Ben Thorpe’s Post

#finance #banking Citi's decision to close its last branch in Singapore marks yet another chapter in the long-running saga of banks going digital. For two decades, we’ve watched physical branches slowly fade into the sunset as banks find it more cost-effective to centralise operations in a few core hubs. Of course, there are still those "old timers" who insist on going into a branch to deposit cheques or *cough* withdraw cash. But let’s face it, Singapore boasts some of the highest internet literacy rates in the world. At this rate, branches will probably be around just long enough till millennials like me shed our mortal bodies, or until we start visiting virtual bank branches in the metaverse instead. The real question is whether local banks will follow Citibank’s lead, scaling back their own physical presence. And will this shift also extend to bank call centres? After all, once we’re all comfortable banking via app, who’s going to be around to appreciate the banks' Spotify playlist while being put on hold? Only time (and maybe a few lingering cheque books) will tell. https://lnkd.in/g-EnUaGJ

Over the last few years, we’ve transformed our business in Singapore – we’ve invested in products, platforms, and people in line with the growth of Singapore as a gateway to ASEAN and a global wealth hub. From a Wealth and Personal Banking perspective, we now offer the most complete offering across the wealth continuum. We serve our retail, mass affluent, high net worth and ultra high net-worth customers through Retail Banking, Global Private Banking, HSBC Life and Global Asset Management, and as part of our universal international bank. Yesterday, we affirmed our commitment to Singapore by announcing the opening of three new wealth centres in Singapore by Q1 2025. We will also be increasing our client-facing roles by a third by 2028. Our aim is to elevate our customers’ experiences and build a differentiated proposition that supports their wealth, health and international banking needs. Whether it is growing and protecting their wealth, or planning for their family, or the next generation, we are dedicated to building long-term, enduring and trusted relationships with our customers. Banking is about relationships and trust, and it is really about having the people in the location where customers can interact and build a relationship, but using digital technology to take away the friction for some of the things they want to do. HSBC to open three wealth centres in S’pore by Q1 2025, with the first in CBD in June https://lnkd.in/gHFEGjJJ

The Big Read in short: Coping with the inevitability of banking, e-payment services disruptions! Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series #delves into the #trends and #issues that matter. This week, we look at how consumers and businesses can adapt to #banking and #e-payment service #disruptions. * DBS Bank and Citibank digital banking and e-payments services were down for hours this month, following an issue at a data centre used by both banks * Some consumers were caught off guard without cash or alternative means to pay, while affected businesses relied on an honour system and trusted their customers to pay later * Despite the risk of disruptions in e-payment systems, some businesses maintain that the benefits of going cashless far outweigh the cons * Experts said while more can be done to prevent outages, there are no foolproof methods to ensure they won't happen * Both businesses and consumers can adapt by adopting more payment modes to be more resilient and agile, they added SINGAPORE — A long-awaited date with her national serviceman boyfriend for Ms Nazrana Shaheen ended up being cut short, no thanks to a #banking #services #disruption by #DBS Bank and #Citibank on Oct 14. The disruption saw banking services by DBS Bank and Citibank being down from the afternoon of Oct 14 — a Saturday — due to an issue at the data centre used by both banks. The outage caused issues with the usage of #ATMs, #Citi credit cards, #PayNow and #investments made via the Citi Mobile App or Citibank Online, said Citi Singapore. https://lnkd.in/gNup7v2E 

#HSBC is pulling back from its credit card business in China eight years after its launch, as the lender struggled to expand and make the enterprise profitable, sources with knowledge of the matter said. w/Engen Tham Sumeet Chatterjee London-headquartered HSBC, which makes the bulk of its revenue in Asia, had about one million users of its credit cards in China by September 2019. The Asia-focused bank has stopped issuing new cards and is working towards winding down the service offered to a large part of China onshore customers. China, a market that used to offer many promises to foreign players with its massive retail customer base, proves harder to crack than anticipated. As a cost-conscious HSBC new management drafting up plans for the final reveal of overhaul in a few months, the eight-year-old enterprise is now facing the prospect of being wound down.

