Bank technology

Fearless forecasts from BankThink's stable of industry veterans, experts and critics.

JPMorgan Chase promoted longtime spokeswoman Kristin Lemkau to become its new chief marketing officer this week. Lemkau seeks to offset the bank's bad press, figure out a better digital-marketing strategy and improve its social-media presence after the #AskJPM Twitter debacle, she says in an interview.

Data locked in silos and the lack of a common customer identifier that could link accounts were to blame for JP Morgan Chase's failure to identify Bernard Madoff's massive fraud, according to an article in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.

Regions Bank's newest appointment scheduling feature highlights how banks are using technology to tie online and offline channels and transforming branches into better sales and services hubs.

The new year will bring an end to big regulatory settlements with banks, a sharp drop-off in the number of branches across the industry, increased use of biometric technology and a breakthrough in banks' use of big data. American Banker editors discuss these and other predictions for the year ahead in banking.

Mobile banking services hold serious sway over small business owners, according to a new study.

BNY Mellon Asset Management has selected a data management platform by financial information services company Markit.

Aggressive sales and performance goals could be a case of Big Data Gone Wild.

Title insurance company Fidelity National Financial is forming a new mortgage technology and services subsidiary called Black Knight Financial Services from its ServiceLink division and very recent acquisition Lender Processing Services.

Banking is increasingly a data-driven business. By creating a shared data and analytics utility, community banks could glean valuable insights on their business currently available only to large institutions.

A computer glitch at PNC Financial (PNC) last week delayed overnight processing for some customer transactions.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has acquired financial analysis and credit risk management software provider Financial Tools.

Whatever one thinks of it as a currency, the Bitcoin payment network sets a noble example for its transparency, says Dave Birch of Consult Hyperion. Yes, transparency. While users may transact anonymously or pseudonymously, Bitcoin boasts a public, real-time, detailed ledger of all transfers between account numbers - a stark contrast to the opaque legacy payments system.

Expensify announced Saturday a feature that lets a business customer of its expense report software share access with one other person.

Pulaski Financial (PULB) in St. Louis has appointed two executives to lead its mortgage division.

Amazon is combining on-device tech support with videoconferencing. Will banks follow suit and provide personal human support in their apps?

The second half of December is generally a slow period for news, with many people on vacation and businesses and government closed on holidays. Still, banks made a number of significant announcements this holiday season. In many cases the timing of disclosures may have been driven by circumstance - regulators appeared eager to wrap up settlements by yearend.

Another Side of the Bitcoin Debate: Pamela J. Martinson and Christopher P. Masterson of Sidley Austin LLP took on one of 2013's hottest topics – Bitcoin – by warning there were hazards in lending to the cryptocurrency's users. "Owned Bitcoin has the potential to be collateral for loans, but creditors are likely more concerned with restricting Bitcoin acquisition or use by borrowers due to the uncertain regulatory landscape, irreversible nature of payments, extreme volatility of value and anonymity of the system," they wrote. One reader felt a borrower's use of Bitcoin wasn't always relevant. "If the debtor uses another asset, like a traditional bank account, and does not offer the bitcoin as collateral, what business is it of the bank whether that person or company owns or handles bitcoin?" he wrote. Another commenter thought the authors were selling the cryptocurrency short. "Bitcoin technology introduces some very new novel ways to use bitcoins in collateral and escrow transactions that simply have no parallel in today's banking system," the reader argued. "In a nutshell, because the authority to transfer Bitcoin is established through mathematics rather than institutions, it is possible to create elaborate mathematical equations … where control of the Bitcoins is spread across multiple parties." (Indeed, the economics and technology writer Eli Dourado has described "m of n" multi-signature transactions, in which bitcoins cannot be released from an account without the consent of at least one party plus an arbitrator.) Martinson and Masterson described loan agreements with covenants or reps and warranties that restrict borrowers' use of Bitcoin, and a commenter on Reddit smelled foul play, grumbling, "Here's another way in which banks are trying to squelch Bitcoin." But another Redditor had a more prosaic take: "Banks are so stupid, they can't change their paradigms so they are completely missing the boat."

Digital banking could help put roughly 35% of the mortgage share of traditional banks in North America up for grabs by 2020, according to Accenture Credit Services research based on in-house client data.

State Bank Financial in Atlanta was able to fund an unexpected app for commercial clients because it took a fluid approach to budgeting. Other banks should take note of this approach.