Insider Fraud An Issue For FIs
SEATTLE-Many organizations, including credit unions, have risk-management issues with insider fraud, according to a recent study.
A survey conducted by Attachmate Corp. and the Ponemon Institute found that 21% of respondents, including representatives from financial institutions, reported that employee-related incidents of fraud are found approximately 53 times per year, yet executives are more likely to focus on external fraud prevention efforts.
Other findings included:
* 64% said the risk of insider fraud is "very high" or "high" within their organizations.
* Most respondents said that CEOs and other C-level executives may be ignoring the threat.
* The majority of insider fraud incidents go unpunished, leaving organizations vulnerable to future such incidents.
* The majority of respondents do not believe their organization has the appropriate technologies to prevent or quickly detect insider fraud, including employees' misuse of IT resources.
For info: www.attachmate.com
Turning ATMs Into Marketing Tools
PHOENIX-Express Teller Services has released a white paper titled "Turn Your ATM into a Powerful Marketing Tool" that it said identfies the benefits of ATM branding as an alternative to more expensive traditional advertising for financial institutions and outlines how to make the most of ATMs.
The white paper, which is available as a free download, was written by Josh Ettesvold, president and CEO of Express Teller Services.
He said financial institutions of all types and sizes can use affordable ATM branding to increase consumer awareness, attract new members/customers, promote products and services and increase ATM fee income.
In the report, Ettesvold details how the use of ATM topper signage with compliance information built-in can protect financial institutions from costly ATM fee disclosure lawsuits, which have been making headlines.
"At less than $400 per terminal, the one-time fee for an ATM wrap equates to less than half a cent per user, for an ATM with an average of 1,000 transactions a month," Ettesvold said.
For info: www.expresstellerservices.com
White Paper: Four Common Mistakes CUs Make Online
DES MOINES, Iowa-PolicyWorks has released a white paper on compliance.
"Credit unions are held to many of the same regulations governing the big banks and the way they advertise their products and services," writes the white paper's author, Compliance Officer Kyle Woodmansee. "Therefore, they need to apply as much scrutiny and due diligence to their creative messages as do large financial institutions."
With open media such as websites, PolicyWorks said an innocent oversight or simple ignorance of the rules is broadcast to any number of people watching for mistakes. In the white paper, Woodmansee addresses common missteps made by credit unions, as well as ideas for quickly rectifying mistakes.
For info: www.policyworksllc.com/white-papers.cfm
Study: Retail Banking IT Spending On Rise Amid Economic Turmoil
LONDON-Global spending on retail banking technology will increase by $3.6 billion (3.2%) in 2012, and will hit $135 billion over the next five years, according to Ovum.
"The technology investments will be mainly driven by the need to grow revenues but the changing regulatory compliance will also contribute significantly," said Jaroslaw Knapik, Ovum financial services analyst and author of the forecast. "Returning revenues to pre-recession levels will be a priority for a number of institutions, as too will be the focus on improving customer trust and increasing sales and servicing effectiveness."
Ovum said this focus will lead to accelerated investment in channel technology, predominantly online banking, which will become the fastest growing area globally in 2012, rising 5.3%, to hit $8.3 billion by year end. Elsewhere, mobile will see an increase of 5% globally in 2012, reaching $3.3 billion, while management information systems and multi-channel integration/customer information systems will also see high growth rates.
"Technologies that allow 'smarter' selling and servicing, such as customer analytics and customer data management, are expected to remain hot areas in the near future," said Knapik. "
With risk and compliance permanently on the CIO agenda, ever-increasing regulatory expenditure, which in 2012 will be predominantly related to Dodd-Frank and Basel III, will drive investments into technologies that reduce costs, such as data management, business process management, business intelligence, and analytics.
For info: www.ovum.com
Deposit Interest Rates Dropped 26% In 2011
SAN ANSELMO, Calif.-Deposit interest rates kept on falling in 2011 by an average of 21 basis points, or a 26% drop from their level in the beginning of the year, according to recent analysis from Market Rates Insight.
In early January 2011, MRI said the national average interest rate on deposits was 0.80%; by year-end, that figure was 0.59%.
The greatest drop in rates occurred in checking accounts, which declined 41 BPs to 0.07% by the end of 2011. CDs of one-to-three years declined 28 BPs to 0.59% by the end of the year.
Smaller drops in rates were registered for long-term CDs, those years and over (down 18 BPs); MMAs (down 15 BPs), and short-term CDs (down 13 BPs).. The only deposit type that exhibited a mild increase in interest rates was savings, which increased 3 basis points during 2011, Market Rates Insight reported.
For info: www.marketratesinsight.com
