insurance products which will be affordable for youths

    o   Organising financial seminars with partners such as SGX to learn the basics of investing

    • Helping youths to raise awareness of environmental issues

    o   Supporting #noplastics initiatives by distributing reusable tote bags at the NUS FRANK store and Cheers and FairPrice outlets at NUS

    Mr Dennis Tan, OCBC Bank’s Head of Consumer Financial Services Singapore, said: “The ‘FRANKly Asked Questions’ is the first FRANK by OCBC survey that we will be conducting annually. The survey has revealed insights into the psyche of millennials today and the values and attitudes they hold dear. In addition to the deep and rich insights that we already have from banking with one in two youths in Singapore, this enables us to tailor products and services that they will find useful at every stage of their lives and help achieve their aspirations.”

    Key Insights from FRANKly Asked Questions (see attached slides)

    Youths are motivated to discover their inner selves, care for their family and society, and are less likely to be materialistic in nature

    o   86% of millennials are motivated to understand their inner selves, compared to being famous (32%)

    o   3 in 4 millennials are concerned about their parents’ finances for retirement, and find it important to help others

    o   Less than half of millennials want to gain physical possessions when they have the money

    They understand the importance of a well-rounded education, value work-life balance at the workplace, and are practical

    o   82% of millennials feel that internships and working experience is crucial; 73% agree that getting a degree is a necessity

    o   Work-life balance is their top consideration for an ideal job

    o   83% of millennials want to secure a job with regular income, rather than start a family (46%) or start a business (37%)

    o   70% of millennials will only consider marriage once their career is stable

    They are generally positive in their financial attitudes, but more could be done to keep them informed and educated about investments and insurance

    o   41% of millennials struggle to stick to their saving plan

    o   While 69% of millennials want to start buying insurance policies and 71% want to start investing, less than half of millennials consider themselves knowledgeable about insurance and investments

    They are interested in bigger societal issues and new technologies, but are less interested in entrepreneurship and freelancing

    o   The top 5 most important social causes millennials care about are human rights (82%), poverty (81%), the environment (79%), helping the elderly (79%) and mental health awareness (79%)

    o   Millennials are more excited about the Internet of Things (73%) and Artificial Intelligence (62%) than going cashless (59%) or self-driving cars (57%)

    o   Less than half of millennials are interested in starting a business in the next five years, or being a freelancer

    They value gaining life experiences to value-add to themselves, and are constantly seeking to broaden their horizons and skillsets

    o   82% of millennials say gaining life experiences will be a priority when they have the financial means

    o   82% want to maintain relevant skillsets, which is their top motivation for pursuing higher education

    o   76% like to try new and different things, and half of them often try out new and trendy restaurants

    New ‘borderless’ FRANK Store at NUS

    The survey comes on the heels of the opening of the fourth and newest FRANK by OCBC Store at the National University of Singapore (NUS) last month. Taking over the space at the Stephen Riady Centre at University Town (UTown), which was previously a sports shop, OCBC Bank won a public tender for the space by offering to build a bank branch to offer students an essential service, and at the same time, add vibrancy to UTown through the creative design and use of the space. Occupying an area of 947 square feet, the FRANK by OCBC Store at NUS is a testament to the deep knowledge and insights FRANK by OCBC boasts in understanding the interests of millennials and integrating banking and financial literacy into their lives to make it accessible and relatable. The new FRANK by OCBC Store integrates features that are desired by millennials – borderless and digital interactions, environmental sustainability and a casual setting for banking.

    Like all other FRANK by OCBC Stores, the Store at NUS is designed differently from a traditional bank branch, making it attractive for students to come into the Store to take their time to browse and ask questions about banking products and services, play games or catch up with their friends over coffee.

    The new Store at NUS is Singapore’s first borderless and open-concept bank branch that does not utilise shutters or barriers after operating hours, and has no teller counters.

    Students interact with banking staff – known as FRANK Ambassadors – at the store’s collaboration areas, and can access the store round-the-clock to study or to get snacks at the cashless vending machine using the OCBC Pay Anyone mobile payments app. A ‘Future of Banking Zone’ highlights new mobile and Internet banking features on the latest iPads and iPhones, and enables students to try out digital banking services, including interacting with chatbot ‘Emma’ about study loans.

    The other FRANK by OCBC stores are located at Singapore Management University, Nanyang Technological University and orchardgateway mall.

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  • Google’s mobile payment service expands to more banks

    Google’s mobile payment service expands to more banks

    If you’re anxious to use Google Pay, but can’t because your bank doesn’t yet support the mobile payment service, you’ll be happy to know that Google is working hard to bring the product to as many consumers as possible. At least in the United States.

