Professionals within the financial services sector will focus on sub-prime market issues as well as managing anti-money laundering (AML) as priorities for 2008, according to new findings released today by Bankersalmanac.com.
The global survey, aimed at professionals in the financial services industry, asked respondents to name the areas they thought will be of the greatest focus for their institution in 2008. Not surprisingly, over a third of respondents highlighted the sub-prime market as an area of concern. The lack of interbank liquidity and its impact on the broader economy is identified as a main focus for 2008, particularly expressed by respondents in North and Latin America.
Aside from the immediate concerns about the credit crunch, combating money laundering remains the focus of financial institutions as new regulation continues to be introduced.
In the survey SEPA and its impact on corporates was chosen by three-quarters of professionals in Europe as their top priority for 2008. Other key issues highlighted by the industry were the migration to Target2, implementation of MiFID and Basel II.
“The results show that the sub-prime market and combating anti-money laundering will continue to stay top of the global agenda for banking professionals this year. Outside of these two key concerns are more regional issues such as SEPA and TARGET2 whilst implementing existing regulation such as Basel II and MiFID will also remain a major focus for banks this year,” says Kerry Hewson, director, Bankersalmanac.com.