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Showing posts with label Bank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bank. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Fighting chance to beat scammers

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KUALA LUMPUR: The idea of adopting a 48-hour “cooling period” when money above a threshold is transferred to new bank accounts might give scam victims enough time to pull their money back from the brink before it reaches the greasy hands of scammers.

Cybersecurity law expert and lawyer Derek John Fernandez said that is one of the ways authorities and financial institutions can stop a financial scam.

He said that as victims usually realise they are scammed after 24 hours, there is another 24-hour window for banks to stop the transaction.

ALSO READ : Cutting off the SMS channel scam route

Fernandez said this is among the immediate measures he has proposed in a 75-page paper to the government on what the authorities can do to protect consumers from financial scams.

The good-funds model, which has a cooling-off period for first-time transactions between individual accounts, is practised in some countries such as Australia to ensure that there is no fraudulent activity before funds are transferred for the first time.

“Such a period will enable a person to inform the bank of a scam transaction to a mule account and stop the payment,” said Fernandez.

“At the moment, in Malaysia, a cooling-off period is only observed for the first-time enrolment of online banking services or secure devices. During this time, no online banking activity is allowed to be conducted,” he added.

Fernandez pointed out that the average consumer is ill-equipped to combat cybersecurity threats and cybercrime by themselves.

He said the country had embraced digitalisation without proper consideration of cybersecurity.

ALSO READ : Large amounts cleared out in minutes

“The true cost of digitalisation has been totally understated because the cost of cybersecurity had not been factored in properly. We have emboldened criminals and given them great opportunities to commit crimes in the safety of being outside our country.

“Now cybercrime is the third biggest criminal activity in the world and is growing,” said Fernandez.

“Those who profit the most from digitalisation should be made to bear the true cost of cybersecurity and the losses that occur due to weaknesses in the technology they used to create those profits.

“The government itself is unable to pay totally for the cost of cybersecurity and those companies who have profited the most from digitalisation must bear a proportionate and fair cost of cybersecurity. They must be made to protect their customers with sufficient resources,” said Fernandez.

A concerted effort by law enforcement agencies, financial institutions and telco service providers to coordinate a rapid response for online financial scams is also the key to enabling vulnerable victims of scammers to at least get some of their money back, said National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC) director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali.

He said that while educating the public on scam awareness is an important step in mitigating the risk of scams, there are several other robust measures that can be put in place to help prevent scams from occurring.

Mustafar listed the factors as improved legislation, enhanced consumer protection, increased enforcement, stronger cybersecurity and better collaboration between government agencies, businesses and consumers that can help identify new types of scams and develop more effective strategies for preventing them.

“Governments can put in place laws and regulations that make it easier to prosecute scammers and discourage fraudulent activities,” he said.

Mustafar, who also heads the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), which was set up late last year, added that a proposal is in the pipeline to amend the laws and regulatory mechanisms relating to scam victim restitution, mule accounts and the power of the investigating officer.

“Law enforcement agencies can work more closely with financial institutions and businesses to track down and prosecute scammers,” said Mustafar.

He sees NSRC as the command centre – focusing on online financial scams – to coordinate efforts among law enforcement agencies (NFCC, police, Bank Negara and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission) together with financial institutions and telco service providers to coordinate rapid response for online financial scams.

“However, there is still much work to be done to combat scams and fraud, shift public attitudes towards greater awareness and caution, improve the efficiency and transparency of the financial system, and take effective enforcement actions against criminals,” said Mustafar. 

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Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Cybercriminals beware: public must be aware of how scams work, Putting the brakes on cybercrime

 A day after The Star’s page one story on the increasing number of online financial crimes, Bank Negara announces it is joining forces with the police to stem the rising tide. The central bank is instituting tighter security controls while the cops are intensifying efforts to make the public more aware of cybercrimes. 

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/09/27/putting-the-brakes-on-cybercrime?dmplayersource=share-link

  Public must be more aware of how scams work

KUALA LUMPUR: Cybercriminals are very good at quickly adopting and exploiting new technological changes to stay ahead of law enforcement while they scam millions from the public.

This is why the number of online financial crimes is rising around the world and in Malaysia, according to Inspector-general of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

Such crimes can have terrible consequences, he pointed out in his speech before he and Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus launched a virtual Financial Crime exhibition yesterday.

“Financial crimes can devastate the victim and lead to more mule accounts being created for the purpose of scams. It can also have a negative impact on the nation’s economy in the long term,” said Acryl Sani.

