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Specialist lender Together, which manages a loan book in excess of £1.7 billion, has appointed former CEO of Harrods Bank, Peter Ball, as chief executive of its retail division, following a number of high profile new hires from across the UK banking industry.

Peter Ball joins Together’s growing senior leadership team, which over the past three months alone has added Colin Kersley, ex CEO of M&S Bank plc, as a non-executive director (NED) to its retail board, Ron Baxter, senior advisor at the Prudential Regulation Authority, as an independent NED in its retail division, as well as Wayne Bowser, former deputy head of commercial banking at HSBC, as a group NED.

Peter, whose career in financial services spans nearly 30 years, was previously chief executive officer of Harrods Bank Limited, where he led the rejuvenation and transformation of the 120 year old bank targeted at high net worth customers.

Prior to this, Peter was product and commercial director at Virgin Money Group (2010-2014), one of the UK’s largest banks and mortgage lenders, and senior vice president of MBNA / Bank of America (2003-2010).

Peter Ball, chief executive of retail at Together, said: “Together is a unique business which has affirmed its position as a leader in the specialist finance sector over more than four decades of successful trading; providing finance to niche markets that are largely underserved by the mainstream UK lenders.

“The business has a great energy and a really positive business culture, with its colleagues and customers at its core, and I’m very excited to be joining Together at this time, as it continues to reshape what we think of as traditional financial services.”

Mike McTighe, chairman of Together, added: “We are delighted to have Peter on board. His wealth of experience in the financial services industry perfectly complements the skills and expertise we have built up within our core retail division. This is another high profile hire for the business and highlights our commitment to investing in a leadership team that can help drive our ongoing development, as we seek to make Together a household name across the UK.”

Together prides itself on its common sense approach to lending and has a current loan book in excess of £1.7 billion, with total new lending for the year ended 31 March 2016 at £971 million.

(Source:Together)

The financial sector has paid 465% markup for IT products.

Suppliers are exploiting a lack of transparency in the IT market to inflate product prices, according to the annual KnowledgeBus IT Margins Benchmark Study.

Now in its fourth year, the study shows that the practice of charging excessive margins by suppliers is still commonplace across the financial sector.

Identifying the best price for IT products is notoriously difficult, given the short lifecycle of products and the constant fluctuation of trade costs. Although industry best practice, as specified by the Society of IT Managers, states that organisations should not pay more than a 3% margin to suppliers.

Despite this guidance, the research revealed that one supplier successfully charged a financial company a margin of 465% for an order of memory sticks.

The study suggests that awareness of the high mark-ups charged by some suppliers may in fact be worsening. The average margin paid across the financial sector was actually found to have risen to 19% in 2015 from 14% in 2014.

This also compares unfavourably with the average margin paid across the board by buyers, which currently sits at 17.6%.

Al Nagar, head of benchmarking at KnowledgeBus, said: “Organisations are getting better at scrutinising purchases and negotiating better deals with suppliers. But the analysis shows the many purchases are far in excess of industry best practice.

“The most extreme example of excessive margins are regularly found on those lower volume, spontaneous, ‘as and when’ purchases. These are typically unplanned purchases consisting of items such as memory sticks, power adapters and cables.

“All procurement officers need to be aware of this trend. Although this type of purchase may be perceived to be of a lesser value, compared to major pieces of IT infrastructure, they can make up a good 25% of the IT budget. By the end of the year, this can easily add up to a six figure difference to the overall IT budget.

‘‘Today’s procurement managers don’t have endless amounts of time to talk to multiple suppliers to find the best price. What they need is for there to be greater transparency between suppliers and customers. With the right tools organisations can gain that transparency and bring those margins down to 3%.’’

For organisations looking to achieve best practice levels on IT product purchasing, Al Nagar offers three key tips:

1. Benchmark

Organisations can empower their negotiators, and speed up the IT procurement process, by deploying benchmarking tools. This provides IT buyers with access to up-to-date and validated trade level information that will identify the exact margins suppliers are charging.

2. Agree ‘cost plus’ contracts

Companies can agree ‘cost plus’ contracts with their suppliers to ensure no IT product purchased exceeds an agreed maximum margin level. Procurement teams can use their benchmarking tools to police these contracts.

3. Monitor price trends

By analysing historic or seasonal trade price trends, IT buyers can identify the best times to buy. When trade prices fall to their lowest, suppliers often try to maximise margins achieved, but by monitoring the market, companies can counter this practice.

