Welcome to the second edition of Jacob Fleming's Financial Reporter!

In this spring issue you can find exclusive content from our January-March finance conferences. Spring is the season of rebirth, a great time to make use of fresh energy in the business as well. Let us share with you the essence of these events in the spirit of

M A X I M I Z A T I O N.

Maximize your knowledge on the hottest topics in the financial industry with Financial Reporter! Interesting case studies, interviews, white papers and reports are all enclosed in order to help you maximize value in your everyday work.

We will get back to you in early July and inform you about the upcoming hottest issues at our April-June events.

I wish you sunny and successful spring season!

Warm regards,

Bernadett Polgár
Editor
financial.reporter@jacobfleming.com

MAXIMIZE the potential in bancassurance!

Developing bancassurance in retail markets with lower insurance penetration is a very promising business opportunity for banks and insurance companies as well. Besides the development of bancassurance in the Western Europe, we could already observe some successful market penetrations in Russia, Turkey, CEE & CIS region. Experience from these emerging markets proved that simply bundling and cross selling of various banking & insurance products does not always bring expected results. On the Bancassurance in Emerging Markets (15-16 January 2008 in Budapest) conference the experts discussed failures and success stories that accompanied them on the complicated and difficult way to bancassurance. Learn more!

• Conference report
• Case study by Michael Müller, CFO, Allianz, Poland
• Case study by Johan Hosselaer, Executive Advisor to the CEO of Fortis Insurance, Fortis Insurance, Belgium
• Case study by Marek Pietka, Bancassurance Director, Commercial Union, Poland
• Case study by Alois Pichler, Head of Alliances and Insurance, Raiffeisen International, Austria
• Interview with Johan Hosselaer, Executive Advisor to the CEO of Fortis Insurance, Fortis Insurance, Belgium
• Interview with Marek Pietka, Bancassurance Director, Commercial Union, Poland
• Photos

MAXIMIZE your mortgage business opportunities in CEE!

In the Central & Eastern Europe, mortgage business is experiencing dynamic growth and therefore banks involved in mortgage lending are facing increasing competition. However the low penetration of mortgage lending combined with the very high rate of home ownership indicates that market still offers new business opportunities. The 3^rd Annual Mortgage Business in CEE, SEE & CIS (17-18 January 2008 in Budapest) conference analyzed the latest trends in CEE mortgage business, innovative distribution channels, mortgage securitization and provided extraordinary networking opportunities. Read the essence of the event below!

• Conference report
• Case study by Francesco Dissera, Executive Director Southern European and Emerging Market Securitisation, USB Investment Bank, UK
• Case study by Chris Downham, Managing Director, BulgarianHomeLoans – part of SimpliGroup, UK
• Interview with Chris Downham, Managing Director, BulgarianHomeLoans – part of SimpliGroup, UK
• Photos

MAXIMIZE your card and payment portfolio!

The Central and Eastern European cards and payments market have been developing more tight relationships with the West countries especially after becoming members of the EU, which has led to the development of the cards and payments portfolio. Change in cards market and the payments is tremendous, technology innovation, regulatory framework are reshaping the cards market in the CEE region. SEPA, e-payments, issuing of new types of cards, co-branding, migration to EMV, fraud - all these topics were discussed at the 2^nd Annual Card & Payment Developments in the CEE Region (29-30 January 2008 in Vienna) conference. Read more!

• Conference report
• Interview with Guenther Gall, Executive VP, Head of Transaction Services Department, Raiffeisen Bank, Austria
• Photos

MAXIMIZE your customer’s satisfaction!

As the competition in the banking sector is continuously increasing differentiation is crucial for every financial institution. One of the fewer ways how to differentiate is through enhanced customer experience. There is a necessity to deliver excellent service, design customer centric framework, move from product to service driven approach and integrate all distribution channels to meet customer expectations and drive the customer satisfaction in order to stay ahead of customer needs. All these areas of concern were discussed at the Enhancing Customer Experience in Financial Services (31 January-1 February 2008 in Vienna) event. See how the main players coming from the leading European international financial institutions are successfully increasing their profitability through enhanced customer experience management implemented across all involved units.

• Conference report
• Case study by Gaia Ghirardi, Customer Satisfaction Manager, Unicredit Group
• Case study by Eddie Moonen, Director of Business Process for Retail Bank, Fortis, Belgium
• Interview with Eddie Moonen, Director of Business Process for Retail Bank, Fortis, Belgium
• Photos

MAXIMIZE your back office operations!

The key elements of every successful financial institution are efficient internal operations. Only the most innovative and progressive institutions are able to follow new standards without losing their market position. However, there is no “one size fits all” solution and only sophisticated and complex Back Office strategies can offer real solutions for real problems. The international event 5^th Annual Back Office (7-8 February 2008 in Vienna) brought together experts in Back Office management from leading financial institutions to analyze and discuss present issues such as regulatory requirements, operational risk, off-shoring activities, human capital and many others. Benchmark the outcomes!

• Conference report
• Case study by Christoffer Toll, COO, Carnegie Investment Bank
• Interview with Christoffer Toll, COO, Carnegie Investment Bank
• White paper by B-Source, Kurt Spirig, Head of Corporate Development

MAXIMIZE the growth of your SMEs!

