TransAction from Technology For Finance

Welcome to TransAction - the regular newsletter from Technology For Finance, the online technology resource for the financial services industry.

This issue is sponsored by Financial Research Associates
Financial Research Associates is proud to present two dynamic programs!
Tech-Ops 2004
New York City, February 26-27, 2004
Tech-Ops 2004 promises you an educational program where you will hear from executives in charge of operations and IT discuss their decision-making and solutions to daily and unexpected challenges.
Mutual Fund Compliance and Regulatory Summit
Boston, January 26-27, 2004
Don’t miss this cornerstone meeting for advisors and compliance officers to get up to speed on the regulatory issues that affect their businesses today.

News Digest

Visit our News Desk for the latest product news, industry initiatives, and technology research. Our coverage over the last month has included:

US Banks Set For IT Spend Increase
Research from the American Bankers Association and TowerGroup shows that banking technology spend and investment growth is set to rise. US banks are particularly interested in improving the technology within their sales, service and risk management departments.

MidasPlus Global Processing Announced
Misys Wholesale Banking has announced its latest product, MidasPlus Global Processing. The MidasPlus Global Processing approach allows banks to cater for country variations in regulatory reporting and accounting standards, while still allowing centralization and appropriate consolidation to achieve further efficiencies and economies.

Asset Managers Want Integrated Systems
A survey from Trema shows that integrated systems are highly desired by asset managers across the financial services industry. Improvement of investment analysis, decision making and the reduction of operational risk are deemed to be considerable drivers for the investment management industry.

PegaPAYMENT Smart Adjust 3.1 Released
Pegasystems has launched PegaPAYMENT Smart Adjust version 3.1, an image-based exceptions management solution for all types of payment. With a comprehensive set of pre-packaged business processes that automate nearly all error types, Smart Adjust is designed to enable financial services organizations to increase productivity and bridge operational silos.

Battling Fraud and Basel II
Financial institutions are spending vast amounts of cash on business intelligence and analytics systems, in order to defeat fraudsters and money launderers and keep up with Basel II legislation. Fraud detection solutions are expected to see strong growth, with a compound annual growth rate estimated at 7.5 per cent between now and 2006.

Recent Articles

Visit our Articles library for the full catalog of in-depth articles and opinion pieces about the technology trends shaping the financial services industry. Our most recent articles include:

Online User Authentication – One Size Does Not Fit All
Mark Kelly reviews some of the primary authentication options available to financial institutions bringing business processes online, and discusses their merits and limitations in the context of a fully functional e-business environment.

The Value of Multi-Channel Banking
Embracing new channels will enable retail branches to become profitable - and to continue to deliver personalized individual service to customers. By Mark Elkins.

Insuring a Competitive Edge
Insurance companies seeking to leverage incentive compensation to drive performance and productivity should consider enterprise incentive management software as an alternative to their legacy systems. By Allyson Shear.

Is 2003 the Year of Convergence?
For financial institutions, the intelligent combination of IT and telecom systems is an opportunity for technology to provide real competitive advantage. By Jason Moody and Simon Cornwell.

STP in Financial Services - Some Myths
Is the business case for STP still valid and what should be the key elements in an STP strategy? Sunil Kumar Kolangara looks at the importance of STP, and explodes a few of the myths associated with it.

Forthcoming Events

Visit our Home page for a calendar of worldwide events in retail banking, wholesale banking, securities, and insurance.

Web Services on Wall Street
New York, February 3-4, 2004
This conference, featuring Web Services and XML updates and case studies, will assemble global investment leaders who are changing the way Wall Street invests in technology. Their IT budget purse strings are beginning to open – but with tougher, competitive auctions for their business.

eWorld Banking & Financial Services
London, April 21-22, 2004
A two-day educational business forum designed to demystify the use of new technologies within the banking, insurance and financial services sectors.

This issue is sponsored by Financial Research Associates
Financial Research Associates is proud to present two dynamic programs! Visit our Website for more details and to download the conference brochures.

If you have been sent this e-mail in error or wish to receive no further communications from Technology For Finance, please reply with "REMOVE" in the subject line.