Banking on connectivity: How Equinix is revolutionizing BFSI infrastructure

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    developing a sustainable economic system on a global scale

  • Revolutionizing finance through global digital communication

Banking on connectivity: How Equinix is revolutionizing BFSI infrastructure

In today’s banks, financial services, and coverage ( BFSI) business, interlinking is not just a buzzword—it’s the lifeblood of online transformation, driving a tectonic shift in how financial organizations operate and develop. At the heart of this revolutionary stands Equinix, a digital infrastructure business that’s weaving a global cloth of communication, redefining how economic companies operate, develop, and secure their digital assets. &nbsp,

Equinix’s position in the BFSI market is little short of revolutionary. Equinix has created a strong, global habitat that’s driving creativity and collaboration. The amazing breadth and breadth of the Equinix economic services ecosystem reflect this wide range. Using Equinix’s connectivity options, BFSI habitat participants continue to build and expand their services in the modern economy. &nbsp,

Beyond traditional financial institutions, this habitat also includes all major public cloud service providers, many financial organizations, data analytics companies, LLM and AI providers, and technology providers. A detailed network like this promotes innovation and new business models by facilitating smooth cooperation and data exchange.

enhancing the digital equipment needed for contemporary bank

At the core of this habitat is Platform Equinix®, which is at the frontline of enabling cutting-edge online banking services. By providing low-latency connections to a multitude of partners, including sky providers, system operators, surveillance and fintech companies, Equinix allows banks to produce future-ready platforms that can leverage various technologies through API calls.

This infrastructure flexibility is crucial in today’s multi-cloud environment. For instance, a bank can now run its front-end applications on AWS, use Google BigQuery for analytics, and tap into AI services from Microsoft or OpenAI, all while maintaining its core banking systems and customer data within Equinix’s secure data centers. &nbsp,

Equinix Fabric® facilitates this hybrid multi-cloud approach, enabling banks to provide their customers with the quickest and most innovative services without sacrificing security or performance. &nbsp,

Tariq Shallwani, head of Segment Strategy South Asia, Equinix, shared,” Over 85 % of enterprises are already using multiple clouds to gain agility. BFSIs have a transformative opportunity to leverage innovation from the cloud while avoiding vendor lock-in as new public cloud availability zones are launching in Malaysia.

Banking on connectivity: How Equinix is revolutionizing BFSI infrastructure

In a connected world, strengthening cybersecurity

As financial services become increasingly digital and interconnected, cybersecurity has become a paramount concern. Equinix addresses this issue head-on by providing safe, private options for connecting to the public internet, significantly reducing the threat of cybercrimes.

Central to this security strategy is Equinix Fabric, which allows financial institutions to create private, software-defined connections to their partners and service providers. By reducing latency, this increases both performance and security. &nbsp,

Building on this foundation, Equinix’s Network Edge service offers software-defined edge security solutions, including SD-WAN, firewalls, and routers as a service, extending the coverage to new markets and edge metros.

Navigating compliance in a global landscape

While enhancing security, financial institutions must also navigate a complex web of regulatory requirements. Global financial institutions face a significant challenge in ensuring compliance with data sovereignty and financial regulations. Equinix’s global presence, with data centers in key financial hubs worldwide, allows banks to maintain data residency while still accessing global markets.

Banks expanding their reach benefit most from this global-local approach. For instance, a bank in Malaysia can use Equinix’s facilities in Singapore or Hong Kong to access the region’s robust financial ecosystem while adhering to local data laws. Banks can expand their services internationally while maintaining the necessary regulatory compliance in each country.

Enabling real-time financial services

The future of banking is not just global and secure—it’s also real-time. Equinix’s low-latency connections and location of data centers close to major financial hubs help to realize this. This infrastructure enables banks to process transactions and analyze data in near real-time, a capability that is crucial for services like high-frequency trading, real-time fraud detection, and instantaneous cross-border payments.

