Delivering solutions in the complex and constantly changing world of Financial Services can often seem like piecing together a giant jigsaw without the picture on the lid. By applying clear architectural thinking to business issues, Altus Consultants can show how the pieces fit together before you start - avoiding the cost and frustration of getting it wrong.
Here are a few examples of current FS issues where we are helping clients get from business challenge to effective solutions.
Treating Customers Fairly
Most people agree with the sentiment of Principles-based regulation but the practise can cause consternation among Compliance teams. How do you prove that you’ve considered the latest business changes from a customer perspective? Embedding our tailored Customer Experience pictures in your change process is a good start.
Wrap
As the UK Wealth Management industry rushed to catch up with technology developments in the US and Australia, new Wrap platforms seemed to be announced almost weekly. Now the hype has calmed down and providers are discovering just what it takes to make a new business model work – a clear picture of the whole value chain and what flows where.
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STP
Selling intangible products in a digital age, it is not surprising that Financial Service companies are turning to technology to streamline their business. So with all the talk of STP, why is there still so much paper flying around? Because with all the focus on data, the processes that need it get forgotten. Altus understand that successful STP must consider both and we have the tools to do it.
European expansion
The well-publicised need for many European countries to shift the pension balance from state to private provision plus the removal of many barriers via the FSAP has inevitably attracted the attention of some big UK insurers. But new markets present new operational challenges and it’s essential to have a clear model for tackling these. Our ability to summarise complex changes in simple pictures has proved invaluable for our clients.
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Disclosure
It is not just the FSA that is concerned about the quality of information customers receive; across Europe regulators are tightening up the rules. IMD has taken longer to implement across the Channel but is now shining a spotlight on disclosure and particularly on calculations - not just getting them right but getting them consistent over a policy lifecycle. Our Consultants have been busy ensuring that our clients have the right architecture to meet the challenge.
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Retail Distribution Review
The FSA is still deliberating on its preferred shape for Distribution post-RDR but it is clear that it will demand greater clarity on advice versus sales. Customer Agreed Remuneration (CAR) is likely to be an important element in that clarity and will inevitably increase complexity for distributors and providers. Altus can help deal with that complexity by providing a clear picture of the data structures required to support it.
Solvency 2
First it was Banking with a new Basel accord, now it’s the turn of the Insurance industry with Solvency 2; sterner capital adequacy controls are an inevitable consequence of globalisation. As with the banks’ experience, data quality will be the key to success for big insurers. Our unique approach to mapping key data journeys and the most likely pollution points can provide a powerful tool to get ahead.
Information Security
The Poynter Review into HMRC's loss of 25m child benefit records in October 2007 contains useful lessons for both HMRC and financial services companies, highlighting a continuing reliance on physical media transfer with its inherent security risks. But securing online data transfer isn't as simple as "use https". A considered architectural approach to information security is the only reliable way to prevent embarrassing losses.
"Altus brought a rare ability to engage a business audience and help them see the relevance of technology to their own issues"
Rob Hudson, Head of Strategy & Architecture, AXA UK
Case Studies
- HBOS EFS: Building a business of scale (138 Kb)
- Friends Provident: A German Twist (177 Kb)
- On-line Portal Provider: STP performance (164 Kb)
- Friends Provident: Principles to Process (251 Kb)
- CMI: Architecture against a deadline (260 Kb)
- AXA: Leveraging the benefits of scale (169 Kb)
- Clerical Medical: Technology and Tradition (510 Kb)
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