One in three banks have automated their exception management processes . Or so say the results, published today, of a survey conducted by SunGard among banks which attended the Sibos conference in Geneva in the first week of October.
Survey responses show that an 81 per cent of had automated the identification of exceptions (the first step to automated exception processing) , suggesting that the one in three firms which had automated exception management
will rise to at least one in two by 2004. Survey respondents also told SunGard that the automation of exception processing cut processing costs by an average of 25 per cent.
Interestingly, the responses also suggest that a third of banks have established regional transaction processing hubs .The relative advantage of local versus regional processing centres is rapidly becoming one of the hottest topics in custody today, with signs (in, among other places, the Global Custodian agent bank surveys) that what suits custodians about regional hubs – greater process and management control and improved cost management – does not always please the customer.
“A few years ago, the banks that had fully automated their exception processing to achieve STP were few and far between,” says Matt Mandalinci, president, SunGard eProcess Intelligence. “Our latest research clearly shows that the market has increased awareness and uptake of exception management, with 81 per cent of top banks having partially automated the exception management process. This bears testimony to the advantages of control, efficiency, cost-containment and enhanced service levels that the pioneers achieved advantages which other institutions are now grasping keenly. But firms still have a way to go in the quest for STP.”
The survey, conducted at Sibos 2002 between 30 September and 4 October, was conducted among senior-level management at 75 separate banks. The full report can be obtained from SunGard on request.