14 Apr 2000... The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today held its inaugural Technology in Finance (TiF) dialogue session with industry players. More than 100 financial sector technology professionals gathered at MAS for a half-day discussion on the key trends affecting back office processing operations for financial institutions. Comprising professionals from local and foreign financial institutions, consultants and IT solution providers, the session provided a lively platform to exchange views on the opportunities for Singapore in developing the back office processing industry.

During this morning's dialogue session, MAS observed that consolidation in the financial landscape has resulted in financial institutions increasingly farming out routine back office processing activities. This has led to greater economies of scale, and allowed organisations to focus their resources on core competencies. MAS further noted that the trend of consolidation meant opportunities for financial institutions to centralise their processing activities in one location. MAS also said that they would be working closely with the industry and to leverage on global processing initiatives to nurture the growth of the back office industry.

"We think that the development of a scalable, cost-competitive back office industry would bring benefits to industry players. Singapore has a well-established business infrastructure, making it a natural location for larger financial institutions to base their regional processing activities." said Mr Enoch Ch'ng, Senior Director of the Risk and Technology Department, MAS.

At this morning's dialogue session, Mr Teo Eng Cheong, Deputy Director of MAS' Financial Sector Promotion Department, also said that MAS will be looking into developing new strategies to grow the back office processing industry in Singapore. These would include measures to incentivise the setting up of processing hubs in Singapore, to nurture the growth of skilled manpower for the processing industry, as well as ongoing efforts to make the operating environment more conducive for the industry.

Besides providing the MAS' viewpoint, this morning's TiF dialogue session also allowed established industry players to share their perspectives and experiences with the audience. External speakers at this morning's session included representatives from Price Waterhouse Coopers, TCA Consulting Ltd, Gemini Consulting Ltd, mpct Solutions Pte Ltd, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd. As noted by Howard Morris, CIO, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, financial institutions may "outsource processing, but not accountabilities". Institutions would need to invest significant management attention in order to reap the full benefits of outsourcing.

Today's event marked the first in a series of "Technology in Finance" dialogue sessions. "We have been much encouraged by the good response of this morning's TiF session. We will continue to actively engage industry players through these dialogue sessions so as to help the industry to maximise efficiencies and capitalise on technology for growth, " said Mr Ch'ng.

Concepts

• "Business Process Outsourcing - Competitive Advantage in an E-Commerce World" (221.3 KB) - Paul Curtis, Director, Business Process Outsourcing, South East Asia, Price Waterhouse Coopers (Tel: 2325222)
  
• "Technology and Infrastructure to Facilitate the Rapid Change in Back Office Operations" (638 KB) - Graham Nyman, General Manager (Tel: 4230625) and Helen Richardson, Senior Consultant, TCA Consulting (Tel: 4230526)

Process and development

• "Capital Markets Back Office Processing" (160 KB) - Lim Hock Kheng, Director, Gemini Consulting (Tel: 3896174)
  
• "Global Operations Efficiency " (6.69 MB) - Roy Marsh, Regional Manager, mpct Solutions (Tel: 2270413)
  
• "Regionalisation and Globalisation - What does the future look like?" (6.69 MB) and Tom Miller, Sr Business Architect, mpct Solutions

Case Study

• "Outsourcing for Strategic Advantage - The Commonwealth Bank of Australia's Experience" (1.76 MB) - Howard Morris, Chief Information Officer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Tel: 7318656 (EDS))
  
• "Truncation. Cut Cheques E-Way" (126.9 KB) - Agnes Lim, Project Director (Cheque Truncation), Banking Computer Services Pte Ltd (Tel: 4225105)

Development Strategies

• "Development Strategies for the Back Office Processing Industry" - Teo Eng Cheong, Deputy Director, Financial Sector Promotion Department, Monetary Authority of Singapore