Tech Bytes: Chemical Executive Named to Swift Board

NEW YORK - The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication announced the election of Yawar Shah to its board of directors.

Mr. Shah, a senior vice president at Chemical Banking Corp., and Hy Silkes, vice president at Citicorp, are the two Swift board from the United States.

Brussels-based Swift operates a global network that handles 2.5 million messages per day, sent between banks, broker-dealers, securities depositories, securities exchanges, and clearing organizations. The messages support $2.3 trillion in financial transactions each day.

"The United States is the single largest national user of the Swift network," said Mr. Shah. Swift "will continue to serve the evolving needs of its members and users worldwide as a secure hub and gateway that provides cost-effective access to these global markets while facilitating speed, reliability, standardization, and above all, risk reduction."

Mr. Shah, a former chairman of the New York Clearing House's funds transfer committee, will serve on Swift's policy committee.

At Chemical Bank, Mr. Shah is the chief administrative officer of the bank's Geoserve operating services unit. In this position, he holds responsibility for marketing, finance and control, strategic planning, and human resources.