Canadian Business Forum 2010
SWIFT and Canada working together – Canada Wins Gold!
Published on 20 May 2010
SWIFT Americas held its second annual Canadian Business Forum on 4 May in the Toronto MTCC, the same venue where Sibos will take place in 2011. Close to 200 members of the community attended this year’s event, a 50% increase over last year, which is testimony to Canada’s interest in becoming an even more active part of the SWIFT community.
Anne Suprenant, Country Manager, Canada, SWIFT, welcomed the attendees and acted as hostess for the full day event. She gave an overview of the day’s agenda and introduced Ingrid Versnel, Head of Payments and Trade, Technology and Operations, Royal Bank of Canada Financial Group and SWIFT Board member. Versnel reminded the delegates that the Business Forum was an opportunity for them to impact the direction of SWIFT: “I would like all of you to think about what you and your organization need from SWIFT – that is your opportunity for today. I encourage you to reflect and contemplate on what you hear, particularly related to the 2015 strategy proposals and use the opportunity with the NMG – your voice is being heard.”
She told the delegates that she is looking forward to the opportunity to host Sibos next year. “Imagine in 2011 what it’s going to feel like when we fill this building with bankers. Sibos is impressive because of its scale and energy. It is important for Toronto and our community and it is our opportunity to shine.”
Chris Church, Chief Executive, SWIFT Americas, commenced the session with a review of SWIFT in 2009 noting, “2009 was a challenging year but due to our strong focus on cost reduction we finished the year well.” Looking forward to 2010 Church reviewed the global and Americas 2010 business priorities noting, “We have an exciting program for 2010 through key initiatives such as Corporate Actions, SWIFT Consulting Services and of course our on-going commitment to operational excellence.”Opening Plenary: Canada wins gold…
Images of Canada’s winning Olympic hockey match provided a fitting background to a spirited panel discussion that brought together leaders of the Canadian financial services industry. Moderator Nancy Atkinson, Senior Analyst, Aite Group, asked how Canada was able to sail through the financial crisis better than other countries. Ron Robertson, Managing Director, State Street Global Services, commented, “You need to think about who we are as much as what we did. Canadians are more cautious and conservative. We need to leverage this culture and reputation in the global market place.”
"Conservative is not the opposite of growth"
Normand Zucco, Vice-President, Business Strategy and Operations, Canadian Payments Association, added “No doubt Canadian banks have come out of recession well. Their business models, balance sheet structures and the regulatory environment within which they operate have all proven to be more robust than other countries. Conservative is not the opposite of growth. I think there is a quiet pride among Canadians that their banks have not required government bail-outs, and have, in fact, demonstrated smarter business practices. So perhaps their collective voice at the table, both domestically and internationally, is somewhat different than in the recent past.”
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Mark Weseluck, Chief Business Development Officer, CDS Clearing & Depository Services, commented, “Growth for Canadian institutions will come in part from smaller acquisitions in targeted markets that the banks are familiar with, and not necessarily from one large deal like we’ve seen in other markets.” Mark summed up the discussion, “Why would you change a business model that has worked?”
Not all clouds are created equal
"Security is a top concern for many CIOs considering the cloud. Not all clouds are created equal."
Christopher Dziekan, WW Cloud Portfolio Executive, Business Analytics, IBM, took to the stage to share his insight and expertise on Business Analytics and how together with cloud computing companies can optimize their use of information, drive better decision making, while reducing capital expenditures and time to value. "New business conditions have placed a renewed urgency on innovation around business analytics and cloud computing. There is a greater need for IT departments to help address business challenges. Security is a top concern for many CIOs considering the cloud." Dziekan further stated, “Not all clouds are created equal. There are clouds that are not very secure but there are also private clouds which are extremely secure. In between there are interesting hybrid clouds which allow collaboration across institutions,” said Dziekan, citing the example of the fraud cloud initiative in Canada. He concluded that movement from traditional environments to cloud computing can be in one step or an evolution.
Mike Fish, CIO, SWIFT, laid out the five key technology trends which are most important for SWIFT: cloud, vertical integration, open source model, cyber security and networking. In discussing cloud computing Fish pointed out that SWIFT is considered by industry experts to be the preeminent example of a secure private cloud for financial services. “For SWIFT, therefore, cloud computing is about adding additional capabilities that allow more interoperability.”
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Anne Suprenant closed the forum with a USD 5,000 donation on behalf of SWIFT’s Canadian community to Horizon’s for Youth, a charity whose mission is to shelter, prepare, and guide at-risk youth to be contributing community members.