SunGard’s annual survey, conducted at Sibos, revealed that 90% of banks will implement new SWIFTNet standards for exceptions and investigations, with a majority of the respondents claiming that exceptions comprise 5 to 8% of transactions.
Although the number of exceptions remain constant in the minds of respondents, the cost associated with those exceptions continues to decline (from 25% of trading profits in 2002 to 12% in 2005).
Respondents agreed that SWIFT’s new message standards for exceptions andinvestigations, set to kick off this year, will help reduce the timeand costs associated with resolving exceptions.
Fifty percent of survey respondents felt that industry standard investigations messages will help lower the cost of exceptions between 10-30% and another 30% of respondents felt these messages will reduce exceptions costs between 30-50%.
The majority of respondents agreed that industry standard investigations messages will help reduce exception resolution times between 20-40%, helping provide better response times to customers and trading parties.
Survey responses confirmed that most financial institutions see the benefit of implementing SWIFT’s standards, as 90% of respondents plan to adopt the new messages. Twenty percent will implement a fully automated approach to exception handling, and 70% a semi-automated approach, adopted in stages.
But when they will start the project is a different matter: 60% ofrespondents already have plans in place to pilot the new messages or toimplement them during 2006, but the other 40% will adopt the messagesonly when required to by SWIFT.
“We feel that the uptake of these standards will help move the industry forward in terms of improving efficiencies and, ultimately improving customer satisfaction – a topic our survey respondents agree is top of mind for financial services firms,” said Suzanne Sisolak, senior vice president of product management and marketing at SunGard’s STeP business unit.