
Since the start of the financial crisis, there have been dramatic changes in corporate banking relationships. The link between credit and treasury services business is not new, however, it is much stronger than in previous years.

If you weren't able to join us on our 2010 predictions webcast today, I wanted to at least share one of the predictions, specifically for Capital Markets, that I spoke to. I talked about capital markets reform being more bark than bite.

We hosted the annual IDC Financial Insights' Asian Insurance Congress (AIC) 2010 last Thursday at the Pan Pacific in Singapore. This full day knowledge-centric and networking conference witnessed in excess of 200 managerial to C-level insurance executives and financial technology vendors across the region.

I just posted a new report for IDC Financial Insights customers outlining and describing our point of view on cloud computing in financial services. For those of you following our blog postings you've had some previews of our thinking in previous blogs, but the report goes into some more detail on definitions and the current state of the technology.

Recently the American Banker wrote an article about a new site, Cogster.com, which is promoted as a mashup of social networking and microlending. After doing some digging on my own, and sorting out the complexities, I do not believe that this is a recipe for success.

Harland Financial Solutions is hosting clients at its annual Connections Conference in Oralndo, FL this week. I've had the opportunity to meet with clients, staff and the industry glitterati like me. Yes, that is a tongue in cheek comment, but it's got a better ring to it than analysts, journalists, etc. The conference vibe has been a bit of a mixed bag – very much like we're seeing in the economy now, and probably reflective of the future that institutions can expect.

Recently, I had an opportunity to travel to Sao Paulo, Brazil to attend and speak at one of the largest FinTech conferences in Latin America; CIAB Febraban 2010 – Congress and Exhibition of Information Technology for Financial Institutions. Although this was my first time at the event, the conference seemed well attended with a lot of energy and buzz. In addition, from walking the floor and speaking to vendors and participants, I was struck by a strong case of conference envy, especially when comparing this event to many of the larger FinTech conferences in the US. Weren’t our conferences in the US like this in the past?

As I prepare to attend The ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum in Las Vegas next month, I thought it would be beneficial to lay out some specific focus areas for me to explore during the conference. After I attend, I will post another blog to let you know if my initial thoughts on these topics have or have not changed. They include:
| type | name | rating | author | activity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question | Asia Trader & Investor Convention 2010 – Malaysia | 1 | 1009 | ATIC | Apr 13 | |
| Question | Financial Tech Events 2010 | 2 | 806 | Chris | Jan 8 | |
| Discussion Topic | In-house versus outsource: Where do Insurers stand? | 1 | 1701 | David Potterton | 12/19/09 |
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