Loan scammers and Ah Long (loan sharks) use social media sites and chat applications to advertise their loan offers with fast approvals.

“The syndicates will deal with the victims online and demand various documents and fees before duping them,” he explained.

Bukit Aman expects the syndicates will still employ similar tactics, but they will focus on a younger victim pool – students and youths – to pull off illegal money lending and mule account scams now.

“We are cooperating with banking institutions to ensure investigations, especially those involving mule accounts, can be completed faster,” Acryl Sani said.

Fraud in online purchases, loan and investment scams, the Macau and African scams, business email hacks and SMS scams are the main types of financial crimes and such cases have been on the rise from 2019 to 2021 (the last full year on which statistics were collected), the IGP said.

In 2019, there were 13,703 cases recorded with Rm539mil in losses; followed by 17,227 cases in 2020 and Rm511.2mil in losses; and 20,701 cases last year with Rm560.8mil lost. As at July this year, 12,092 cases had been recorded, resulting in Rm414.8mil in losses, he said.

Bukit Aman has rounded up 33,147 suspects between 2019 and July this year, while 22,196 cases have been prosecuted.

While there is some awareness among members of the public of such crimes nowadays, it is still not strong enough to prevent increasing numbers.

The Royal Malaysia Police has various programmes and campaigns to raise awareness about cybercrimes among the public, such as the “Let’s Fight Scammers Together” campaign.

“We will step up such activities this year,” Acryl Sani added.

The IGP advised the public to safeguard their personal information and avoid downloading files or applications from unverified sources onto mobile devices.

Account holders who encounter suspicious transactions involving their bank accounts should immediately notify their banks, contact the CCID infoline via Whatsapp at 013211 1222, or the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559/1599 or BNMTELELINK at 1-300-88-5465.

“They should also lodge a police report to facilitate the investigation,” said Acryl Sani.

The virtual Financial Crime exhibition by Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery, which can be accessed at bit.ly/bnm_ crime, lays out various types of financial crimes and how they have evolved over time.

It features interactive exhibits that allow the public to simulate financial scam scenarios. Through the various exhibits, the public will be able to learn strategies – such as Spot, Stop and Share, aka 3S – to protect themselves and others from becoming victims. 

 

Putting the brakes on cybercrime

 Banks to further tighten security control to stay one step ahead of scammers

KUALA LUMPUR: If you notice your online banking transactions taking a little longer in the future, don’t complain. It’s a sign that your bank is trying to protect you from cybercriminals.

Concerned by the rising number of scams and online financial crimes globally and in Malaysia, Bank Negara is directing the banking industry to undertake tighter security controls, its governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said.

ALSO READ:  Public must be more aware of how scams work

The level of concern is great enough to bring about a rare high-level meeting between Nor Shamsiah and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani yesterday, when they also launched a virtual Financial Crime Exhibition.

“Bank Negara requires banks in Malaysia to adopt high standards of security, especially for Internet and mobile banking services,” Nor Shamsiah said in her speech at the event.

ALSO READ:Watch out! There are many ways in which we get duped

This will include measures such as migration of SMS one-time-passwords (OTPs) to a more secure form of authentication; further tightening of detection rules and triggers for blocking scam-related transactions; and subjecting first-time enrolment of online banking services and secure devices to a cooling-off period.

Customers will also be restricted to one mobile device or secure device for authenticating online banking transactions, and banks will also be required to set up dedicated scam hotlines.

ALSO READ: Consumers must become more aware of scams

While the control measures may entail some inconvenience, they are important to protect customers.

“These controls may lead to some friction or inconvenience in the online banking experience of customers.

“For example, online banking transactions might take a little longer to process. Financial institutions will also conduct more checks when customers request to change or register a new phone number,” Nor Shamsiah said.

Fighting crime: Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani at the virtual launch of Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery’s ‘Financial Crime: Scan Before You’re Scammed’. — Bank Negara

Fighting crime: Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani at the virtual launch of Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery’s ‘Financial Crime: Scan Before You’re Scammed’. — Bank Negara

However, she said, when implementing these measures, Bank Negara and the financial industry will continue to carefully balance between security considerations and customer convenience.

She also said that financial institutions have been directed to be more responsive to scam reports lodged by customers and to facilitate efforts to recover and protect stolen funds, including working with relevant agencies to prevent further losses.

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“Bank Negara will also continue to monitor and take appropriate action with financial institutions to ensure that the highest levels of controls and security standards are observed.

