Finextra@Sibos

The Finextra@Sibos community is open to all delegates and exhibitors at the annual financial markets conference organised by financial messaging network Swift.

Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra

Prince Obi's Chinese riddle

HSBC is doing its bit for international relations at this year's Sibos in Hong Kong by sending out a handy wallet-sized Cantonese phrase card to all delegates attending the international banking convention. Sadly, this inspired marketing ploy has been let down somewhat by including only two useful phrases, 'Good morning' and 'please/thank you'. The...

03 September 2009

Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra

Go-go years catch up on Swift

For a Swift geek like me, the publication of the co-operative’s annual report offers a rare opportunity to gauge the mood of the executive committee and the board ahead of the annual user conference. Often this requires some educated guesswork, reading between the lines and picking up on nuances in tone and emphasis in the opening messages from th...

23 July 2009 /payments /wholesale

Paul Penrose Head of Research at Finextra

Sibos sobers up

Sibos will never be the same again. In killing off its Thursday night party, Swift has moved with the prevailing mood music. Lavish, big budget entertainment is off the agenda as the financial services industry adapts to a more austere economic climate. But for many long-time Sibos devotees, the party was as big a draw as the conference agenda. It ...

20 March 2009 /payments /wholesale

Nick Hastings 

Sex Panther rocks Vienna

As part of their global tour to promote their new album 'Power Shakes and Super Congas' Sex Panther touched down in Vienna to rock the Hofburg. Despite a few technical problems and working with a reduced set the boys banged out a sterling cover of the Queen Classic 'Don't Stop Me Now'. If you missed the gig or were there but were over-powered by th...

23 September 2008 /payments /wholesale

Retired Member 

Collaborate or die

Now we are all back in the office, it is timely to reflect on last week at Sibos, momentous by any measure. The Closing Plenary certainly caught the mood, but interwoven throughout that session was a theme which we all need to take away from Vienna. Lazaro said in his introduction that "we meet here . . . to collaborate, to collaborate, and t...

22 September 2008 /payments /sibos

Retired Member 

One Laptop per Child scheme at Sibos

One of the highlights of Sibos in Boston last year was the breakfast speech given by Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of the One Laptop per Child non-profit association. Swift says Negroponte's presentation last year "triggered a lot of enthusiasm and emotion in the industry" and so the OLPC foundation was invited to set up shop...

18 September 2008 /retail

Retired Member 

Nero fiddles while Rome burns

As we approach the end of Sibos, activity in the exhibition halls continues, at least for us, at a high level. Outside the Sibos 'bubble', when the media intrude, it seems that all hell has broken loose in the financial world. Certainly, this has been a subdued Sibos but thankfully attendees are still grappling here with the issues and challenges ...

18 September 2008 /payments /sibos

Retired Member 

Banking fall out prompts Thomson Reuters hiring freeze

Amid serious concerns that the escalating banking crisis will result in a major loss of sales, Thomson Reuters has instigated a recruitment freeze at its financial markets and technology unit. According to an internal memo seen by the Wall Street Journal the vendor has halted external recruitment for new positions except where the company is shifti...

18 September 2008 /wholesale

Retired Member 

SEPA Migration Fails to Satisfy Sibos Delegates

A survey by my company - ACI Worldwide - at Sibos found that 78 percent of those delegates questioned who expressed an opinion ‘strongly agree' or ‘agree' that the migration to SEPA instruments has been disappointing to date. In addition, 46 percent of respondents feel there is nothing more that the banking industry's self regulation of SEPA can ...

18 September 2008 /payments /sibos

Retired Member 

Sibos mileage - an update

Following on from my previous blog about the mileage a typical Sibos delegate clocks up during the event, I have an update for you. Monday started quite slowly with a modest 7.8km - there was a lot of standing around catching up with comrades from Sibos' past. I definitely made up for it though on Tuesday - a whopping 18km during the day! Mind yo...

17 September 2008 /payments /wholesale