• SunGard’s Common Services Architecture Enters Proof-of-Concept Stage
• SocGen Rolls out Xenomorph’s TimeScape
• Microsoft and Zend Team on Web Transaction Security
• StarCompliance Software Launches New Cutting-Edge Compliance Products
• World’s Oldest Bank Implements Microsoft-based Payments System
• Cathay Life Insurance Boosts Sales with Mobile Solution
• Ring2 Supports Windows Mobile Devices
• Raymond James Taps Blue Frog for Annuities Processing
• Digipede Network 2.0 Furthers Microsoft Integration
• Fidessa LatentZero Expands in Japan
• Reuters Selects Vhayu for Wealth Management Services
• TD Banknorth Selects CheckFree for Fraud Detection Capabilities

The mortgage technology industry assesses the opportunities the current mortgage crisis presents for re-shaping and rebuilding the industry.

There may be many culprits toward whom the finger of blame could be pointed for the mortgage crisis that has been grabbing headlines for months on end. Some blame regulators and investors who may have exhibited lax oversight; others point to overzealous borrowers and lenders, looking to take advantage of the frenzy caused by low interest rates. The soon-to-be-emeritus editor of Mortgage Technology magazine Scott Kersnar holds technology partly to blame for the subprime mortgage mess. Automation made the barrier to entry low and fostered chronic over-capacity, he wrote in a recent editorial.

It can be easy to forget that the ATM channel is the most heavily used touchpoint by consumers.  It has been deployed by financial institutions around the globe for decades to extend their footprint.  While it was the first 24/7 channel and is often viewed as a mere cash dispenser, the ATM is now evolving into a new era of increased functionality.

Many ATMs now run under Microsoft Windows which allows for all kinds of advancements, particularly in the area of the user interface.  Today, consumers enjoy a much more user-friendly graphical interface that often includes touchscreens.  The Windows environment permits much richer interfaces and content, plus the ability to personalize and streamline the screens to each user’s preference for language, withdrawal amount, etc.

• Microsoft Ushers In A New Era of Convenience and Functionality
• Integrating ATMs with Other Self-Service Channels
• Moving ATMs Toward a More Full Service Environment
• Unbundling to Lower TCO and Maximize Profitability of ATMs

Bankers around the globe are under increasing pressure to drive profits and reduce costs while still investing in technology solutions that help increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Finding this balance is difficult at best, but our panelists will provide some sage advice to retail bankers who are seeking to strike this balance. Plus, these experts will give us their views on what are the biggest challenges to meeting these goals, and discuss which technologies show the most promise for delivering short-term profits, as well as for long-term growth.

Eikos Partners is a strategic IT consulting firm whose partners, Michael DeSanti, Brian Slater and David Lattimore-Gay, have held significant roles in large financial firms as well as in the consulting industry. With a focus on the financial industry, and in particular on capital markets, the firm seeks to help firms improve the return on their IT investments and strengthen the link between business needs and IT. We spoke with David Lattimore-Gay about some of the work that Eikos Partners has done with hedge fund clients, and his observations on how Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) has helped improve the speed with which hedge funds can shift and modify data views in order to maintain a “proprietary edge” in the marketplace.

With so many investors eyeing the equity options market these days, Morningstar, Inc., a major provider of investment research, is now enthusiastically embracing a Windows-driven equity options data feed.

“Equity options are increasingly popular with the people we serve,” says Philip Guziec, derivatives specialist at Chicago, IL-based Morningstar. “We have 120 researchers here who analyze investment value and risk. So we need high-quality equity options data for them to evaluate.”

“Max,” a business consultant and software engineer was recently flown to Nevada to upgrade one of his clients’ databases. Shortly before he completed the job, he fell violently ill and had to go to a hospital. He recovered, finished the job and then left Nevada, which is when his real problems started. The hospital kept calling him and sending him bills, which he would have only been too happy to pay, but each time the hospital called or faxed or emailed him, the amount he owed them changed. The amount he owed would go up and then down and then up again without reason, as far as Max could tell. Eventually, he paid the hospital what they told him was the entire amount he owed, but he still got letters telling him that he owed them money, that he hadn’t paid the entire amount.

