IBM Banking web portal software tools and more

As the world recuperates from its recent economic malaise, bankers face a host of challenges as they seek to improve the industry's health and foster long-term growth. Banks must focus on raising capital, improving asset quality and increasing profits. New and proposed regulations all point to higher capital requirements. However, banks access to capital markets is constrained by the weaknesses in their loan portfolios and by the overall decline in public wealth.

First and foremost, banks must focus on customer retention, loyalty, and growth. They must survive tightening IT budgets, face emerging regulations, and deal with mergers or acquisitions. In this climate, banks must:

• Meet Evolving Customer Expectations, by delivering banking in non traditional settings such as next-generation phones, PDAs, or mobile devices.

• Improve Product Offerings, by keeping pace with innovative web payment solutions (such as Square, PayPal, Prosper.com, Yodlee.com, or Mint.com) and by improving their customer experience in order to differentiate themselves and increase profitability.

• Make Technology Investments by streamlining application infrastructure for efficiency and reusability while integrating enterprise information for ready access to lines of business.