Small and medium enterprises form one of the most potential but also one of the most complex business segments for European banks. A number of difficulties need to be overcome in order to increase the penetration of the SME segment and support their overall growth. To increase effectiveness, banks must ensure that their pool of SME-specialized manpower is strong, channels and service models appropriate and flexible, products clearly communicated. On the SME Banking in Europe: Keeping Pace with SME Growth (11-12 February 2008 in Vienna) event internationally experienced industry practitioners addressed issues that are inevitable to achieve sustainable growth of your SMEs. Experts will look into the best practices in relationship management, marketing and sales strategies, product development, online services. Learn how other banks deal with SME credit concerns in rapidly changing financial markets.

• Conference report
• Case study by Klemens Haller, Head of Retail Segment Management, Bank Austria Creditanstalt/UniCredit Group
• Case study by Cenk Kaan Gür, SME Banking, Coordinator, Garanti Bank, Turkey
• Case study by Jose Araujo, Head of Corporate Marketing, Milleniumbc, Portugal
• Case study by Phil Curme, Head of Channels/Product and Service Management, Lloyds TSB, UK
• Interview with Jose Araujo, Head of Corporate Marketing, Milleniumbc, Portugal
• Interview with Phil Curme, Head of Channels/Product and Service Management, Lloyds TSB, UK
• White paper by SAB
• Photos

MAXIMIZE your results in fraud prevention and detection!

In today's increasingly complex business environment, companies necessarily face numerous challenges and risks. It is generally known that so far the major factor leading to detecting corporate fraud is accidence. However with so much at stake companies should rely on much more sophisticated strategies than good luck only. The detection and minimization of internal fraud is now an integral part of protecting business. Fighting Corporate Fraud (12-13 February 2008 in Brussels) provided a unique opportunity to hear the most crucial topics of fighting corporate fraud such as prevention, detection and investigation along with fraud risk management. You can’t afford to not be concerned about the risk of corporate fraud!

• Conference report
• Case study by Nick Mann, Head of Group Fraud, Risk and Security, Vodafone, UK
• Case study by Simon Scales, Global Security Compliance Manager, Deputy Global Security & Compliance Director, TNT Express, UK
• Case study by Tim Harvey, Director of UK Operations, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, UK
• Case study by Ros Wright, Chair, CB QC, Fraud Advisory Panel, UK
• Interview with Ros Wright, Chair, CB QC, Fraud Advisory Panel, UK

MAXIMIZE your enterprise wide risk system!

Dealing with risk is a primary issue in the planning and management of any corporation. To have an advanced risk management means to recognize and identify large scale of possible threads and risks, in order to protect the business and increase the value for stakeholders, employees, owners and society overall. To achieve this in present, highly competitive and pretentious market, exceptional knowledge, experience and mastership is necessary. On the 2^nd Annual Enterprise Wide Risk Forum (12-15 February 2008 in Amsterdam) attendees gained insight, how the best leaders in banking cope with regulatory compliance, what are the most effective stress testing techniques, value-at-risk approaches, how to cope and learn a lesson from current liquidity market crisis and mainly – how built up effective enterprise wide risk management. Gain competitive advantage by learning new know-how-s!

• Conference report
• Case study by Allan Palm, Head of Operational Risk Control, SEB, Sweden
• Case study by Dr. Peter Neu, Expert Manager, Risk Management, The Boston Consulting Group, Germany
• Case study by Mr. Guenther Helbok, Head of Operational Risk, Bank Austria Creditanstalt/UniCredit
• Case study by Trevor Williams, Chief Economist, Lloyds Financial Markets, UK
• Case study by Luc Leonard, Head of Quantitative Risk Research, Dexia S.A., Belgium
• Interview with Trevor Williams, Chief Economist, Lloyds Financial Markets, UK
• Interview with Estelle Jonkergouw, Senior Vice President, Rabobank, the Netherlands

MAXIMIZE the success of internal audit!

Internal Audit has taken on a greater responsibility in dealing with Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance. Becoming a trusted business advisor, it is creating value across the enterprise. This conference will discuss most relevant issues in dealing with Risk and Compliance obligations and responsibilities, aligning Global Internal Audit teams and ensuring quality Integrated Assurance. 2^nd Annual Internal Audit for Financial Institutions (26-27 February 2008 in Barcelona) provided a great opportunity for senior executives from the leading financial institutions to share their knowledge and experience on principles and techniques of successful auditing. Get your questions answered by having a look at the reports below!

• Conference report
• Case study by Leslie Foster, Group Head of Audit, Dexia, UK
• Case study by Kim-Andre Potvin, Head of BENELUX Internal Audit, BNP Paribas, Luxembourg
• Case study by Berry Wilson, Chief Auditor Professional Practices Management, ING Group, the Netherlands
• Case study by Johan Feijen, Senior VP-Audit, Rabobank, the Netherlands
• Interview with Berry Wilson, Chief Auditor Professional Practices Management, ING Group,  the Netherlands
• Interview with Johan Feijen, Senior VP-Audit, Rabobank, the Netherlands
• Article by Johan Feijen, Senior VP-Audit, Rabobank, the Netherlands (Basel II and Economic Capital and the role of Internal Audit)