Additionally, Equinix’s edge computing capabilities enable the financial sector to integrate IoT and AI technologies. For instance, insurance companies can now process data from IoT devices in real-time, enabling more accurate risk assessments and faster claims processing. This convergence of advanced technologies and real-time capabilities opens up new horizons for financial services.

Together with Equinix and Orange Business, the two companies have established a strong partnership to provide BFSI clients with appropriate solutions that are customized to their requirements. Disaster recovery is one of these options, from new, innovative service offerings to the re-architecture of the IT infrastructure in data centers and the cloud. &nbsp,

Christophe Ozer– head of Evolution Platform Orange Business APAC – Cloud, Connectivity, Cybersecurity, shared,” Through our partnership, Orange Business and Equinix are enabling financial institutions to unlock new levels of agility and security, ensuring they remain at the forefront of innovation while meeting the demands of a rapidly changing financial landscape”.

Sustainability in finance

Now, as the financial sector evolves technologically, it’s also grappling with its environmental impact. Here too, Equinix is leading the charge towards sustainable digital infrastructure. Despite growing its global data center footprint and vowing to reach 100 % clean and renewable energy coverage across its global portfolio of data centers by 2030, Equinix reduced its operational scope 1 & 2 emissions by 24 % from a 2019 baseline in 2023. &nbsp,

This initiative extends to all facilities, whether newly constructed or recently incorporated into the company’s portfolio. In Malaysia, Equinix’s data centers are 100 % renewable, and in 2023, Equinix’s global operations had a total renewable energy coverage of 96 %, surpassing 90 % for the sixth consecutive year…

Financial institutions can use cutting-edge digital infrastructure to achieve their own environmental goals while achieving these goals. It’s a win-win scenario where technological advancement aligns with environmental responsibility.

Future-proofing finance

The impact of interconnected ecosystems in finance will only increase as the years go on. Equinix is at the forefront of this trend, expanding its global reach and improving its services indefinitely. The company’s recent expansion into Southeast Asian markets like Malaysia demonstrates its commitment to supporting the sustainable expansion of emerging markets ‘ digital financial services.

For banks and financial institutions, partnering with Equinix offers a clear path to digital transformation. It provides access to a global ecosystem of partners, secure, sustainable and high-performance infrastructure, and the flexibility to innovate and scale rapidly. Equinix’s interconnected ecosystems will undoubtedly have a significant impact on shaping the future of finance as the landscape of the financial services industry continues to evolve.

Ultimately, in this increasingly digital and interconnected world, Equinix is not just providing sustainable infrastructure – it’s powering the future of finance. By enabling secure, compliant, and innovative financial services, Equinix is helping to create a more connected and efficient global financial system, benefiting institutions and consumers alike. &nbsp,

As technology develops, the interaction between financial services and digital infrastructure will continue to spur innovation, creating a more diverse and dynamic financial ecosystem.

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Archegos founder Bill Hwang sentenced to 18 years in prison

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Former Wall Street investment, Sung Kook” Bill” Hwang, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison in a huge scam circumstance that cost businesses billions of dollars.

Hwang was found guilty of fraud and business manipulation in a 2021 case involving his investment portfolio Archegos Capital Management.

Before announcing the statement, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said,” The amount of costs that were caused by your do is larger than any other loss I have dealt with,” according to estimates cited by Reuters media company.

Although the prison sentence for white collar crimes was somewhat shorter than the 21-year prison sentence requested by the prosecution, it is still exceedingly long.

The prosecutor has not yet made an announcement regarding the matter, though the prosecution had even requested compensation. On Thursday, the sentencing hearing will begin.

Hwang was found guilty of lying to the largest investment bankers because he had allegedly lied to many companies in secret.

One of the largest wall account collapses since the 2008 financial crisis occurred when Archegos ‘ failure to pay its creditors caused a massive stock sell-off, which caused the bank to quickly collapse in less than a week.