    We’re back with the monthly list of banks and credit unions that are about to receive Google Pay support, and this time there are only 15 of them. If your bank is among them, but you still can’t use the service, then give a few days. Without further ado, here is the full list of banks and financial institutions that should now offer Google Pay support.

    American State Bank & Trust Company, Commercial Bank, Community First Bank of Indiana, First National Bank of Paragould, Generations Bank (AR), Generations Bank (NY), Greensboro Municipal Federal Credit Union, Harvard State Bank, Heartland State Bank, Minnesota National Bank, People’s Bank of Commerce, PrimeWay Federal Credit Union, Spring Bank, Tampa State Bank, Walden Savings Bank, and Zellco Federal Credit Union.

    To find out if your bank or card works for in-store purchases with Google Pay on your phone, you should check out the full list from the service’s support site.

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  • Legacy Banks Must Become Agile, Says Citi

    Legacy Banks Must Become Agile, Says Citi

    New entrants and increased competition brought about by challenger banks could result in revenue losses of up to 30 percent among legacy banks over the next 10 years. While digitalization can lower costs for incumbent banks by 30 to 50 percent, new competition and greater transparency in the banking market, prompted by the emergence of challenger banks driven by fintech startups, are likely to lower revenues by 10 to 30 percent in the next decade, according to the report “Bank X: The New New Banks” published by Citi on Thursday.

    As legacy banks recognize the threat that new entrants into banking are posing to revenue and customers, they need to reinvent themselves and reimagine banking. This involves legacy banks partnering with technology companies to create effective joint ventures as well as moving into more disruptive technology and business models to transform themselves into digital competitors, the report said.

    If banks successfully transform digitally, their ROEs will rise from 8 percent in Europe and 16 percent in the U.S. to 15 percent and 24 percent respectively in a bullish scenario, and 5 percent and 10 percent respectively in a bearish scenario, the report noted.

    Bank X

    Built by new entrants, challenger banks designed around new digital technologies, leveraging data insights via agile technology stacks to offer customers better personalization and fully digital banking experiences. As they offer their services remotely via online or mobile banking, challenger banks tend to be quicker at incorporating new products or processes into their platforms and help easily connect with third-party products, ultimately offering more choices to the end-user.

    By creating their own Bank X, we believe legacy banks can transform themselves from slow-moving caterpillars to agile butterflies, Ronit Ghose, Citi Global Head of Bank Research, said.

    The report noted that while creating a new digital-only bank can help incumbent banks meet an evolving set of customer expectations quickly and effectively, setting up an independent challenger bank needs to be differentiated from digital transformations and core banking overhauls that they undertake. This is because creating their own Bank X requires independent application programming interfaces (APIs) and technology stacks, which is a significant departure from the operating model of incumbent banks.

    Need for Regulation in Asia

    Apart from the lower number of challenger banks in Asia compared to the U.K. and U.S., Citi noted that challenger banks in Asia are largely offshoots of big tech, telcoms, and banks. For example, WeBank, MYbank, and Kakao Bank are all backed by tech firms, KBank and Jibun Bank are backed by telcoms, while DBS has made progress in Indonesia and India with digibank, its own challenger bank.

    While Asia has several challenger banks originating from startups aiming to disrupt the financial system, Neat in Hong Kong or Paytm in India, they are exceptions. This is a result of the limited regulatory framework for challengers in Asia, with the emerging exception of Hong Kong, and the presence of large tech companies, particularly in China.

    Conversely, challenger bank activity is vibrant in the U.K. and Europe as a result of progressive regulations enacted to promote competition and break up the banking monopoly, the report said.

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  • OCBC Forms Committee to Ensure Responsible Banking

    OCBC Forms Committee to Ensure Responsible Banking

    The bank’s new ethics and conduct board committee wants to ensure that the group’s core values of trust and integrity continue to anchor the way it conducts its business.

    OCBC Bank has formed an ethics and conduct board committee, which is chaired by OCBC chairman Ooi Sang Kuang and includes directors Lee Tih Shih and Christina Ong, according to a news release on Thursday.

    While the industry is seeing ethics and compliance as an area of greater concern, the committee, which provides oversight of the group’s policies, guidelines, and programmes, is a first among Singapore banks.

    Laying Out Standards

    It held its first meeting on Wednesday, laying out expectations and standards for the group’s 29,000 employees as it aims to «sustain and grow a strong culture of responsible banking and fair dealing» and ensure that responsible banking is rigorously enforced across the whole OCBC group, the bank said.

    In the last decade, there have been several high-profile examples of questionable conduct by financial institutions. These examples span the globe and the misconduct ranges from extreme over-leveraging to violating international sanctions, tax fraud, and money laundering. The misconduct stems mostly from an imbalance between the pursuit of financial goals and responsible banking, Ooi said.

