Bank technology

Banks can be compliant with cybersecurity guidelines and still remain vulnerable to massive liabilities. One case in point: many financial institutions carry mandatory insurance policies that could leave them on the hook for six-figure losses from corporate account takeovers.

A new push by President Obama to tighten cybersecurity at banks and other businesses could help light a fire under some firms that have historically been slower to react in the wake of a data breach and help financial institutions dealing with a tangle of confusing state laws.

The mobile platform most bankers had all but given up on is showing signs of life. But the changes seem unlikely to persuade financial institutions, many of which have quietly discontinued or abandoned their native BlackBerry apps.

Capital One acquired Level Money, a startup with a budgeting app for consumers, on Monday. Level Money has approximately 700,000 users and claims to have helped users manage a total of $12 billion during its brief existence.

Customers affected by cyberattacks frequently direct their wrath at financial institutions, whether or not a bank is responsible for the breach. Therefore banks need to have a strategic communications strategy in place.

Online lending marketplaces claim that they will revolutionize the financial services industry. But financial companies need a lot more than high-tech prowess to achieve sustained success.

Nationwide the number of bank branches fell by about 1.7% last year. But some cities and states were hit harder than others, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and research firm BankRegData.

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Even is building a mobile money-management service for baristas, Lyft drivers, freelancers and others with unpredictable incomes. For $5 a week, users can draw advances on paychecks during rough patches.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week.

A group of hackers calling itself Rex Mundi will release client data stolen this week from the Banque Cantonale de Geneve today unless they get 10,000 euros ($12,000), a ransom the bank said it won't pay.

Until last April, the young adviser now at the center of Morgan Stanley's massive client data breach was a sales assistant who spent the majority of his career under the tutelage of one the firm's wealth management teams.

As with any marriage, banks that forge alliances with tech companies need to make sure they really know their partners. They may also want to consider a prenup.

Kofax, a financial technology company in Irvine, Calif., on Thursday released a product that allows lenders to capture and process electronic signatures.

Nike Inc. was accused by a MasterCard Inc. unit of conspiring to steal scarce technology talent by encouraging two top cyber-security managers to break their contracts with the credit card company as worries of hacking and breaches of customer privacy deepen.

The Man Group, an international hedge funder provider that manages approximately $72.3 billion, has contracted with Thomson Reuters to use its Accelus Org ID "Know Your Customer" platform.

With the availability of artificial intelligence and sophisticated risk algorithms that can run on mobile devices, some say there’s no longer a need for even stripped-down versions of the branch.

Financial institutions need to have good digital offerings, but they also need to find ways to stand out from the crowd. That's why branches will remain a crucial home base.

Synechron, an information technology company focused on the financial services industry, is increasing its global presence with its latest acquisition.

After National Credit Union Administration Chairman Debbie Matz revealed the agency is mulling new encryption standards, a trade association says the regulator should focus on its own steps to "better protect" member "data in its care."