Credit Suisse, which has since become a part of UBS, Nomura, and Morgan Stanley, are just a few of the major banks that suffered significant losses as a result of Archegos ‘ collapse.

Hwang’s doctors had called for him not to get punished, citing his Christian beliefs and his donations to charity.

They also said his wealth, which at one point was valued at an estimated$ 30bn ( £23.7bn ), had fallen to an estimated$ 55m.

The judge called the requests for leniency “utterly ridiculous” due to the money involved and compared Hwang to the disgraced founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, who received a 25-year sentence for fraud last year, according to Bloomberg.

Hwang’s attorneys did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment right away.

Hwang’s assistant at Archegos and co-defendant, Patrick Halligan, who was also found guilty on three legal fees at the same test, is set to be sentenced at a hearing scheduled for 27 January.

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Govt moves to ease debt burden

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Curiosity wait on debt of B1.31trn

People seek consultations about how to settle their debts at an event jointly organised by the Justice Ministry and 23 financial institutes at Suan Dusit University in Bangkok in January (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)
At a meeting held in January at Suan Dusit University in Bangkok in collaboration with the Justice Ministry and 23 financial institutions ( Photo: Apichart Jinakul ) people seek consultations about how to resolve their debts.

As part of efforts to reduce household debt, the Finance Ministry has revealed details about the government’s plan to halt interest payments for three different debtor parties.

The strategy for borrowers with debt up to a year premature was approved by the financial stimulus committee headed by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday.

The three-year attention suspension system will support late home loans not exceeding 3 million baht, car loans not exceeding 800, 000 baht, and tiny- and medium-sized enterprises ‘ loans of up to 3 million baht, Paopoom Rojanasakul, deputy finance minister, said.

Of the payments totalling 1.31 trillion baht, home mortgage lenders owe 480 billion baht, auto loan lenders owe 370 billion rmb, and SMEs owe 454 billion baht, Mr Paopoom said.

Because we believe the debt will be able to clear their debt and getting back on their feet rapidly if they receive assistance from the government, the government has decided to suspend interest payments for the debt.

The Finance Ministry will allow banks to reduce their fee contributions to the Financial Institution Development Fund ( FIDF) from the current level of 0.46 %, according to Mr. Paopoom, in order to make up for the bank’s interest rate reduction caused by the measure.

The Thai Bankers ‘ Association ( TBA ) confirmed that banks will be able to finance the interest suspension program by lowering their FIDF fee contribution.

Consumers who receive a expulsion may follow a debt restructuring plan and refrain from applying for additional money over the course of three years to prevent moral hazard and guarantee the efficient reduction of household debt.

According to bill data as of October 31, eligible borrowers must have completed their payment agreements with banks by January 1 of this year and be facing difficulties making their mortgage payments.

According to the TBA, the initiative aims to assist targeted borrowers in reducing their debt and encouraging economic discipline throughout the restructuring process. As of June, Thailand’s household-to-GDP ratio was 89.6 %, and household debt was 16.3 trillion baht, among the highest levels in Asia.

However, deputy finance secretary Julapun Amornvivat announced on Wednesday that the state security committee would join on Thursday to evaluate the requirements for state welfare cards.

According to Mr. Julapun, fresh registration will start for applicants in March of next year.

According to the Finance Ministry, some individuals may have earned enough to leave a resilient type without losing their ability to receive benefits because of the need to reprocess data to determine eligibility for vulnerable groups.

Every two decades, the department reviews the registration of people with state security cards. The 2022 assessment was the last one, and this year’s assessment was supposed to start.

The innovative registration review was delayed until early 2025 due to efforts to address the country’s flood problems in some areas.

The main requirements for receiving the state security card is having a child’s and family’s annual salary hardly reach 100, 000 ringgit. Based on a daily minimum salary of 300 rmb, this number has been determined. In the most recent membership large for the express welfare card, there were 13.5 million less eligible recipients than there were in the previous round, down from 14.9 million.

