A Vector of Innovation

The French are increasingly using more online banking with nearly 60% of Internet users who visit the website of their bank. Despite this, the agency remains the focus of customer relationship: 27,435 bank branches were recorded in France at the end of 2006, more than 1,000 additional branches in two years. Also, the banking and insurance from a distance, 100% online, limited for now to a few organizations: foreign banks, some credit institutions and insurance so it is important to link the distribution channels.

Personalize the communication and efficient use of distribution channels following the logic of process costs and customer value is the major axis of a multi-channel strategy. Depending on the objectives, policies can be differentiated.

In this logic, combinations client use x x channel are put forward to maintain the equivalence between the link type of transaction / channel and the link type of customer / channel.

Whatever the entry point used by the client, processes are implemented, depending on the task at hand to guide the client to the appropriate channel in terms of palatability and cost (programs incentives such as offers for online subscriptions).

In addition, indirect methods largely complete the distribution of offers and services such as the Broker (TV operators), the network affinity (automobile association for insurers) and the General Agent as an extension of networks of insurance agencies.

Current Status And Challenges of STP and Asset Managers Part.II

The new drivers of STP - the regulatory and standardization work at European level:
The Giovannini Report in 2003 pointed to weaknesses of the RL at European level concerning cross-border transactions. Regulatory works to address them are underway. They will lead to harmonization of cycles RL (and therefore a shortening of RL in some places), and impose a uniform technique, the different tax and legal depositories (CSD) Europe.

MiFID requires the tendering systems RL Europe, in the fall of 2007. The current model of a settlement made systematically at the CSD in the country of the title, lived. If they want to benefit from the introduction of competition, the players in the securities business (especially the trustees) will have to upset their traditional organization into streams.

Finally, Target 2 Securities project proposes the establishment of a European central depository, in 2012. Current European CSDs will have to focus primarily on the functions of overall conservation (settlement being provided by the system TS2), where they will find themselves in competition with the traditional custodians.

In other words, industrialization goes into high gear. For asset managers, the challenge is twofold: make the most of the opening to competition, and ensure the levels of STP always higher.

Set up middle office function common to different managements (conventional management, alternative investments) and various subsidiaries (foreign, for example) are, for large asset managers, an opportunity to reduce costs and increase operational efficiency. It is also a way to refocus the subsidiaries of their management activities.

Finally, some will choose outsourcing middle-office function. Bet that the trustees, in competition with the CSD in the field of conservation, will benefit from their proximity to the asset managers to develop the services of this type.

Current Status And Challenges of STP and Asset Managers Part.I

In recent years asset managers have conducted I their sites, both led to major changes at the organizational level:

* Changing the middle-office business, which has become a business expert responsible for dealing with exceptions STP
* Streamlining and sometimes processing service contracts vis-à-vis external actors (including custodians), and between internal stakeholders (empowerment of front-office concerning the seizure of deals)

If:

* Increased importance of reference for the automation and control requires reliable baseline data (third values, standard instructions and settlement)
* Formalization of business processes and streamlining the distribution of transactions within the information system.

Regarding the matching of transactions and settlement, patterns emerge and process to standardize.

Solutions and centralized automatic matching have emerged as solutions that provide the best rates of STP: 85% of the deals are confirmed on the day when the confirmation is done via a solution centralized matching, only 18% when the confirmation is done by back and forth between asset manager and broker.

ISO 15022 (and ISO 20022, which complements it by adding the XML syntax) makes Swift and fill rules SMPG as a standard interface for the exchange. The standard requires disclosure of such details of RL brokers in the IRL messages sent to custodians.
That said the levels of STP are highly variable, depending on the types of instruments.
For classical instruments (equities, fixed income, forex), the rate of STP is good and almost exclusive breaks STP cross-border transactions and are often caused by contact settlement brokers. The improvement involves the emergence of a global repository recognized by all and a standardization of data exchange between partners. Meanwhile, asset managers shall have in place reference coordinate RL brokers, administered manually.
On the other hand, the level of industrialization is low for complex instruments (derivatives futures, credit derivatives, OTC instruments, etc.). Several obstacles: the lack of standards and "market practices" in terms of formats and exchange protocols; gaps in modeling and benchmarks in information systems, the pace of innovation in front office. The STP is not always possible or appropriate, it requires as a prerequisite to the emergence of standards for external trade, and urbanization work and standardization of trade and in-house repositories.

Opportunities for Custodians

We have watched the race in critical mass which was played at major conservative fund.
And later, we make the following observations:

* the trend towards concentration is more than ever in progress, especially for cross-border acquisitions. As such giants seek the conservation targets of all sizes very small (e.g. BPSS acquisition activities Exel bank ,Spain)
* Most major conservatives have seen their assets under management grow by 50% due to acquisitions of domestic and border ..
* The stability of the classification of the great conservative movement despite the concentration
* the gradual disappearance of the small conservative (a few billion Euros of assets under management). As such, it is clear that the deployment of value-added offers (MO Outsourcing, Pricing OTC ...) but also the increasing complexity of financial instruments makes it difficult to maintain small structures.

The last major change is semantic; we do not talk anymore but preservation of securities services to investors...

Micro Insurance, Natural Complement of Microcredit Part.III

The combination takes advantage of this special role to provide support (including legal) in the Proceedings of the insured. Conversely, insurance products are best developed on the basis of specifications drawn up according to the needs and financial capacities of micro entrepreneurs by insurers who have the expertise and capital required.

It is clear that the design of the two products presented above are based on models of traditional products of insurance (liability, property and casualty business,) well understood by insurers and distribution models have proven otherwise.
The innovation of this type of product then essentially comes from the mix design "optimized" (an insurance policy and a simplified marketing price equal to the cost of production) and distribution of "proximity" (accompanied by networks of initiative Economic and associations).

The need for micro-entrepreneurs in terms of insurance is not new and one wonders why such offers micro insurance was not developed earlier. According to Mr. Schinzler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Munich Re, "the premium income is low administrative costs are relatively high and the infrastructure is lacking, as many arguments justifying the lack of interest of professional insurance for this market".
Micro insurance, such as microfinance as a whole, should not be seen as the broad market of tomorrow huge future profits (insurers partners do not mark-up on products and distribution fees are zero). Today, it should rather be seen as an activity to meet the challenges of sustainable development in Financial Services, a theme which is too often accused professionals of this sector of disinterest. The many recent initiatives in this area show the contrary a real desire...