(Source: KnowledgeBus)

Sterling has encountered significant losses in recent days with the increasing support for anti-EU theme from the recent ORB polls conducted regarding the referendum. More than 55% of voters showed their support for leaving EU while only 45% were interested in staying back with EU. The important point to note here is that price action has been driven mostly by change in market sentiments based on results from poll data. The volatility of GBP has consequently increased since the announcement of referendum and has dropped to its lowest levels as last seen in 2008.

GBP has been performing very bad especially against dollar and GBP/USD reached its all-time-low level of around 1.39 during the month of February 2016. It was the time when initial talks about referendum came into picture that caused huge fears among the investors regarding the financial instability of UK. Based on technical analysis from the options market, there is 72 percent chance of GBP/USD pair trading anywhere between 1.32 and 1.51, by June 24th once the results of the referendum are announced. The GBP/EUR exchange rate is meanwhile expected to range between 1.33-1.35 after the voting.

The topic of British Exit from Europe has been discussed for years and became popular during February 2016 after Prime Minister David Cameron promised to conduct a voting for the same by June. Though voting will be held on June 23rd, it will not result in immediate departure of UK from the European Union. It would commence a multi-year negotiation period on the terms for exiting EU.  Based on polls conducted during last few months, there has been mixed results on the majority’s bias with some polls showing minor leads on either side. The below table from Wikipedia shows the results of various polls conducted regarding the referendum,

Date Remain Leave Undecided Sample Size Poll Name
9-10 June 42% 43% 11% 1,671 YouGov
7-10 June 44% 42% 13% 2,009 Opinium
8-9 June 45% 55% n/a 2,052 ORB
5-6 June 43% 42% 11% 2,001 YouGov
3-5 June 43% 48% 9% 2,047 ICM
2-5 June 52% 40% 7% 800 ORB
1-3 June 41% 45% 11% 3,405 YouGov
31 May - 3 June 43%
40%
41%
43%
16%
16%
2,007 Opinium
30 - 31 May 41% 41% 13% 1,735 YouGov
27 - 29 May 42%
44%
45%
47%
15%
9%
1,004 ICM
25 - 29 May 51% 46% 3% 800 ORB

Britain has always remained a semi-detached member of European Union and most of the British bureaucrats believe that they can do better alone. Some of them are frustrated by the fact that EU gets benefited more from the UK than UK from the EU.  The recent economic problems of some EU members like Greece have caused huge disinterest regarding the EU membership among British investors.  Though pound has decreased significantly against USD and the trading is done based on shifting expectations for the referendum, GBP/EUR is showing a longer-than-average bullish day’s range as of June 15th, which is giving a positive outlook for trading GBP. It is an early sign for positive impact on GBP in the currency market, after the steep decline experienced in recent days. The important fact to note here is that Brexit will not only affect GBP, but also Euro.

Based on certain analysis reports, UK leaving the EU could result in loss of more than 950, 000 jobs by 2020 and deficit around £100 billion which is around 5% of their GDP. When looking at possible impacts for each decision, it is important to note that whatever significant ground lost in recent days is likely to be made up relatively fast once the business gets usual after the referendum. But even before voting, many investors are selling GBP as risks are associated more with the decision. If we look at the current account deficit of UK, it clearly indicates that GBP is becoming weaker. UK has a current account deficit of more than 5 times its GDP, which is the worst for any developed nation making this a strong reason for sterling’s weakness in currency market. In the coming days closer to referendum, we can expect to see sterling respond less to economic reports of UK and trade based on Brexit-related updates.

Any pro-Brexit pool can result in further decline of GBP and anti-Brexit news could cause an upward trend on GBP. If the Brexit vote becomes positive and pound hits the lows, it will be a good time to buy GBP as it will definitely bounce back after some time. The Bank of England might come for rescue by announcing interest rate hike to generate a positive sentiment among the investors. Euro will also face downward pressure, if the Brexit vote becomes positive and is already witnessing some volatility based on the poll results.  Trading GBP amid this volatility is a risky affair for currency traders since none of us have a crystal ball. Since the vote is currently too close to call, it might be sensible to lighten up your exposure ahead of the referendum.