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Billionaire Gautam Adani of India’s Adani Group indicted in US bribery case

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US prosecutors charged billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors on Wednesday ( Nov 20 ), according to a statement released on the case.

The president of Adani Group, who has an extensive business empire that includes coal, airports, cement, and media, has recently been stung by allegations of corporate fraud and a stock crash.

Authorities alleged Adani, his brother Sagar Adani, Adani Green Energy, and Vneet Jaain that they had agreed to pay more than US$ 250 million in money to American government officials in exchange for contracts slated to bring in US$$ 2 billion in profits over the course of 20 years.

The alternative energy company, according to the prosecution, even allegedly made false and deceptive remarks during this time that resulted in more than US$ 3 billion in loans and bonds.

None of the many accused in the case, including Adani, are in prison, the attorney’s office told AFP.

One of Adani’s alleged accomplices, according to the prosecution, used his phone to properly track pay payments.

According to Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller,” This accusation alleges plans to pay over US$ 250 million in money to American government officials, to rest to investors and banks to increase billions of dollars, and to hinder justice.”

A prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, according to court documents, and prosecutors intend to execute those permits on international law enforcement.

“FEAR OF Duress”

The FBI’s James Dennehy claimed that Gautam Adani and seven different business professionals allegedly bribed the American state to obtain attractive deals to gain their firms, while another defendants allegedly attempted to defuse the corruption plot by obstructing the government’s investigation.

A self-described shy, Adani keeps a low page and often speaks to the media, generally sending commanders to top corporate events.

Adani was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat condition, to a middle-class home but dropped out of school at 16 and moved to monetary investment Mumbai to find work in the state’s attractive gem trade.

He branched out into the export trade in 1988 after a short stint in his brother’s plastics company.

Seven years later, he received a contract to construct and run a commercial shipping port in Gujarat.

Adani Group’s rapid expansion into capital-intensive businesses previously raised alarms, with Fitch subsidiary and market researcher CreditSights warning in 2022 it was “deeply over-leveraged”.

A blatant report from US investment firm Hindenburg Research in 2023 claimed the conglomerate had engaged in “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud schemes over the course of decades.”

Hindenburg said a pattern of “government leniency towards the group” stretching back decades had left investors, journalists, citizens and politicians unwilling to challenge its conduct” for fear of reprisal”.

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All the reasons Trump should fire the Fed’s Powell – Asia Times

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October’s jobs report helps clarify Donald Trump’s disaster electoral victory. For the first time since the post-Covid treatment, secret payments decreased.

American families, especially lower-income households, were crushed by inflation rates twice the officially reported levels. Nowadays, jobs are drying up. Standard readouts indicate that the economy is much worse than expected.

By awarding billion in so-called signal checks after the US market had now begun to recover from the 2020 Covid crisis, Biden set the worst inflation rate since the 1970s and probably since the US Civil War.

The Federal Reserve poured oil on the fire after pretending inflation was a problem for a year before jacked up interest charges. It should soon lower the federal funds rate by 2 percentage points, easing the burden on communities and the expenditure.

Graphic: Asia Times

Government statisticians claim that higher private use is to blame for the US economy’s continued expansion, but investment in both businesses and homes has remained stagnant. The American public did n’t buy the official version, because it just is n’t so.

Graphic: Asia Times

Somehow, Americans have managed to increase “real personal consumption expenditures” ( the calculation of consumption in the gross national product series ) without buying anything.

True financial profits, as reported by the Census Bureau, have been falling since 2021, while private consumption keeps rising. The actual retail sales report’s and the private consumption estimate’s are the largest ever gap ever found.

The US market is much weaker than federal researchers state, which is the most likely reason and one that corresponds to the experience of most American families. Private consumption is significantly lower and inflation-adjusted use is significantly higher.

So, Trump may now be living in a crisis as a result of the Biden administration. And it is continually being given by the Federal Reserve.

