TRADE SHOW / ASSOCIATION UPDATE

SWIFT shareholders have voted to extend membership to the asset management arms of insurance companies and government institutions.

The group also announced a new category of participant to enable financial institutions to provide hub-and-spoke messaging communications to their corporate customers within closed user groups.

The creation of the new category was brought on by the widespread acceptance of IP technologies that have opened up new connectivity channels between the financial and corporate sectors. Now FIN and SWIFTNet infrastructures can be used for the delivery of banking and financial services to corporate customers.

"In the search for end-to-end standards there is a real need for SWIFT to think beyond purely bank-to-bank communications," said Charles Bryant, head of Banking Industry Division, SWIFT.

The move to offer membership to insurance companies and government institutions is the next logical step in SWIFT's securities marketplace strategy, according to Francis Remacle, head of the Securities Industry Division for the group.

"Securities players at every point in the transaction lifecycle are looking for ways to better manage risk and handle ever increasing transaction volumes," Remacle said. "Key to achieving this is universal connectivity, with all relevant parties at the same table, communicating in the same language. By opening up SWIFT to insurance companies and governments, we've taken a significant step forward to ensure this happens."

SWIFT is an industry-owned, worldwide community of financial institutions that provides mission critical messaging, transaction processing, and standards to the financial industry. For more information, email www.swift.com

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The Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) has appointed Reynolds C. Bish to serve as vice chairman/chairman elect for the group's Board of Directors.

Bish, who is president and CEO of Captiva Software Corp., has been a member of AIIM for many years and previously served on the organization's Strategic Planning Group. His new duties will include heading up AIIM's Finance Committee and Revitalization Task Force, which is developing various initiatives to ensure the organization's long-term viability and growth.

AIIM International is the Global Enterprise Content Management Association, which connects the users and suppliers of e-business technologies and services. For more information, email www.aiim.org.

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The Risk Management Association (RMA) has named Maurice H. Hartigan II as its new president and CEO. He replaces Allen W. Sanborn, who retired.

Hartigan has over 35 years of industry experience, most recently as corporate executive vice president for at PNC, where he helped restructure a number of the bank's key business lines. Prior to that he was at Chemical Bank, where he held a number of executive positions.

Hartigan's will oversee the RMA, an organization that emphasizes high value products, professional development, networking opportunities and benchmarking initiatives.

"My main goal is to keep the RMA at the forefront of thought leadership on the evolving areas of risk," Hartigan said. "In an industry that has seen unprecedented expansion, as well as consolidation and a steady stream of new risk-related products, RMA has served as a constant."

RMA is the only financial services association that specializes in promoting effective credit risk management practices across the entire financial services industry. For more information, visit RMA at www.rmahq.org.