Small, medium, and large companies alike in Singapore have been struggling for some time now, and OCBC Bank hasn't been immune to the declines. Unfortunately, economic conditions in the region have been far from positive to say the least, and when it comes to corporate growth, it is something that economic conditions must support. Unfortunately for the STI as a whole, and companies in the banking and financial services sector like OCBC Bank, it seems as though more declines are on the horizons. Recent economic news was released from Singapore, showing that the economic struggles in the region are far from over. Today, we'll talk about the data that was released, what it means for OCBC Bank moving forward, and what it means for the STI as a whole moving forward. So, let's get right to it...

Recent Economic News From Singapore

As mentioned above, the economic conditions in the Singaporean region haven't been positive to say the least. Unfortunately however, things seem to have gone from bad to worse with the country's most recent economic release. In the first quarter, it was announced that the economy in Singapore grew by 1.8% on a year over year basis. At first glance, that seems like incredible growth. However, when we look at the quarter over quarter view, things aren't quite as appealing as they seem.

On a quarter over quarter, seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, the fact that economic struggles in Singapore are far from over becomes incredibly clear. Looking at it from this angle, we see that the Singaporean economy actually only grew by 0.2% in the quarter. This shows a drastic slowdown from the 6.2% we saw in the previous quarter.

The Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry believes that the declines in economic growth are the result of global economic hardships. Here's what the Ministry had to say in a recent note...

“The Global economic outlook has weakened since early 2016, with global growth for the year now expected to be broadly similar to that in 2015. In particular, the growth outlook for the advanced economies has deteriorated marginally...”

What This Means For OCBC Bank

When it comes to the banking and financial services sector, companies are heavily swayed by economic conditions in the region where they do their work. After all, banks make the majority of their money in two ways, and both of them are heavily affected by economic conditions...

Given the ways that banks like OCBC Bank make their money, it only makes sense that the tough economic news out of Singapore is likely to have an increasingly negative affect on the value of OCBC Bank and other banking stocks in the Singaporean region.

The STI As A Whole Is Likely To Continue Struggling

Throughout most of the year, the STI has been riding downtrends as it still works to recover from the global market declines felt early on. Unfortunately however, it seems as though more declines are coming. With tough economic conditions on the forefront, there's simply not enough supporting growth in the index at the moment.

What Do You Think?

Where do you think OCBC Bank and the STI are headed moving forward? Let us know your opinion in the comments below!

Private investors are seeing this morning’s market falls as a buying opportunity. 80% of the trades placed through Hargreaves Lansdown’s share dealing service this morning were purchases. This compares to around 60% on an average day.

Senior Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Laith Khalaf commented: ‘Private investors are clearly seeing today’s market fall as a buying opportunity, and are out in force bargain-hunting. The most popular stocks are also those which have seen their prices hit hardest this morning, namely the banks and house builders.

We know that private investors have been sitting on the sidelines until after the referendum, and early indications are there may be some buying activity now the market has dropped.’

The UK stock market fell sharply this morning, but has since staged a bit of a recovery, though it is still down around 4.5%. The FTSE 100 has been bailed out by a falling pound, but the FTSE 250 mid cap index has not been so lucky- it has fallen by over 8% by lunchtime, because it is more domestically focussed and has fewer overseas earnings. Just to give some context to the fall, the FTSE 100 is still currently trading at above 6,000, around 10% higher than the low of 5,537 it fell to in February of this year.

The FTSE 100 has fallen further in the past. On Black Monday, in 1987, it fell by 11%. On 10th October 2008, it fell by 9%. On 11th September 2001, it fell by 6%.Nonetheless, today’s fall so far makes it one of the worst days the Footsie has witnessed.

Laith Khalaf says: ‘The Footsie has been bailed out by the Sterling collapse, because all its international revenues streams are now worth that much more in pounds and pence.

Financials and house builders are bearing the brunt of the pain, with Lloyds bank being one of the biggest fallers. It’s probably safe to say the public sale of the bank is now firmly in the long grass, and the return to full private ownership of both Lloyds and RBS has been knocked off course.

It’s also been a bad day to be a mid-cap company - the FTSE 250 is suffering to a much greater extent than the blue chip index. Mid-cap companies have sold off harder because they are perceived to be more risky, and tend to be more domestically-focused with fewer overseas earnings.’The 10 most popular shares bought by private investors this morning, ordered by the number of trades placed are:

 

1 Lloyds Banking Group
2 Barclays
3 Taylor Wimpey
4 Legal & General Group
5 Aviva
6 Persimmon
7 easyJet
8 Barratt Developments
9 Royal Bank of Scotland Group
10 ITV

 

Below are the top ten funds purchased, ordered alphabetically. Tracker funds have proved very popular today as investors have simply sought blanket market exposure. However the tried and trusted names of the industry are proving popular too.

