Responding to the Unforeseen Implications of Basel III

The financial crises caused a widespread meltdown to which central banks, governments, and regulators across the globe responded by introducing regulatory reforms and legislations to better control risks. The keystone of these comprehensive initiatives is the implementation of the new Basel III standards on capital adequacy and liquidity for banks.

Is Another Mortgage Bubble on the Horizon?

Lisa Valentine

“Increasing home prices are not sustainable but that doesn’t mean that we are in another housing bubble,” noted Jed Kolko, chief economist and vice president of analytics for Trulia during FSOkx’s April 18 forum From Meltdown to Transformation: Facing the Next Generation of the Mortgage Industry in Washington, D.C.

Re-emergence of Correspondent Lending

Amid depressed demand, a rising interest rate environment, and an unclear housing market outlook, mortgage lenders continue to seek new growth opportunities. The exodus of big banks from the correspondent lending business has opened the door for smaller institutions to step in and fill an unmet need. In a bid to offer more loan products and stay competitive in the marketplace, many mid-tier lenders are participating in correspondent lending programs.

Outsourcing Legal Processes

Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) firms have evolved and moved up the value chain in the last few years, overcoming initial skepticism around data security and privacy. Most LPO firms successfully addressed privacy concerns by obtaining International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Information Security Management System certifications. This measure has positively impacted the industry – a trend substantiated with findings from an ORBYS survey in 2011 of in-house counsel heads, which revealed that the majority of respondents used or would consider outsourcing legal processes

Hedge Funds in 2013

2012 was a year full of challenges for the hedge fund industry as it coped with economic and political turbulence, ongoing regulatory pressures, and fierce competition. Below-benchmark returns and investor’s increasing demand for transparency further added to hedge fund woes. With new reforms translating into extra compliance burdens and complexities, regulatory compliance is perhaps the top challenge for hedge fund managers. In spite of these challenges, hedge funds are pressured to post strong performance figures in order to sustain their businesses.

Why Won’t Financial Organizations Embrace Social Media?

Social media has transformed how organizations in a variety of industries do business and interact with customers. In the financial services industry, less progress has been made. Few financial services firms have reaped the full benefit of social media as a customer retention and acquisition tool. The problem, according to many experts, is that financial services organizations were too slow to realize the opportunities that the integration of social media with CRM presented them in gathering and analyzing customer data. Social media adoption by financial services customers remains low partly because the financial services industry avoided social media for years and are simply...

Big Data to Create Millions of IT Jobs Globally

Lisa Valentine

According to recent research from Gartner, big data will drive IT spending and create 4.4 million IT jobs globally by 2015 with nearly 1.9 million of these jobs created in the U.S. Since financial services is a data-driven industry...

Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management Continues to Drive IT Spending

Lisa Valentine

Global economic turmoil and scores of regulatory changes are compelling financial firms to develop new market strategies. Despite the squeeze of shrinking profits on IT budgets, financial services firms must allocate funds to fulfill new and stringent regulatory obligations.

The Far Reaching Implications of U.S. Regulatory Reforms

By and large, financial regulations are targeted for national implementation and have very little impact on other countries. However, U.S. regulatory reforms such as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Dodd-Frank Act will have far reaching effects on the global financial landscape. As deadlines for implementing these regulatory requirements approach, many global firms are scrambling to understand how U.S. regulations..

Join us at FSOkx’s 8th Annual Asset Management Industry Transformation and Outsourcing Strategies Forum

Lisa Valentine

When FSOkx presented our first Asset Management Industry Transformation and Outsourcing Strategies Forum back in 2004, the global asset management industry looked a whole lot different than it does today. Absolutely our industry is experiencing unprecedented legislative and regulatory changes. But even in 2004, challenges abounded and the...