• Microsoft’s Risk and Compliance Headed by Sireesh Globally and Harris in US
• Haines Promoted to CIO at Gain Capital
• McKee Moves from CSC to Financial Objects
  
• Hughes to Lead Microsoft’s Investment Management IPSS
• Fidessa Appoints Birch as Sell-Side Marketing Manager
• Prodger to Lead Microsoft’s Advisor Platform IPSS

Whether the overall job market is up or down, highly skilled financial advisors are always in huge demand. To help gain a keener competitive edge in recruiting these advisors, and improve efficiency along the way, Lincoln Financial Group has replaced its long-time paper-oriented work environment with a Windows-based ECM (electronic content management) system from Hyland Software.

Although based in Philadelphia, the 100 year-old firm now offers financial products such as retirement plans, insurance, and annuities, nationwide, relying on a coast-to-coast network of 2,000 financial planners to advise customers on how to create financial strategies and employee programs tailored to specific needs.

The AAA brand is known for providing millions of Americans peace of mind when traveling down the road. The AAA Life Insurance Company, whose products provide security along the road of life, is turning to a Web-based illustration system to boost sales through the creation of a more streamlined and automated process.

For nearly four decades AAA Life Insurance Company has been offering life insurance related products to AAA members and non-members alike. Customers can purchase AAA insurance through a few touch points. They can do it the old-fashioned way by sitting down with an agent to discuss their needs face-to-face. The transaction can be done online or through a telephone conversation with a licensed professional. In addition, some selected insurance coverage may be purchased through the mail.

With the completion of the acquisition of Parlano, producer of the MindAlign persistent group chat service, in early October, Microsoft’s Unified Communications Strategy has taken another leap forward.

“Until now, all we’ve had is a person-centric view,” says Shaun Pierce, general manager, Server Products, Unified Communications Group, Microsoft. “We already have instant messaging and a form of group chat, but they [Parlano] provide a completely different lens on the way to communicate, which instead of being person-to-person is topic-based.”

From the Editor:

The headlines keep coming: “U.S. Home Sales Plummet in September,” “Existing Home Sales Clogged by Mortgage Morass.” But vendors of mortgage technology have found a silver lining in this cloud, even while acknowledging that the market’s current conditions are unlike anything they’ve seen in decades of working in the industry.

Just seven years ago, Lubbock, TX-based Texas Tech Federal Credit Union (TTFCU) had about $30 million dollars in assets and only a handful of employees operating out of space rented from Texas Tech University. After it changed its charter in 2001 to include students in its field of membership, the credit union nearly doubled in size to more than 10,000 members and around $50 million in total assets. It now has 20 employees in three locations on the university campus and it plans to open an off-campus branch in the next couple of years. The credit union is also one of the university’s largest student loan lenders.

What can a financial institution do if it’s running out of storage capacity? Brannen Banks, a bank holding company for seven banks in Florida, has found Windows-based disk partitioning software to be a solution that’s highly effective as well as economical.

With increasing numbers of computers to support, and more and more files on hand, companies in every industry are fending off a storage crunch. But banks and other financial firms can be particularly prone to the capacity pinch, due to factors ranging from mergers and acquisitions to regulatory pressures around document storage.

Glenview State Bank, an independently owned full-service lender for individuals and businesses in Chicago’s North Shore and environs with $885 million in assets under management, needed to upgrade its mortgage loan origination software. The old system’s vendor was phasing it out and pushing Glenview toward another solution that “would require a lot of work to implement,” recalls Bill Campbell, executive vice president of the Glenview, IL-based bank.

Customer service and client retention have always preoccupied financial services firms, which must respond quickly and precisely to changing client needs. In an industry facing the challenge of commoditized offerings for a population with more choices than ever before, exceptional service is critical.

Whether transacting or accounting, the financial industry relies heavily on data to service clients; without current and reliable information at their fingertips, account managers can’t do their jobs. Gathering this data – account balances, investment offerings, time-sensitive opportunity information – within a firm has always been a challenge. Studies show that up to 30 percent of an account executive’s time is spent searching for data – time that could be much better spent on clients themselves.