 

BlackRock Gold & General
CF Lindsell Train UK Equity
CF Woodford Equity Income
Fundsmith Equity
HSBC FTSE 250 Index
Legal & General UK 100 Index Trust
Legal & General UK Index
Lindsell Train Global Equity
Marlborough Multi Cap Income
Marlborough UK Micro Cap

(Source: Hargreaves Lansdown)

Hours after the EU Referundum results were revealed, UK Head of Banking and Capital Markets at PwC Simon Hunt comments on the impact that Brexit will have on the banking sector in the country.

The UK is one of the world’s leading financial centres. The banking sector plays a major part in generating exports of £23bn to the EU, which helps to drive an overall trade surplus in financial services of £20bn. Retaining this position is the challenge that banks and all stakeholders may now have to consider.
One of the most significant benefits of EU membership to the banking sector is the ability to access the Single Market via the passporting regime and the loss of passporting benefits would have an impact on the ability of banks authorised in the UK to offer products and services for EU clients.

This impact will not be limited to the UK headquartered banks but will also impact non-EU headquartered banks who have used the UK as a base for their European operations.

Overseas banks currently using the UK as a base for accessing the EU market and employing an estimated 115000 staff are likely to be looking closely at their operations in the UK in the context of the leave vote. Find the best PIA Reservation from Pakistan to anywhere in the World with Malik Express.

The result of the vote does not represent the end of the debate that has impacted markets in recent months. Months, and possibly years, of negotiation will now follow before banking organisations will have clarity on what access UK-based FS organisations will have to EU countries or the rules they must comply with to secure this access.

We are already starting to see the short-term impact on the market as efforts are made to reinforce confidence in the UK banking sector. However, history has taught us that UK business is adaptable and the banking sector is one of our strongest industries and will continue to make a major contribution to the UK economy.  Collectively, the financial services sector accounts for 8% of total UK economic activity and directly employs 1.1 million people - around 3.6% of the total UK workforce, generating income, investment and exports.

This result could be taken as a major opportunity for banks to work with regulators, investors and clients in order to shape a new rulebook fit for the new climate.

(Source: PwC)

After a night of counting the votes, it was revealed at exactly 06:00 BST this morning that Britain had voted to leave the EU. Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he is stepping down by October, saying:

“I fought this campaign in the only way I know how – which is to say directly and passionately what I think and feel- head, heart and soul. I held nothing back. I was absolutely clear about my belief that Britain is stronger, safer and better off inside the European Union. And I made clear that the Referendum was about this and this alone – not the future of any single politician, including myself. But the British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path. And as such, I think that the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction. “

The referendum has seen the highest turnout at a UK-wide vote since 1992 – 71.8% with more than 30 million people voting. 51.9 % of those voted to Leave by 48.1%. While England and Wales voted strongly for Britain to leave the EU, London, Scotland and Northern Ireland strongly disagreed with Brexit.

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage, who has been campaigning for Britain to leave the EU in the past two decades, said that today would “go down in history as our independence day”.

As the UK heads for Brexit, the pound has fallen dramatically hitting a 30-year low and plummeting to $1.3236 at one stage earlier this morning. In the opening minutes of trade, the FTSE 100 Index fell more than 500 points before regaining some ground.

Laith Khalaf, Senior Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown comments: ‘Global stock markets have taken a Brexit hit, with European markets actually falling more than the Footsie. Safe haven assets have soared as investors sought security, with gold rising 5% and UK bond yields plunging to historic lows.On the stock market, banks and housebuilders have been hit particularly hard this morning as markets try to factor in the Brexit effect on the UK economy.Sterling has fallen to its lowest level for over 30 years , which will mean holidaymakers heading abroad in the coming weeks will have to dig extra deep to buy foreign currency.Investors should carefully consider their plans and avoid a knee-jerk reaction. The coming days are likely to be choppy on the stock market as it digests the ramifications of Brexit, and further falls are possible.However markets will bounce back at some point, and investors who switch to cash risk buying back into the market at a higher level, and ending up in a worse position than if they had just stayed put.’

Bank of England governor Mark Carney said this morning that: "Some market and economic volatility can be expected as this process unfold. But we are well prepared for this. The Treasury and the Bank of England have engaged in extensive contingency planning and the Chancellor and I have been in close contact, including through the night and this morning.

"The Bank will not hesitate to take additional measures as required as markets adjust and the UK economy moves forward."

