The Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) continues to build on the pace and substance evidenced by its market debut earlier this year. CAROLINE MAGINN looks at its progress Having undergone extensive comparisons to letters of credit and many discussions about what it is not, the BPO now has its own affirmative definition. It is expected to sit comfortably alongside documentary letters …

The GCC bond and sukuk markets are now firmly on the radar screens of global investors, according to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi In the middle of Ramadan, when GCC markets are normally quiet, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi launched and concluded a $750m-bond issue, building an order book of circa $4.5bn in less than four hours. A …

An automated system of manual cheque processing offered by First Gulf Bank has enhanced its customers’ efficiency and reduced their working-capital cycle and cashflow management In the Middle East, despite all the efforts within the banks towards automation, the cheque continues to be a common instrument or means of exchange. Even though better processes are evolving at the customers’  end, …

EastNets showcases en.SafeWatch Profiling and Filtering solutions at Sibos 2012 in Osaka Company also discusses mechanisms for better ‘False Positive’ rates during premier financial services event November 04, 2012 EastNets, a leading provider of global compliance and payment solutions and services, recently took part in Sibos 2012, the latest edition of the world’s premier financial services event that was held …

– With almost half of banks admitting their risk management programme is not well formulated,* Misys Global Risk provides banks with the technology required to execute their business strategies NEW YORK and LONDON – 1 November 2012 – Misys has today launched a new generation of collaborative risk management solutions, under the name of Misys Global Risk (MGR). The solution’s …

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Adds eStatements to its SWIFT SCORE Services New Solution uses SWIFT FileAct to Eliminate Paper Statement Distributions NEW YORK – Bank of America Merrill Lynch today announced it now offers electronic bank statements to clients who have SWIFT Standardized Corporate Environment (SCORE) membership. eStatements is the latest enhancement to BofA Merrill’s suite of offerings with …

–        New due diligence report reduces costs and drives better decision-making through comprehensive, accurate and verified data SINGAPORE –31 October, 2012 – BankersAccuity today announced the launch of KYC Report, a Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence solution that provides details on financial counterparties including sanctions data, headline financials, proprietary ownership information, an overview of key anti-money laundering (AML) document …

Dear Reader, If there’s anything guaranteed to arouse interest in the banking and corporate space it’s a secure payment system that eschews documentation. That is why MENA is now looking favourably at SWIFT’s Bank Payment Obligation (BPO). The BPO is an electronic instrument that can be transmitted between two banks in a trade finance transaction to provide an irrevocable undertaking …

The Islamic Development Bank Group has signed a service agreement with Misys, the global provider of financial application software and services for banking and capital markets, to enhance the treasury and investment departments within the IDB Group. Misys will provide various solutions, including Opics Plus, Opics Risk Plus, Sophis VALUE and Eagleye, to enhance the capacity of the treasury and …

Gulf banks are expected to continue their steady recovery from the 2008 crisis and remain isolated from eurozone turmoil for the rest of 2012 and 2013, according to a Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services report. “We believe the trend of declining loan loss provisions will continue for most of the banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council, resulting in further recovery …

The UAE’s real economy expanded by around 3.2 per cent in 2011 mainly because of higher oil prices and production and is projected to pick up by about 3.5 per cent in 2012, according to a UN group. The other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are also expected to record strong GDP performance through 2012 in contrast …

Deutsche Bank’s global transaction banking (GTB) division has announced key appointments in its trust and securities services and cash management for financial institutions (TSS/CMFI) business, including four TSS/CMFI region heads who will be responsible for strengthening local relationships, aligning the bank’s global resources and providing clients with bespoke solutions and services. Sriram Iyer will assume the new role of TSS/CMFI …

More than $76bn of Gulf bond and sukuk debt is expected to mature by 2014, according to Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) research. Around $20.6bn of sukuk and bond is expected to mature this year, $14bn in 2013 and a massive $41.4bn in 2014, according to the Kuwait-based investment bank. In total, there is around $205.6bn of outstanding debt and sukuk …

The online payment services provided by Dubai eGovernment Department through the internet and mobile phone for instant payment of government fees are experiencing increasing demand by the public with more than AED 2bn collected in the first half of 2012, representing a 21 per cent increase over the previous year. ePay enables customers to electronically settle their dues for various …

Surecomp, a leading provider of global trade solutions for banks and corporations,  has announced that IMEX, its high-volume back-office trade finance solution, has been awarded the SWIFTReady Trade Finance application label for the 14th consecutive year. The SWIFTReady label programme verifies the compliance of business applications against SWIFT standards, messaging services and connectivity. Using stringent SWIFT-specific criteria, SWIFTReady label status …