Sibos Themes: Openness, Hope ... and Anxiety

During a week when commentators seriously debated whether or not the United States financial services industry could survive, conversations I had at Sibos tended to be, if not optimistic, at least somewhat hopeful about some of the less-publicized trends in banking.There seemed to be consensus that while the industry faces some very tough times, the institutions that survive should emerge stronger, more focused, more customer-oriented, and structurally better equipped to deal with change and challenge. For once, this is largely because of the contributions information technology is making to the business (rather than IT somehow being at fault for the problems). One theme that emerged is that of openness. That's not new, but it was interesting how many Sibos participants talked about standards, collaboration, partnerships and transparency. To some extent that's in anticipation of future regulatory requirements, but it's also turning out to be good business. More big banks are developing open account capabilities in trade, and also seeking more ways to expose information about payments and transactions that their clients can use to better manage liquidity and risk. Vendors that once swore blood oaths against each other are increasingly coming together to work on industry standards and frameworks. "Vendors are talking about interoperability because customers are demanding it," noted Brian Jackson, technology strategy for banking, worldwide financial services, Microsoft. But it's certainly not a time to feel smug. The credit crisis and its consequences is not a failure of IT, but with IT playing a key role in the banking industry's recovery, the pressure certainly will be on technology organizations and their leaders to deliver. "What can they do to help the business manage during a crisis?" asked Mark Bubar, worldwide VP sales, financial services, CA. Governance will be key, and CIOs must be able to report on project status and performance accurately and increasingly in real time, he said. Accordingly, Sibos exhibitors seemed cautiously optimistic that, even in these tough times, there will be investment in technologies and systems that help banks improve risk management, governance, processing efficiency. Intellectually it makes sense that of course financial institutions will make these kinds of investments. But with bankers already feeling that market forces are beyond their control (according to research that SAP releasedjust prior to Sibos), it's not at all clear whether management will have the courage to commit these kinds of resources in the face of unimaginable media and political scrutiny.

Katherine Burger is Editorial Director of Bank Systems & Technology and Insurance & Technology, members of UBM TechWeb's InformationWeek Financial Services. She assumed leadership of Bank Systems & Technology in 2003 and of Insurance & Technology in 1991. In addition to ... View Full Bio