Kuwait- Banking industry facing change: Hamilton 

(MENAFN - Arab Times) David Hamilton, President of SunGard's banking business, was recently in Kuwait for a business seminar. In this interview to the Arab Times the financial expert takes a look at banking and finance in Europe and Middle East in the wake of the crisis.

SunGard is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest IT companies globally. The company focuses chiefly on the financial IT sector where it is a global player right across the entire spectrum of financial services and banking. David Hamilton is one of the company's most senior executives and gives some great insight and analysis into global trends in banking and finance.

1. What are the new trends in the banking sector post economic crisis?
For many banks, the question has not been 'how do I succeed' but 'how do I survive'. Fundamentally, the global banking model has shifted and a transformation is occurring in how money is being managed as banks strive to re-build trust and create value for their shareholders.

A focus of investment for banks is on ensuring regulatory compliance and in assuring shareholders that they fully understand and can manage their risk exposures. Ultimately these investments need to drive more informed strategic decision-making and to help enable the bank to return to profitability.

2. How have regulations affected the banking industry in general in both Europe and America?
Nearly every area of the banking industry across the world is experiencing change, driven by an unprecedented combination of regulatory, governmental, investor and consumer demands. Banks' business models are being fundamentally questioned. In particular, as banks reduce their appetite for risk post-financial crisis and seek to comply with new regulations, many are now holding excess liquidity to guard against possible market volatility and further regulation. This limits the investment options open to them and restricts their ability to maximize revenue generation.

3. What lessons should banks in the Middle East region take from the experiences of the Western banks?
Western banks have been hit by a raft of new regulations, a drop in consumer confidence, and increase in demands for their services. Navigating all these changes will be challenging. Banks in the Middle East have an opportunity, by contrast, to capitalize on these changes. With a customer base of upwardly mobile, tech-savvy, young professionals who operate in different ways to the older generations in the West, they can grow their businesses more easily in response to these new demands.

4. What are the main areas in banking that are undergoing rapid transformation, like for example transactions channels and so on?
Probably the biggest transformation in the banking industry is in how services are delivered, with mobility one of the main drivers. The ability to access banking services wherever they are is a key component of new consumer demands.

5. Can you give us examples of how retail banks are breaking out of conventional styles of operating to attract customers?

Many consumers now see virtual channels as the primary window into their relationships with service providers, including their banks. As a result, the more innovative retail banks are transforming themselves to meet the needs of customers who now want access to their bank provider at any time, anywhere. With consumers switching their banking providers more easily than ever before, those banks that offer flexible, on-demand services will be best placed to attract new customers and grow.

6. What are some of the new banking products shaping up following the crisis?

Following the crisis, the key thing for banks is to rebuild the confidence in them that has been eroded whilst responding to growing regulatory and consumer pressures. Products and services that meet these needs are the ones that will best serve banks in this post-crisis environment.

Two products we have launched recently are aimed at helping banks achieve this. SunGard's Ambit MyMoney is a multi-channel platform providing retail bank customers with online and mobile access to a broad set of secure financial and non-financial transactions. Accessible via mobile and tablet devices, it helps banks provide customers with 24/7 access to their services wherever they are.

SunGard's Ambit Liquidity Optimization was launched this month to help banks minimize the impact that the cautious liquidity reserve strategies adopted in the wake of new regulations are having on their return on equity. Ambit Liquidity Optimization will help banks identify opportunities to release available funds for revenue generation, reveal intra-day investment opportunities for better returns, and refine cash and payment processes.