The current prices is NOT the result of excessive credit generation, as opposed to the prices of the 1970s. According to the Bank for International Settlements, which releases weekly data through March 2024, the US personal sector’s complete record has decreased over the past few years.

Biden’s campaign to pay voters with massive subsidies contributed to this inflation.

Graphic: Asia Times

When the cost of higher interest payments to American homes is added in, Lawrence Summers, the Treasury Secretary for Barack Obama and Lawrence Summers, the former president of Harvard University, calculated prices at 18 % in 2022. It still rises to 8 % today.

Graphic: Asia Times

Credit card debt outstanding exploded after Covid, rising from about$ 800 billion to nearly$ 1.1 trillion. Higher interest rates, however, were the actual kick. Between 2021 and 2023, the average interest rate on revolving credit increased from 14 % to 22 %.

Graphic: Asia Times

When the interest charge on revolving credit is divided by the outstanding balance, it becomes clear that average home interest payments on credit accounts increased from about$ 100 billion in 2020 to approximately$ 225 billion in 2023.

The New York Federal Reserve’s study of consumer credit shows that past-due credit card balances now exceed 11 % of the full, the highest degree in 10 years, while criminal car loans are about 5 % of the total.

Graphic: Asia Times

Additionally, prices caused higher taxes on income earners by putting them in higher tax brackets. Personal income tax revenues increased significantly more quickly than the minimum GDP.

At the top of 2020 prices, US citizens were paying$ 400 billion a year more in federal income taxes than the level of GDP do had predicted.

Graphic: Asia Times

The Fed’s whipsaw is also the main cause of budget considerations. Interest obligations on federal loan doubled as a result of Biden’s spending spree and Fed’s excessive reaction.

Graphic: Asia Times

Jerome Powell, the main perpetrator of the monetary policy blunder, has declared that he wo n’t step down from office before 2026.

It’s not clear whether President Trump will be able to inspire Powell to left sooner. However, the President-elect needs to explain to the British people why they are in this mess and who was responsible for them.

Observe David P Goldman on X at @davidpgoldman

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Outpouring of blood donations in China’s Zhuhai as residents rally to help car ramming victims

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Online, there have also been website appeals for more people to join the reason.

” Now, Zhuhai city’s body businesses are in need of blood. We ask that all neighbors and friends constantly respond. Please help by spreading the word. reads a blog from Xiaohongshu, a Taiwanese social media platform.

The article included a body banks address and the physical requirements for potential sponsors.

Citizens from even further away have made an effort to help out. After learning about the event, a Macao native claimed to have driven to a blood banks in Zhuhai on Tuesday morning. But on appearance, he was told that heart supplies were “enough”. &nbsp,

” A staff at the ( blood ) bank told me that there were currently more than 100 people in the queue and that their blood supplies were sufficient”, he shared on Xiaohongshu.

According to local media reports, the National Health Commission has dispatched 11 professionals to help with the work, while more than 300 healthcare professionals from five Zhuhai hospitals are treating the sufferers.

SHOCK AND HORROR&nbsp,

A 62-year-old gentleman with the surname Fan has been identified as the suspect. Local authorities said on Tuesday that he rammed people exercising on the inner roads and through the sports center’s wall.

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NSF takes father to court to pay S,000 per month in advance for his university course fees

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A national service member in Singapore attempted to sue his father for paying S$ 1, 000 ( US$ 747 ) per month while he was stationed in Singapore to cover his upcoming university tuition costs.

The father appeared “visibly and truly sad” about his son turning to the police for this, and that the younger man had never called him in a while, the Family Court noted.

He was 22 when the NSF started the investigation because he was concerned that his father’s funds might run out before his studies at the Singapore Institute of Technology ( SIT ) would begin.

Based on photos of his father’s second woman, who carried a branded watch and case, and counting stacks of cash, the NSF claimed that his parents had the funds to make the payments because his parents are divorced and that the NSF had verified this.