    Transforming Rapidly

    The banking industry is transforming rapidly due to technological advancements, and customers’ expectations have also changed. However, what has not changed is that our customers still expect us to be utterly worthy of their trust. That is why amid so much change in the banking industry, our underlying values of integrity and honesty must never change, Ooi added.

    The ethics committee also oversees a new culture and conduct committee, chaired by group chief executive Samuel Tsien. The committee will implement initiatives to enhance existing policies and programmes on ethics and conduct, as well as roll out new ones to strengthen these values among all the group’s employees.

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  • Deutsche Bank Appoints Head of Thailand

    Deutsche Bank Appoints Head of Thailand

    The German lender hires a new head from Siam Commercial Bank to fill the position left vacant since 2018. Deutsche Bank (DB) will get a new head for its Thailand operations in May, with the appointment of Pimolpa Suntichok as chief country officer and head of the financing and solutions group for Thailand, according to people close to the matter.

    Suntichok fills a position left by Phumchai Kambhato, who left the bank in 2018. She will report to Werner Steinmueller in her country management capacity and to Sreenivasan Iyer for her FSG responsibilities.

    Suntichok was previously the Senior Executive Vice President serving as the Head of Commercial Banking Solutions at Siam Commericial Bank, Thailand’s largest commercial bank. She brings over 20 years of experience in banking, having worked at Bangkok Bank, Jardine Fleming Thanakom Securities, Fitch Ratings (Thailand), and Standard Chartered Bank (Thailand). She joined SCB in 2008 to lead the structured finance practice for the Capital Markets Division and became the Head of Corporate Segment in 2015 and the Head of MultiCorporate Segment in 2016, according to SCB’s website.

    Future Uncertainty 

    Deutsche Bank in recent months has seen a raft of departures in Asia, including Southeast Asia Vice Chairman Philip Lee, Jakarta-based managing director Kunardy Lie, and North Asia COO

    Katherine Lai.

    DB, on its third CEO in four years, has in recent years scaled down its Asian operations as its focus has shifted towards Europe amid difficulties in the region. However, Thailand remains an important market for DB in Asia-Pacific, with the bank having a 40-year history in the country.

    The bank is currently in the midst of merger discussions with Commerzbank, which has cast uncertainty over Deutsche’s general strategy for the future.

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  • New Milestone for Hong Kong as a Financial Center

    New Milestone for Hong Kong as a Financial Center

    The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has granted the first virtual banking licenses to three institutions. According to their business plans, these banks will launch their services within six to nine months.

    The three banks that received a license are Livi VB, SC Digital Solutions and ZhongAn Virtual Finance to operate in the form of a virtual bank. The granting of these banking licenses takes effect today, according to a media release on Wednesday.

    According to their business plans, these three newly licensed virtual banks intend to launch their services within 6 to 9 months. After the granting of the above banking licenses, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong will be increased to 155.

    Reinforcing Hong Kong’s Position

    The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is making good progress in the processing of the remaining 5 virtual bank applications, according to further information.

    «It is a major milestone in reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as a premier international financial center. I believe that virtual banks will not only help drive fintech and innovation but also bring about brand new customer experiences and further promote financial inclusion in Hong Kong», Norman T.L. Chan, CEO of the HKMA, said.

    Targeting the Retail Public and SMEs

    I believe that virtual banks will have to offer innovative and customer-centric services in order to attract customers. Moreover, in targeting the retail public and SMEs as their main client base, virtual banks should help promote financial inclusion in Hong Kong, he added.

    The U.K. market, where neobanks and digital-only challengers have been around for a while, shows there’s a big chance new players will grab a significant chunk of new financial services revenue in the near future in Hong Kong, but that doesn’t mean all is lost for traditional banks here, Fergus Gordon, a managing director at Accenture who leads its Banking practice in Asia Pacific and Africa, said.

    Some Consolidation Expected

    Virtual banks will need some years to establish themselves, then there will likely be some consolidation among some of the players, and in the meantime, traditional players should continue to rapidly reconfigure their branch networks to become more focused on experiences and use technology to make the transition from digital to physical and back much more seamless, he added.

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  • DBS Poaches Wealth Planning Head from Bank of Singapore

    DBS Poaches Wealth Planning Head from Bank of Singapore

    His key responsibilities include driving the expansion of the bank’s wealth planning, family office and insurance offerings, and providing holistic solutions and advisory for high net worth families.

    DBS Bank on Friday has appointed Lee Woon Shiu as Head of Wealth Planning, Family Office and Insurance Solutions at its private bank, it said in a press release on Friday.

    Lee is an industry veteran with more than 20 years’ of experience in advising numerous ultra-high net worth families in Asia-Pacific on wealth planning as well as the establishment and implementation of family governance and philanthropy strategies. He joins DBS from Bank of Singapore, the private banking arm of OCBC Bank, where he has worked since 2004. Most recently, he held the position of Head of Wealth Planning, Trust and Insurance.