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 https://cdn.thestar.com.my/Content/Images/cybercrime.jpg

“We will also continue to take effective preventive measures against ever-evolving financial scams.”

Together with the financial industry, Bank Negara will continue to ensure that banking and payment channels remain secure and equipped with the latest security controls, she said.

Acknowledging that criminal tactics change all the time, she said that Bank Negara continuously intensifies deterrent efforts and introduces additional controls as well as safeguards and collaborates with other stakeholders to keep ahead of scammers.

These include rolling out preventive measures, pursuing more effective and coordinated enforcement actions, and raising public awareness.

“The effort to eradicate financial scams requires cooperation and concerted action from all parties – not just from Bank Negara and the financial industry, but also from law enforcement agencies and relevant ministries and agencies, as well as the public,” she added.

Bank Negara, together with the police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, will work together to further elevate the Commercial Crime Investigation Department’s Scam Response Centre into a more systematic information-sharing platform that will enable quicker action to prevent further losses.

Nor Shamsiah said the cooperation of law enforcement agencies is key, especially in sharing information and intelligence.

The public also has a role to play in protecting themselves by making sure to be aware of scams.

“An important aspect of dealing with financial scams is raising public awareness about tactics used by criminals and the steps that the public can take to avoid becoming victims.

“In this regard, Bank Negara, the financial industry and law enforcement agencies will continue efforts to enhance the effectiveness of awareness programmes and improve on the dissemination of information to the public,” she said.

The virtual Financial Crime Exhibition launched yesterday is an example of such efforts as it seeks to educate the public about financial scams. It can be viewed at bit.ly/bnm_crime. 

By FARIK ZOLKEPLIRAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM    

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PUTTING THE BRAKES ON CYBERCRIME - PDRM

United States: Putting Brakes On Cybersecurity Threats

Saturday, August 25, 2012

How to avoid future complications when buying a house?

Points to consider when buying a house to avoid future complications


CAN you afford a house now?

Assuming you can afford a house, how much can you afford to pay? These are important questions that many people do not research. This oversight can lead many people to bad debt and even bankruptcy.

Your monthly expenditures will be more than just the housing loan. There will also be insurance, electricity, water, telephone bills, contributions to maintenance fund, medical bills, groceries, unexpected household/auto repairs, lunch money and many other obligations.

They must all be accounted for in your budget spreadsheet. For many of us the purchase of a house or property is the largest financial commitment we will ever make. This makes arranging the most suitable housing loan just as important.

Make sure you know the costs of entering into the loan for the purchase of the property. They include conveyancing, application fees, valuation and legal fees, mortgage insurance (if necessary) and sometimes, extra life insurance premiums.

Some lenders will tell you the advantages of whatever housing loans they are trying to squeeze you into, but rarely will they tell you the disadvantages.

According to an article in a business magazine, the banking system is flush with RM180bil liquidity. This explains the increasingly aggressive sales promotions undertaken by financial institutions for the housing industry.

Always look at the total deal, not some dangling carrots in front of you. Compare the entire housing loan cost of different lenders to determine which is best for you.

I would like to discuss some of the lenders' offers that may not be as attractive as they appear. I will start with the special low interest offered for the first year. Such an offer is usually given during a sale campaign and it usually carries a fixed calendar period with a run-out date. Thus, even if a house buyer commenced his application process immediately upon the launch of the campaign, by the time the loan is approved and disbursement commences, the period remaining to enjoy this special low interest rate will certainly be less than one year.

If he were to start the application process a few months after the campaign, it is likely that he will enjoy the special low rate for only a very short period.

Due to our unique system of progressive payments to the developers, the mean average of the amount disbursed by the banks during the “first year low interest offer,” is really lower than the loan amount. Thus, any saving on interests is really much less than it seems. And these have all been figured out already by those marketing experts in the banks.

A more sincere approach would be to offer the special low interest rate to apply during the progressive payment period and to continue to run for one year after the date when the loan is fully disbursed. Only then can such offers bear some element of sincerity. I believe that anything short of that makes the offer a sales marketing gimmick.

There are other clauses that put house buyers in a disadvantaged situation. Some lenders include clauses in the loan agreements that give them the absolute rights to alter both the Base Lending Rates and/or the margin of interests.

Doesn't this in effect nullify their typical attractive offer of “BLR plus X% for following years?”

One cannot make a special low interest offer in the sales campaign and then contractually (through the loan agreement) creates a clause to allow that special offer interest rate to be invalidated. Make sure you know all the costs of early discharge of the loan.