THE Event

According to a view dated October 30, 2024, the young man planned to apply for a lessons at SIT in February or March 2025 while serving his Na at the time of the reading.

If successful, he may begin the course in August 2026 and only be able to find out the results of the application in June or July of next year.

While the boy was pursuing his NS, the boy initiated the investigation, compelled his father to begin making him S$ 1, 000 per month.

The payment, which are estimated to cost more than S$ 30, 000, were intended to be used to pay for the SIT program.

His father testified at the hearing that the court case had not revealed his plans to enroll in the course, so his father claimed he was shocked and” confused.”

The parents, however, made it clear that despite being financially pressed at the time, he was still fully committed to paying the training fees.

He was only able to begin receiving payment in 2026, the course’s launch date. He claimed that his CPF Ordinary Account, which would be more than enough, may allow him to use the funds from his Central Provident Fund to pay the training costs.

The father believed that his ex-wife and the son’s family may also contribute, even though he was willing to pay the fees.

The case was brought under Section 69 ( 2 ) of the Women’s Charter, which states that: The court may order a parent to pay monthly or lump sums for the child’s maintenance upon timely receipt of the evidence that the parent has neglected or refused to provide reasonable maintenance to that child.

If the court determines that providing for maintenance is needed, district judge Kow Keng Siong noted that such an purchase cannot be made for a kid who has reached the age of 21.

According to Judge Kow, the boy had provide two evidence for success in his application. Second, the obligations he seeks may count as “reasonable maintenance”, and the parents may have “neglected or refused” to provide the repair sought.

The court does merely grant the payments if the NSF “would be receiving instruction at an academic creation” because he is now 21 years old.

According to Judge Kow, the Women’s Charter “does not particularly require a parent to support his or her child’s secondary schooling.”

Second, the obligation for maintenance under Section 69 ( 2 ) does not require a parent to pay for all the expenses of a child’s tertiary education.

Finally, a prosecutor retains the choice on whether to buy a family to pay for their child’s secondary education expenses, and if so, how much and when payments really started.

JUDGE’S Studies

The son, according to Judge Kow, lacked the necessary evidence to support the son’s claim that the payments were needed and reasonable.

He noted that having the father give preservation in advance could lead to” a lot of problems” because the son’s acceptance into the program was a “certitude.”

The judge also emphasized that paying for the father’s tuition is” a shared parental obligation” and that both the parents and the mother are jointly responsible for paying the brother’s tuition.

The judge had to weigh the parents ‘ respective incomes, earning potential, and assets in order to determine what their respective contributions should be. The mother was a freelance renovator.

The judge ruled that the father’s assertion that his parents had the funds to pay his father’s debt based on photos that his father’s second family posted online was based on speculation.

The parents claimed that his second wife had purchased the watch and bag many years prior, with his second wife purchasing both the watch and bag in 2019.

The parents claimed that his second wife and he kept their money separate.

The judge noted that the son’s uncontested data demonstrated that the father was actually in “dire economic straits.”

He had different payment plans to pay off these debts and had a credit card account with five banks. The father claimed to have been owed these amounts while running his development company.

About a year before the hearing, the parents had traded in his 2021 Mercedes E Class, valued at around S$ 400, 000, for a 15-year-old Mercedes S Class valued at about S$ 50, 000.

He had also not been fast in paying a full of S$ 2, 500 in maintenance for his son and daughter, and had paid the debt in quantities of S$ 3, 000 and S$ 5, 000 when he could.

So, the judge accepted that the father’s existing financial strain would increase if he was ordered to make the course fees in advance.

Judge Kow disregarded the software and made some final studies, starting with the father’s rejection of his son’s legal action.

” At all content occasions, he spoke gently to the child. The father had actually addressed the child as “lovely” at the beginning of the reading, but he immediately corrected himself and used the son’s English name, according to the judge. ” From my assessment of the parents, it is obvious to me that he loved the boy dearly”.