As the Article 50 two-year deadline approaches following the referendum results, David Cameron will be put under pressure to "steady the ship" over the coming weeks. Remain campaigners believe that it is possible that the Brexit could result in reverting to trading with the EU under World Trade Organization rules, which would involve exporters being hit by import taxes or tariffs.

After all 32 local authority areas in Scotland returned majorities for Remain, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that the referendum results make it “clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union".

Germany's foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier commented that today is "a sad day for Europe and Great Britain".

British citizens go to the polls today voting in a historic referendum which will decide Britain’s future. According to provisional figures from the Electoral Commission, 46, 499, 537 people are entitled to take part in today’s referendum in the UK and Gibraltar – the highest number of voters ever recorded for a UK election. Polling stations opened at 07:00 BST and will close at 22:00 BST. Once the polling stations close, sealed ballot boxes will be transported to the count venues to each of the local counting areas, which include 38 local government areas in England, Scotland, Wales, and 2 in Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. The final result is expected to be revealed on Friday morning according to the Electoral Commission.

Traditionally, turnout in referendums is low – only 42 % of the population voted on a proposed new electoral system in 2011. However, analysts predict that the high-profile campaigning from the past four months is highly likely to boost figures.

Mixed predictions were offered by a final rash of polls – with two putting Leave ahead and two suggesting leads for Remain. YouGov research predicts that people supporting the Leave campaign are more likely to vote, which means that a low turnout could damage the Remain campaign’s prospects.

Politicians supporting both sides made final pitches yesterday as polls predicted the result is on a knife-edge on the final day of campaigning before the vote. PM David Cameron told supporters in Birmingham that “It is a fact that our economy will be weaker if we leave and stronger if we stay”.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has published its annual European Economic Contribution Report, revealing that the cruise industry is now worth €3.26 billion (£2.58 billion) per year to the UK economy. 

The cruise industry’s direct contribution to the British economy including items such as goods and services purchased by cruise lines and the salaries of their employees, grew by 3.3 percent, making it the highest on record.

The cruise industry’s economic output in Europe reached €40.95 billion (£32.22 billion) in 2015, up 2 percent on the previous year, and an all-time high. The direct expenditures generated by the industry reached €16.89 billion (£13.39 billion), up from €16.6 billion (£13.17 billion) in 2014.

Employment in the UK cruise industry grew by 4.1 percent to 73,919 jobs and accounted for 20 percent of the market share in Europe. An estimated 16,397 of this total were directly employed by cruise lines and earned €605 million (£479 million), the equivalent of 22 percent of the total compensation impacts for Europe. 10,000 new jobs were created across Europe, with 360,571 now employed in cruise and cruise-related businesses. Wages and other benefits for European workers reached €11.05 billion (£8.72 billion).

The port of Southampton has maintained its position as the number one embarkation and disembarkation port in Northern Europe, with a total of 1.75 million passengers passing through in 2015. It was another successful year for British ports overall; in total over one million UK and international passengers visited a British port during a cruise, a figure that has more than doubled in six years.

“The figures released today bear testament to the cruise industry’s contribution to the UK economy. Cruise may have once been considered a travel niche but the multi-billion valuation shows that cruise is a major player within the travel sector” said Andy Harmer, CLIA Europe VP Operations.

He continued: “The success of the global cruise industry is set to continue with 50 ships scheduled for delivery between now and 2019, of which 48 will be constructed in Europe.  The ability to maintain continued growth has been the result of decisive investments by cruise operators in innovation and constant improvement. Every year new ships enter into service, offering innovative activities and facilities and 2015 was no exception, with a number of significant developments for the UK cruise market including the naming of P&O Cruises’ Britannia by Her Majesty The Queen; Cruise and Maritime Voyages introducing Magellan and Royal Caribbean’s new ship Anthem of the Seas joining the world wide fleet.’

“The cruise industry continues to make significant contributions to Europe’s economic recovery,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, Chairman of CLIA Europe and Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises. “The impact is clear. More Europeans are choosing a cruise holiday, more cruise passengers are choosing Europe as a destination, and more cruise ships are being built in European shipyards. This translates into great economic benefits for the entire continent, including coastal areas that were hit disproportionately hard by the economic downturn.”

Europe’s economic contribution is a direct result of the impressive growth the cruise industry experienced in 2015 as it reached 23.2 million ocean cruise passengers globally.