One other clause to look out for is the redemption of the loan. A house buyer may wish to sell the house and wished to fully-settle the loan.

This is where the conditions for full-settlement differ from one financial institution to another. Think long term.

When one takes a loan, one spends a much longer period servicing the loan beyond the first year or even the second and the third year. So do not be taken in by the very attractive offers during the honeymoon year/s of the tenure of your loan. Remember, the remaining of the 25 years is more important. Do not go for short-term gains only to lose out heavily on the long remaining years.

I would advise house buyers to look beyond the first year of so-called low interest when shopping for housing loans. With the stiff competition among the various lenders today, one should seriously shop around and scrutinise each and every offer before commencing the application process. Talk to your bankers, lawyer friends or seek advice from the National House Buyers Association.

One really has to scrutinise the fine print before making a decision as to which financial institution to go to for a loan. It is about time to standardisde the terms and conditions in the loan agreement so that there will be orderliness in the banking industry.

No more “embedded” clauses within the voluminous stakes of papers one has to initial giving the impression that one has truly read and understood them. It is obviously impossible to read and understand those 40 over pages of legal language that comes with appendixes.

BUYERS BEWARE
By CHANG KIM LOONG 

Chang Kim Loong is the honorary secretary-general of The National House Buyers Association, a non-profit, non-governmental, non-political organisation manned by volunteers. For more information, check www.hba.org.my or e-mail info@hba.org.my

Monday, August 13, 2012

Malaysia's loan growth strong in sight

Analysts still bullish on strong loan expansion

PETALING JAYA: Despite slower banking loan growth indicators for June, analysts and industry observers are still bullish of a double-digit loan growth this year.

 Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) chief economist Nor Zahidi Alias said on the whole, the rating agency still foresee a relatively strong expansion in loans this year, notwithstanding the recent dip in loan applications and approvals.

Strong corporate demand would likely offset the moderation in household demand for loans, he said, adding that the agency envisaged loan growth to moderate slightly to about 10% to 11% this year amid the weaknesses in the external environment.

<B>Nor Zahidi:</B> “Loans have expanded at a relatively strong pace.’ Nor Zahidi:Loans have expanded at a relatively strong pace.’
“The banking sector's loan growth has remained resilient despite a slowdown in the country's economic activity as reflected in slower GDP growth in the past few quarters. Overall, loans have expanded by double-digit rates in the first six months of the year, after reaching the peak of 13.8% in September 2011.

“At the end of June, loans expanded at a relatively strong pace of 12.6%, supported by strong corporate demand for loans which grew by 13.6% year-on-year, offsetting the slower pace of loans to the household sector. Household sector's loan growth had softened to 11.8% in June from a cyclical high of 13.9% in November 2010, Nor Zahidi told StarBiz.

Based on Bank Negara's latest banking statistics for June 2012, loan growth was stable at 12.6% year-on-year versus 12.5% in May the same year. The growth was slightly higher for both consumer and business loans at 11.8% and 13.6%, respectively, in June.

The growth in loan applications moderated from 15.1% in May to 10.5% in June, while approvals contracted by 2.1% year-on-year, versus an increase of 18.2% in May. On an annualised basis, loans grew by 12.7% in June compared with 11.4% in May.

The pace of loan applications and approvals has been volatile partly due to the responsible lending guidelines. In the first six months of this year, the average growth in loan applications fell to 14.9% year-on-year compared with an average expansion of 25.5% recorded in the similar period last year. The average growth rate in loan approvals during the period shrunk to 2.8% against 22.6% average expansion in the first half of last year.

RAM Ratings head of financial institution ratings Wong Yin Ching said the total banking system's year-to-date loan growth was 6.4% in the first half compared with 13.6% for the whole of last year, adding that the growth was driven by lending for purchase of residential properties, working-capital financing, as well as financing for purchase of non-residential properties.

“We expect the growth momentum to be sustained in the second half of this year supported by stronger financing demand from the corporate and commercial sector, as the rollout of projects under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and 10th Malaysia Plan gradually gains traction. In recent months, we have observed a pick-up in loan applications from the business and services sectors,” she noted.

Wong expects household loan growth to moderate following the various prudential measures introduced since late 2010. To this end, she said it had seen a sharp slowdown in loans extended for personal use, which only grew by 3.2% in the first half of 2011 (full-year: 20.1%).