He stated that the parents was “visibly and truly depressed that the child had asked the judge to pay for the SIT course.”

The son’s parents claimed that the father had never called him in a while, and that the father had just received a notification of the son’s intention to enroll in an SIT program.

The father yelled out when he said,” Not because the law says so, but as a parent,” when he said,” The father was ready to help the son.”

The prosecutor said the boy may realize his father’s love and terms.

The law has its limitations because it is a sharp instrument. According to Judge Kow, experience has shown that honest and direct communication improves results for problems.

It’s never too late to press the delete key, according to the saying “neverever the reasons for the obvious lack of communication between the child and the parents”

He claimed that the father’s desire to pursue a secondary education might provide him with a great chance to reconnect with his father.

The father, in my opinion, sincerely desires to give the son a higher education than he does, including by giving him ( the father ) a higher education. Judge Kow urged the events to begin establishing direct communication channels.

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Global ESG Monitor: Banks and insurance companies show progress in climate reporting

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  • Banks and insurance companies received a score of just under 50 %, which is substantially above the national average.
  • Financial institutions are aware of climate issues, but they do not provide in-depth monitoring.

Global ESG Monitor: Banks and insurance companies show progress in climate reporting

According to the most recent assessment from the Global ESG Monitor ( GEM) 2024, banks and insurance companies are reporting on climate issues but still need improvement. The study analysed the non-financial reporting of 194 companies, including 10 large insurers and 10 banks, with a focus on European Sustainability Reporting Standards ( ESRS ).

The financial industry, comprising banks and insurance companies, achieved only under 50 % of possible positions in reporting value, somewhat surpassing the total sample average of 45 %. This functionality both points to progress and highlights possible improvements.

Michael Diegelmann, co-founder of GEM and co-CEO of cometis, an IR and ESG firm, said,” Banks and insurance companies you tap into additional future-proof investment and profit opportunities in the long term through the stress they generate. They may also continue to raise the caliber of their reporting. There is still a lot of possible these, according to the best methods of the sector’s pioneers.

Financial institutions exhibit proper consciousness of pressing climate issues, according to the evaluation. They excelled in a number of ways, including demonstrating their devotion to the Paris Climate Agreement, making range emissions public, and presenting transition plans. However, there were significant gaps in the climate change reportage regarding endurance and the economic effects.

In resilience reporting, both sectors scored just under 60 % of points, outperforming the overall sample average of 38 %. But, endurance analyses were simply made available by about half of the nine major organizations, according to the European Central Bank. Companies only received 15 % of the possible points for reporting on the financial effects of climate change, which is mainly small.

Ariane Hofstetter, co-founder of GEM and committee member of cometis, emphasized the importance of open reporting:” Climate change is now causing huge costs today. Transparent monitoring is so important, because it is about more than just documented duty, but about the green transition of the market”.

The study also assessed ESRS compliance, where banks and insurers scored below 50 %. In light of their position as significant partners and stakeholders for a number of companies, this suggests that more open communication is required.

The International ESG Monitor, an impartial consider tank, has analysed over 1, 300 information from more than 500 firms globally since its foundation in 2020. Rules and criteria from numerous international requirements and frameworks are incorporated into its approach.

Click below to get the statement.

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IN FOCUS: How banks and telcos try to deliver top-notch customer service

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Although telephone amounts have decreased over the years, the majority of banks and telcos have stated that they still receive a lot of customer inquiries.

DBS said its 500-strong customer support agent workforce, which is based in Singapore and comprises mainly Singaporeans, manages over 250, 000 answers from consumers each month. More than 3 million answers are generated annually, according to this figure.

Singtel, which offers numerous programs for customers to reach them, including Whatsapp communications and its client line, reported that it handles more than three million customer queries annually. OCBC reported that it has received 1.4 million calls this time.

In addition, the volume of inquiries may rise during significant events, such as service problems, putting more stress on customer service staff.