    «With Asia at the cusp of a significant intergenerational wealth transfer, we are committed to being our clients’ partner of choice as we help to grow, manage and protect their family’s assets and legacy over time,» Sim S. Lim, Group Head of Consumer Banking & Wealth Management, DBS Bank, said.

    Outside the office, Lee is an adjunct professor at Nanyang Technological University’s Wealth Management Institute (WMI), and has been appointed Expert Panel Member of WMI to provide guidance to the institute and its faculty in developing new IBF standards and curriculum for wealth planning. He is also an Advocate & Solicitor of Singapore, a Solicitor of England & Wales and an accredited Trust & Estate Practitioner under the International Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

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  • UOB Prices First Panda Bond

    UOB Prices First Panda Bond

    United Overseas Bank announced it has priced Singapore’s first Panda Bond at 3.49 percent, one of the lowest rates among all Panda bonds. The Singapore based lender UOB said that its three-year, 2 billion renminbi (S$404 million) offering garnered strong demand with a subscription rate of 2.7 times from asset managers and commercial bank investors across Asia. Thirty-eight percent was placed to China’s onshore investors and 62 percent to international offshore investors.

    «Our participation in China’s onshore debt market, one of the largest globally, enables us to grow our presence in China as the country continues to liberalize the renminbi and its financial markets. Further, through this offering, we can diversify our funding sources and continue to tap the increased connectivity between China and ASEAN arising from the Belt and Road Initiative to serve our customers’ needs,» said Wee Ee Cheong, CEO of UOB, said in a media statement.

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  • UOB Hires New Managing Director

    UOB Hires New Managing Director

    United Overseas Bank recently hired a regional head of engagement to expand its digital team in SingaporeIndustry veteran Kristina Curtis joined UOB two months . ago as managing director, regional head of engagement, group retail digital. Her LinkedIn profile shows extensive experience in digital banking, having worked for ANZ as customer analytics and digital for global wealth, and for BT financial group as chief digital officer.

    When contacted, the bank declined to comment on the personnel move.

    Experience in digital banking

    The demand for people who have leadership and project management experience in digital banking is high in Singapore as banks are pushing to launch new digital platforms in areas of payment and wealth management.

    The ability to leverage on mobile application and new technologies to build an effective communication pathway with the customers and allow for continuous engagement is increasingly valued, evident from the fact that Curtis is not the only recent senior digital.

    Last October, UOB officially appointed Aaron Chia, formerly from Western Union, as the new head of its digital plus unit for wealth and lifestyle products.

  • Australian dollar rises over weekend

    Australian dollar rises over weekend

    The Australian dollar has risen slightly over the weekend to 70.42 US cents, up from 70.22 US cents on Friday.

    The Aussie dollar also trades at 62.67 euro cents, 54.20 British pence, $1.03 New Zealand dollars, 78.24 Japanese Yen, and 4.733 Chinese Renminbi.

    Australian markets are also expected to be affected by Monday’s public holiday in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.

    CommSec chief economist Craig James says its no surprise that after the losses in the US, there would be similar declines in our own market on Monday.

    “US investors are trying to mull up the state of the economy – job figures were much weaker than expected but the question is whether this is just a one off type development. And housing stats were much firmer than expected,” he told AAP.

    “So that data was more mixed than anything.”

    He said investors could expect Monday to be a little softer in terms of volume, and potentially, growth because of the public holiday.

    He said because of that, no major economic data had been released.

    But what everyone is waiting for is a development in the US-China trade dispute.

    “Without new information, we are effectively in a holding pattern.”

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  • All Vietnamese commercial banks to be listed before 2020

    All Vietnamese commercial banks to be listed before 2020

    A Prime Minister approved plan requires all commercial joint stock banks to be listed before 2020 towards increased transparency and diversity. This is one of a series of solutions set out in the scheme to “Restructure the stock market and insurance market by 2020 with orientation towards 2025” approved by the Prime Minister late last month.

    Accordingly, commercial banks are required to list on any of Vietnam’s three official stock exchanges – the Ho Chi Minh Stock exchange (HOSE), Vietnam’s main exchange which accounts for over 90 percent of total market capitalization; the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), which houses remaining listed companies; and the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM), which is set up to encourage unlisted public firms to participate in the securities market so that they can later transfer to one of the two main stock markets.

    Currently, only 17 of 31 banks are registered for trading on all three floors.

    The Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to supervise and direct banks on listing, securitizing debts, provision of required services for derivatives trading, as well as monitor domestic and capital sources on the market.

    Last year, PM lauded Vietnam’s stock market for outperforming other Southeast Asian nations in capital mobilization, with a market cap of 72 percent of GDP at the end of 2-10.

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