Prospettive di mercato

The low-interest rate environment, increased market volatility and ongoing regulatory pressure are just some of the drivers forcing investment managers to review their target operating model today.

Instant payment services are being developed by payment market infrastructures (PMIs) all over the world. Banks also see real-time services from PMIs as an opportunity to develop new products. The benefits these domestic instant payments systems bring will also be felt in cross-border payments once the systems start to inter-operate.

Europe’s fund management industry has seen spectacular growth over the last two decades, with assets having accumulated eight-fold since 1996. Capital invested in UCITS and AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds), the two leading EU fund structures, now stands at 14.1 trillion euros.

December 2017 As financial authorities express concern about de-risking in correspondent banking, a similar phenomenon is emerging in trade finance, driven by the high costs of KYC compliance. There is a danger that some banks in some regions, such as Africa, will have difficulty connecting to the trade finance world. Banks need to collaborate to help...

Cyber security is top of mind for industry executives, as high-profile security breaches continue to reverberate. SWIFT’s Customer Security Programme (CSP) has mobilised its members to take decisive action. What benefits are being gained from such collaboration? In an industry where robust safeguards at one institution can be undermined by weak security at...

At regular intervals the long-term survival of the current correspondent banking model is questioned. Whilst initiatives like SWIFTgpi improve the speed, transparency and traceability of cross-border payments and non-banks offer alternative payment services, they still rely on the underlying settlement mechanism of nostro-vostro accounts held by correspondent...

Increasing financial inclusion is seen as key to reducing poverty and driving economic growth in developing countries, but more than 50% of adults in the world’s poorest households still don’t have access to a bank account. Many of the world’s leading financial institutions have pledged to support World Bank President Jim Yong Kim’s target to open up banking...