Loan growth for residential mortgages also moderated slightly to 6.3% in the first half of 2011 (full-year: 13.2%). She said the rating agency also noted a slight shift towards lending for the purchase of non-residential properties following the tighter criteria for residential property financing.

Meanwhile, Alliance Research Cheah King Yoong said the brokerage was maintaining its forecast of 11 % domestic loan growth this year, for now. Nonetheless, he said it foresaw there was increasing likelihood of an upside risk to its 11% domestic loan growth forecast in view of the strong pick-up of loans in June.

Should the loan growth momentum continue to be sustained in the second half with ETP related loans gaining pace, Cheah added he would not be surprised if this year loan growth could match last year's growth of 13.6%.

Based on the latest statistics, although property loans remained the key driver, where loans to purchase residential and non-residential properties constitute 46% of the annualised 12.7% loan growth for June, he said loans for “other purpose” and working capital had been gathering pace, contributing 28.8% and 22.3% of the loan growth drivers respectively.

He said business loans had recorded a commendable annualised growth of 15.9%, ahead of household loans' annualised growth rate of 10.1%.

Cheah said this reaffirmed Alliance Research's expectations that despite having a slow start in early 2012, overall domestic lending activities were picking up, with stronger growth of business loans stemming from the roll out of ETP's Entry Point Projects, which filled up the vacuum left by the moderation in property loans.

Kenanga Research said despite the lending indicators showing a slowdown, it still believed loan growth would be able to outperform its industry forecast this year.

“Having already achieved a 12.6% loan growth this month, we believe that the banking industry will be able to outperform our industry loan growth forecast of 11% to 13% despite a slightly weaker set of lending indicators,'' it noted.

A banking analyst with a bank backed brokerage felt it was too premature to indicate whether loan growth for the second half would pick up solely based on slower loan indicators alone. Loan growth may slow down in the second half but much would depend on how the results season pans out, he said, adding that, nonetheless, he still expected loan growth this year to be around 10.5%.

By DALJIT DHESI daljit@thestar.com.my

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

HSBC’s US$2b cover Money is for cost of US probe and compensation

LONDON: HSBC's chief executive has apologised for shameful and embarrassing mistakes made on anti-money laundering controls as the bank set aside US$2bil to cover the cost of US investigations and compensate UK customers for misselling.

Europe's biggest bank reported a 3% dip in underlying profit and said it had made a provision of US$700mil to cover “certain law enforcement and regulatory matters” after a US Senate report this month criticised HSBC for letting clients shift funds from dangerous and secretive countries.

The report criticised a “pervasively polluted” culture at the bank and said that HSBC's Mexican operations had moved US$7bil into the bank's US operations between 2007 and 2008.

Gulliver: ‘What happened in Mexico and the United States is shameful, it’s embarrassing, it’s very painful for all of us in the firm.’
 
“What happened in Mexico and the United States is shameful, it's embarrassing, it's very painful for all of us in the firm,” chief executive Stuart Gulliver told reporters on a conference call yesterday, adding that the eventual costs could be “significantly higher”.

“We apologise for our past mistakes in relation to anti-money laundering controls, and it is a priority for senior management to build on steps already taken to manage risk and ensure compliance more effectively,” Gulliver said.

Analysts had said the US investigations could result in a fine of about US$1bil.

HSBC is also one of several banks being investigated in a global interest rate rigging scandal that has rocked the sector. Gulliver said it had submitted information to regulators but it was far too early to say what the outcome would be or to estimate the potential cost for the bank.

HSBC has set aside US$1.3bil to compensate UK customers for misselling loan insurance to individuals and interest rate hedging products to small businesses.

The bank reported a pre-tax profit of US$12.7bil for the six months to the end of June, up 11% on the year and above an average analyst forecast of US$12.5bil, according to a poll by the company.

But underlying profit, stripping out gains from US assets sales and losses on the value of its own debt, was down 3% on the year to US$10.6bil.

Shares in HSBC were up 0.7% to 534.6 pence, lagging a 1.8 % rise in Europe's bank index. Reuters  

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Monday, July 2, 2012

After Barclays, the golden age of finance is dead

Retribution and regulation are sure to follow the Barclays scandal, but if the City is shackled, Britain as a whole will suffer

Everyone's a loser: punishing the City is inevitable following the Barclays scandal, but the whole of Britain could suffer Photo:

Just when you thought bankers could sink no lower in public regard, they’ve done it. News that Barclays has been found guilty of repeatedly falsifying the interbank rate – sometimes for the personal gain of traders, sometimes to make the bank itself seem more creditworthy than it really was – tops off another calamitous week in the seemingly never-ending litany of banking misdemeanours.

