• Bad branding
• Competitiveness and the City
• New look legal marketing in the UK
• Cloud needn't be a marketing nightmare
• Up, up and away
• Putting a value on corporate reputation
• Policing Bloggers
• I know my customers – perception or reality?
• Does the US media need a bailout?
• Online Annual Reports – a review of current activity among FTSE100 companies
• The Content Generation
• Typing out a change of personality
• Companies caught in the commission of journalism
• Reputation Rehab
• Cut out the jargon
• Sibos viewpoint - Thursday 17 September
• Regaining our seat at the table
• Sibos viewpoint - Wednesday 16 September
• Sibos viewpoint - Tuesday 15 September
• Sibos viewpoint - Monday 14 September
• Thought leadership is not for the risk averse or misaligned
• David Byrne - An impetus for change
• The Great Escape
• Frightening MBA advertising?
• The curse of the Were-Designer
• Banking on effective communication
• The corporate newsroom amid a web of excited utterance
• It’s not what you say it’s the way that you do it
• Slow down and think
• Spreading the word
• Silver linings?
• Design and Technology
• Papercut: How Companies Can Combat A Weakening Mass Media
• CNBC and Jim Cramer Underestimate the Influence and Reach of Social Media

Sibos 2009, day three.  Is banking bonkers?  There are many attendees here that subscribe to the fact that many of the systems, processes and regulations that have been implemented over the years have overcomplicated the basic business of banking, and in doing so, masked where many of the inherent risks actually are. 
 
Today we have witnessed a number of discussions around the area of risk, but often the difference between operational, trading and credit risk have not been described in enough detail.  So it was refreshing to hear Andrew Long of HSBC commenting that “We won't stop taking risks, it's what we're paid to do.  If we don't take risk, we won't stay in business.” 

Clearly he was not advocating a cavalier approach to systems management, but making a clear statement of intent regarding what the role of banking should be, in the knowledge that the bank has the appropriate risk, trade and credit management systems.  That's probably why exhibitors such as Murex, Mysis and SunGard have the busiest stands.
 
The tropical storm conditions in Hong Kong have certainly improved the appeal of the forums and exhibition, and a quick survey of our clients BT, Omgeo, Ace and IT2 has shown that although overall numbers of attendees is down, the seniority of those attending is certainly much better than in recent years.
 
Sibos is once again proving to be an invaluable forum for all concerned and yes, if staying out until 2am, followed by hours discussing regulation in memory processing and multi-platform banking apps is the order of the day, then banking is definitely bonkers.  But maybe that’s why we love it so much!

Tudor Morgan

tudor.morgan@greentarget.net