” In a ( mobile network ) outage, you must understand that the volume and the traffic ( of calls or chats ) that comes to us is not five times or ten times, it’s probably 100 times more than normal”, said M1’s director of customer experience and retail Stamford Low.

We rely heavily on our machines to grow, so we can upgrade them with the status of the interruption. So if you called us because you were experiencing company difficulties, the voicebot would be able to inform you, he said.” Our specialists are aware of this and are working on it,” he said.

” So we can do that so that the customer does n’t have to wait for a while before speaking with an agent and then hearing the same thing anyway.”

OCBC said it schedule more officers to work during the busiest times of the month, when they are typically asked for more inquiries about bank accounts and credit card statements, while DBS said it has real-time tracking screens and early warning signals to help its groups quickly ramp up resourcing to maintain spikes in call volumes.

Companies CNA spoke to said they do not avoid calls because some clients complain that they ca n’t reach a customer service representative in these circumstances.

According to OCBC’s Mr. Indra,” We make our very best effort to clear as many calls as possible,” adding that staff members from other divisions may also be stationed to handle customer calls.

There could be delays as a result of a rise in calls, according to Singtel’s deputy chief executive officer Anna Yip, who is a customer service representative who some users complain they ca n’t reach during significant incidents.

” When incidents happen … it’s not just the ( customer service ) agents ‘ role, it’s actually a whole team that crosses many departments like networks, customer agents, marketing is also involved”, she said.

” It’s basically like a war room situation… because we do n’t want to give customers wrong information. We want them to … know that they’re being taken care of, but we also need to give them correct information whenever we can, because if we really do n’t know what’s going on, we ca n’t lie”.

” So that’s why the coordination is very, very tight, and it’s not just about the front-end messaging, but all the way to the back, those people who are fixing things and turning things around, giving us the update. It must remain a single team, please.

” We do n’t stop any calls or … say ‘ we do n’t take any calls because we have nothing new to tell people’.

” It could be that, in the very, very rare situation where we do have a call surge, then of course, there is a bit of delay for people to come through, but we never stop communication, and we certainly never stop people from contacting us at all.”

RISING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

Assoc Prof Cheah believes that as consumers become more digitally savvy, this could have contributed to higher expectations for customer service.

Studies conducted a few years ago indicated that consumers were still alright if they had to wait a while for their issue to be resolved, she said.

However, many people today are intolerant to even a quick refresh of the screen that takes longer than a minute or a call that is not resolved within ten minutes.

” It’s the digital age that we’re living in, where a lot of information is being provided very quickly, so … to a certain extent, we are being conditioned to expect a fast response”.

OCBC said it has implemented a number of internal procedures to shorten the average handling time for its customer service officers in order to keep up with rising expectations.

This includes allowing its customer service representatives to approve requests for loan waivers as soon as they are satisfied, as well as handling disputes involving credit card transactions.

Previously, they were not able to do this and had to raise such requests to another team to process.

The bank’s efforts appear to be working, with the bank now exceeding its 60-second call-return goal of 80 %.

In comparison, it picked up 40 to 50 per cent of calls within the target last year.

We obviously had a fair bit of catch up last year when I started this new position, but we’ve been using data to improve our ability to be more proactive, according to Dennis Lee, OCBC’s head of service channels and transformation.

” ( We ) want to be proactive, to ( be able to ) tell customers that the moment they face an issue, we ( already ) know and before they call us, we are able to educate them on how to self-help so that they can resolve an issue … without having to call us or wait on the phone”.

The bank is currently testing out push notifications to explain why payments made after a customer’s card is rejected, as well as free web call services for customers who have credit card issues while traveling abroad.

After realizing that inquiries about account balances and credit card issues accounted for the most calls, it developed this plan.

” What I’m trying to do is whenever they tap at a failed transaction straightaway, we will detect why their transactions were rejected … so we’re trying to proactively inform customers … and this is where they can go and self-help immediately”, said OCBC’s Mr Lee.

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