All articles by Duygu Tavan
Duygu Tavan
HSBC Strategy Day: new retail banking approach
HSBC is targeting a reduction in costs by fine-tuning its retail banking business efforts to profitable markets, the bank said. During a strategy day on 11 May, HSBCs chief executive retail banking and wealth management, Paul Thurston is expected to outline the banks approach to focusing its retail banking business in profitable markets HSBC announced at the end of April that it would withdraw its retail banking business from Russia and keep a representative office for corporate clients.
Backbase launches app store for banks
The app store, released within the vendors Backbase Bank 2.0 Portal, enables banks to personalise offers for customers, including financial management. Jelmer de Jong, marketing manager at Backbase, said that the app stores integration capabilities also enable banks to offer more personalisation to their clients in terms of content, news and research
ICBC world’s most valuable financial brand
Industrial and Commerical Bank of China (ICBC) is the most valuable financial institution brand in the world, according to a study on the top 100 most valuable brands. The sixth annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study by Millward Brown, a research agency and part of communications group WWP, named ICBC as the worlds most valuable financial institution brand ahead of other, well-known brands such as American Express, Citi, HSBC and Santander.
First Data, Market Strategies identify customer attitudes towards technology-based services
More than a third of retail banking customers think that banking technology advances too fast, a study by commerce and payment processing vendor First Data and consultants Market Strategies has found. Despite banks’ steady migration to alternative delivery channels and technology-based banking services, four out of ten customers said they desired speaking to an advisor face-to-face instead of getting information about new services on their own. The Insights to Help Financial Institutions Better Serve Retail Banking Customers study by First Data and Market Strategies assessed customers attitude towards innovative banking services such as mobile and online banking.
Barclays relocates Africa HQ to Johannesburg
The British lender said that the bank would begin operating from Johannesburg again, after having left the South African capital in 2006. The banks decision to relocate its Africa-headquarters follows Barclays announcement that it would combine its regional offices with its African-subsidiary ABSA.
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Huntington offers free current account
Ohio, US-based lender Huntington Bancshares has introduced a free current account as part of its Fair Play banking strategy Huntingtons so-called Asterisk-Free Checking account incurs no opening fees and neither does the bank charge for maintenance.
Nigeria M&A: First City Monument, Finbank merge
The merger has now been confirmed by FCMB, following news in January that the bank had made a bid for 182-branch strong Finbank. The merger between FCMB and Finbank is part of FCMBs ambitions to grow its retail banking franchise as the bank operates predominantly as a wholesale bank.
HSBC expands Vietnam network
HSBC may be closing down its retail banking business in Russia, but it is continuing to grow its retail banking business network in Asia. At the beginning of the year, HSBC had announced that it would target growth in its Thai retail banking business following the local governments easing of its restrictive banking rules.
NAB half year net profit up 16% YOY
NAB has reported a net profit of A$2.4bn ($2.6bn) for the six months to the end of March, an increase of 16% from the corresponding half year in the previous fiscal.
Akbank 1Q net income slumps 27% YOY
Net interest income declined by 22% to TRY1.1bn, while the banks net fee and commission income in the three months to the end of March rose by 11.6% from the year-ago quarter to TRY366m.