Multi-channel banking conference: call for speakers

The FStech Multi-Channel Banking Summit is due to take place at the IoD Hub, London on Thursday, 4 July.

This will be chaired by Practicology's Martin Newman and will feature speakers/panellists from Santander, HSBC, Clearwater Corporate Finance, Ovum, IDC Financial Insights, Accenture and Conversocial. I'm currently on the look out for further speakers/panellists representing financial institutions. Interested in taking part? Then drop me a line (contact details here).

A mixture of speaker presentations and discussion panels, the conference will look at how banks are progressing in terms of multi-channel strategies and delivering the consistent service needed to engage and retain customers. It will also highlight the latest technology solutions available to institutions looking to achieve multi-channel success.

Topics under discussion will include:

- Using mobile and social media to effectively engage with Generation Y banking customers.
- The High Street’s not dead: what will the branch of the future look like?
- Security/fraud issues.
- The latest multi-channel technology solutions.
- Future challenges to address in order to move forward with multi-channel strategies in the long-term.

The lady's not returning

So, farewell then Maggie...

I wouldn't class myself as vehemently anti-Thatcher. She was right on some things (the Falklands, plus taking on the unions and in particular that populist buffoon Arthur Scargill). She was, however, also a political one trick pony, a streetfighter who frequently showed a vicious disregard for anyone who didn't agree with her and who lost her way in spectacular fashion during the later years of her leadership.

But, from an FStech point of view, you have to hand it to the Iron Lady; her government's reforms set off the Big Bang, transforming the way that the City operated and making it an international player. The City also expanded east, to Canary Wharf, something strongly backed and pushed through by Thatcher. Banker bashing may be all the rage these days. Yet thanks to the sweeping changes she ushered in, financial services remains one of the few industries in which this country occupies world leader status.

So, farewell then Maggie. I was seven when you came to power and in my late teens when you left office. I'll never forget my staunchly left wing A level History teacher rejoicing on the day you resigned as PM and party leader. Thanks for the memories, some good, some bad, but, as I'm sure you would have forcibly argued, you have to take the rough with the smooth. RIP.