We've been closely following the emergence of digital banks in #Singapore, the likes of Trust Bank Singapore and GXS Bank are experiencing rapid growth driven by incentives and the increasing demand for enhanced digital channel experiences among SMEs. Today, the launch RHB Banking Group's Boost #Bank in #Malaysia marks a significant addition to the country's banking landscape. At RFI Global, we are committed to monitoring the impact of this development on consumer preferences and behavior and to understand if Boost's playbook will differentiate from other digital banks in the region. https://lnkd.in/dkp-Euji

Devashis Das, Mizuho's managing director of global transaction banking in Asia Pacific, detailed the bank’s expansion, digital innovation, and strategy to offer innovative, client-focused products and services in the transaction banking sector Amid a double-digit year-on-year revenue surge outside Japan, particularly from key outbound markets in East Asia and inbound markets in ASEAN and India, Das detailed the collaborative efforts behind new digital initiatives such as the electronic banker’s guarantee launched in Singapore, and a trade finance registry, reflecting the bank’s commitment to digital innovation and regulatory compliance. Das explained that Mizuho’s One APAC strategy was a focal point, aiming for enhanced regional collaboration and efficiency. This strategic consolidation has already begun to yield positive results, he added, with transaction banking revenues reporting substantial growth. He highlighted significant growth in staff and resources in strategic locations to bolster the bank’s capabilities to better respond to increasing transactional business flow requirements from clients. Das shared Mizuho’s plans for further digital advancements in 2024, including core banking system transformations and other operational process enhancements. However, he acknowledged the challenges of digitalisation, particularly customer adoption rates and the integration of new technologies. He also addressed operational challenges such as cybersecurity and the complexity of digital activation and usage faced by corporate clients, emphasising ongoing efforts in client education to raise awareness of cyber security and secure online banking. On the sustainability front, Das discussed how the bank is supporting its clients’ environmental, social and governance journey, beginning with dialogue and advisory services. He also delved into Mizuho’s employee-centric approaches to incentivise product cross-selling to deepen customer engagement, and the launch of new initiatives to expand the bank’s client base and enhance service delivery. Arshgeet Singh, Sankaranarayanan K, Saurabh Sarin, Suma Ramakrishna, Ankesh Ranjan, SWAMINATHAN R, Dr. Dharma Raja RM, Jay Shah, CPA, Rajendra Kothari, Jiayi Peng Foo Boon Ping 胡文彬, TAB Global #mizuhobank #transactionbanking #digitaltransformation #AsiaPacific #innovation #blockchain #tradefinance #OneAPAC #regulatorycompliance #staffgrowth #digitaladvancements #APIconnectivity #sustainability #cybersecurity #customerengagement #theasianbanker #tabglobal

🔊 Citi plans to expand its credit card, retail banking, private banking and family office businesses in #HongKong in the coming years, as it sees the city to becoming the epicentre of #WealthManagement as some US$100 trillion in riches is created globally over the next 10 years. Find out more. #CitiCareers #LifeAtCiti

#Service #Reliability remains a key concern of regulators in #Banking and related industries. "Keeping the lights on" is easier said than done. While Indian Banks had their own share of woes, they are not alone! The recent disturbances at Singapore's DBS occurred two days after Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) lifted a six-month suspension of non-essential activities for DBS on 30 April, which had been imposed to allow the bank to concentrate on fixing its service vulnerabilities. MAS continues to closely monitor the bank’s implementation of these measures. On 5 May 2023, in response to the disruptions, MAS imposed additional capital requirements amounting to approximately S$1.6 billion on DBS. What #bestpractices help ensure #servicereliability ? Do FinTech's have better processes, people and tech to avoid similar rap from the regulator (and inconvenience to their customers?) #ITResilience Prasanna Raman Sridhar Paul Anderson Paul Dantzig Atul Ramani https://lnkd.in/gstjypzk

When DBS Bank launched its strategy - Making Banking Joyful, which transformed it into the #worldsbestbank, it had to rebrand this strategy for customers.   Internally employees are empowered to do whatever they need to do to make banking joyful. However, when Making Banking Joyful was tested with customers, it did not resonate, and the bank developed a new branding called - Live More Bank Less.   Internally this caused confusion as the goal was to have customers bank more - not less. It took a few months to develop the understanding that technology was an enabler that allowed customers to spend less time doing their banking. They do, in fact, bank more with digital customers doing 16 times more self-led transactions than traditional customers and bring in double the income.   Since launching Live More Bank Less, it has taken on a life of its own. Outside of their head office branch in Singapore, I enjoyed seeing the branding below. #strategyimplementation

🆕 📰 HKMA's review of the Hong Kong virtual banks dropped yesterday - as expected, a relatively bleak picture of slow progress and a long path to profitability. A few salient points: 💡 Challenges in monetizing customer base - while virtual banks in HK hold ~9% customer market share, balance sheet share is only 0.3% 💡 Inefficient balance sheets - overall loan/deposit ratio of only ~50% and deposit growth is slowing 💡 Pursuing alternative, incremental revenue streams in wealth and insurance - 6 out of the 8 virtual banks are Registered Institutions engaging in securities business and 3 are Licensed Insurance Intermediaries https://lnkd.in/gijgqpsb