 

The final design for the new Bank of England £5 note, which will enter circulation in September, will feature the image of Sir Winston Churchill. The new note will be made of plastic rather than cotton paper, which is believed to be cleaner, more durable and harder to counterfeit than the current cotton paper banknotes.

However, the use of new material might create difficulties since the notes may initially be prone to stick together. Although countries such as Scotland, Australia and Canada have been using the thin, see-through polymer, plastic banknotes are brand new to England.  The new polymer notes, which are 15 % smaller than the current ones, will be accompanied by advice to businesses about dealing with them.

The decision to feature Churchill was made three years ago. Churchill’s declaration "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat", a view of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower from the South Bank, the Great Clock and a background image of the Nobel Prize are all present in the artwork on the banknote. It will take a year for the new note to completely replace the current 329 million Elizabeth Fry £5 notes in circulation.

Plans for other notes include featuring Jane Austen on the new £10 note which will be issued in 2017, and JMW Turner who will appear on the next £20 banknote expected by 2020. New polymer banknotes are being issued in Scotland as well.

 

According to the Pulse of FinTech, the quarterly global report on FinTech VC trends published jointly by KPMG International and CB Insights, Asia’s FinTech funding has risen to US$2.6b in the first quarter of 2016. Following a significant pullback in funding in Q4’15, mega-rounds lifted quarterly investment into VC-backed FinTech companies by over 150%.

Global investment in private FinTech companies is said to have totalled US$5.7 billion in Q1’16, with US$4.9 billion specifically invested in VC-backed FinTech companies across 218 deals, a 96% jump in comparison to the same quarter last year. The fact that three mega-rounds accounted for 54% of VC FinTech investment in Q1’16 has resulted in the increase in funding. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, VC-backed FinTech deal activity rose 22% in Q1’16.

Warren Mead, Global Co-Leader of FinTech, KPMG International said: “Global VC investment into the technology sector may be experiencing a bit of a pause, however FinTech, propelled by some very large mega-rounds, has proven to be an exception to the rule. Investors are putting money into FinTech companies all over the world – from the traditional strongholds of China, the US and the UK – to up and coming FinTech hubs like Singapore, Australia and Ireland.”

“While FinTech startups continue to attract large investment both in the US and abroad, and investors gravitate to areas yet untouched by much tech innovation including insurance, recent events and public market performance suggest that growth-stage FinTech fundraising will be harder to come by moving forward in 2016.” commented Anand Sanwal, CEO at CB Insights.

Lyon Poh, Head of Digital + Innovation, KPMG in Singapore, added: “In Singapore, we have seen a flurry of activities in line with the government’s push for financial institutions to adopt innovative technology. For example, many insurers are building innovation centres and programmes to rapidly identify and adopt FinTech solutions to bring innovation back into their core businesses. This has in turn encouraged more FinTech startups to come to Singapore and use it as a base for developing their propositions, and for fund raising.”

In an attempt to give companies the ability to experience how technology is transforming the financial world and how it can be deployed to solve critical business issues, an ultra-modern innovation centre has recently opened its doors  in central London.

Dedicated to next generation banking and finance, the state-of–the-art centre was launched by Synechron Inc. – a global consulting and technology innovator in the financial services industry, which has plans to open innovation centres in New York, Florida, Amsterdam and Pune over the next few months. The first innovation centre that the company launched was in Dubai in October 2015 and was the first of its kind internationally.

Through the combined innovation of augmented reality, artificial intelligence, block chain, natural language and biometrics, mobile, and touch and smart technologies, the brand new centre gives businesses the chance to fully immerse themselves in the plethora of new technology available.

The Synechron Digital Innovation Centres’ aim is to act as innovation hubs for individuals and businesses willing to invest in technology and particularly in digital transformation - solving critical business issues and scaling these investments to achieve greater future business success.

The Synechron’s centre will be fully-operational from May 25th 2016 and will offer a number of options: from a half day of brainstorming session for executive management, to a rapid prototyping challenge, or even just a one hour dedicated technology workshop. Some of the key technologies available to visitors include artificial intelligence, Amazon Echo (Alexa), new apps around block chain and tablets with new apps and gamification.

Faisal Husain, CEO of Synechron, said, “We envisioned and invested in building a space where our clients can come and touch the latest in the digital world, get inspired and learn about what trends and technologies are disrupting their customers’ banking experiences worldwide. We want to help our clients be at the very forefront of digital transformation to drive an entirely new concept of banking interaction and engagement.”

 

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