Coming hard on the heels of the chaos surrounding an IT breakdown at Royal Bank of Scotland, it is as if bankers are actively out to confirm their reputation for recklessness, incompetence and self-enriching disregard for the interests of customers and the wider economy.

At a time when the political and regulatory backlash against finance is already at fever pitch, much of it ill-thought out, counterproductive and economically harmful, there could scarcely have been a more spectacular own goal. And it doesn’t end there. Banking faces a whole new raft of separate regulatory strictures over the mis-selling of interest rate swaps to business customers.

A year ago, Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays, told a committee of MPs that it was time to put the crisis behind us, move on and stop apologising for the failings of the past. He should be so lucky. Not since the Thirties has finance been so much in the dock. On and on the combination of retribution and regulatory crackdown will go until banking is once again thought sufficiently imprisoned to be safe. European policymakers will delight in the ammunition they have been given to rein in the Anglo-Saxon bankers and make them subject to the rule of Brussels and Frankfurt.

Many have already said it, but it is one of those observations that bears constant repetition: in all my years as a financial journalist, it’s hard to recall a case quite as shameful as this – and I’ve certainly seen a few.

There is no industry in all commerce that relies as much on public trust and reputation for probity as banking. We have seen what happens when trust is lost: we get the legion of banking runs that lie at the heart of the financial crisis; people run for the hills and the economy grinds to a halt.

To have American regulators accuse Barclays of lies, deception and manipulation is an appalling indictment of one of the oldest and most respected names in British banking. It is like discovering that your local branch manager has routinely raided your hard-earned savings to finance his champagne lifestyle.

Entrusted with the public’s money, bankers have to be seen as whiter than white, pillars of their community and morally beyond reproach. All these old-fashioned virtues seem to have been lost in pursuit of the easy rewards of international finance. “My word is my bond” – once one of the sacred principles of City finance – has become reduced to a laughable parody of itself.

Now, it may well be unfair to single out Barclays. We already know that at least 20 other banks are under investigation for alleged manipulation of interbank interest rates, including most of the other UK high street banks. It could be that others are equally at fault. We know about Barclays only because in a practice that City lawyers sometimes call “rowing for the shore”, it has decided to abandon the flotilla of co-defendants and settle with regulators.

Downside of plea bargain

In so doing, it may have succeeded in winning both a lower fine and immunity from criminal prosecution, as a corporate entity at least, though the individuals involved may not escape. The downside of such plea bargains is that they involve admission of guilt. The regulator gets free rein to be as critical as it likes, while the mitigation of any defence there might have been is lost.

That these practices appear to have been endemic, not just at Barclays, but across a wide range of international banks, neither excuses nor explains what happened.

It’s interesting that when the fines were first announced on Wednesday, there was barely a flicker of recognition in the Barclays share price. The investigation has been known about for some time, the misdeeds complained of date back three or more years and are therefore water under the bridge, and many in the City judged Barclays to have got off relatively lightly.

But as the night wore on, the seriousness of the situation began to sink in. Bob Diamond, the Barclays chief executive, long despised by regulators found himself politically friendless, too.

As calls for his head mounted, the share price began to plunge. The key concern about Barclays has always been that it is a “black box” operation that only Bob himself properly understands. At a time of growing financial chaos, Barclays could be left leaderless, with the investment banking brains behind much of its recent profitability and successful navigation of the banking crisis thrown to the wolves.

“Bob is mistrusted in the City,” says one seasoned fund manager, “but he’s the glue that holds the whole thing together. Without him it might well disintegrate.”

What went wrong?
 
So what really went wrong here? The London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, and its companion, Euribor, are two of the most important benchmarks in finance. Essentially, they are an aggregate of the rates at which banks lend to one another. They are also used to help price a vast array of lending decisions and derivative products, including mortgages.

Yet even in financial markets, it is not widely understood how these benchmarks are arrived at. Unbeknown to senior managers at Barclays, some traders, starting in around 2005 and stretching through to 2009, began persuading those responsible for compiling Barclays’ input to distort the rate in a manner that made their own derivative positions more profitable, hence the excruciating series of incriminating emails cited by regulators.

This was bad enough, but if it had stopped there, the damage would probably have been containable. Even the best of internal controls cannot prevent the determined rotten apple. What has transformed this case into something much more serious is that at the height of the banking crisis “senior managers” themselves – it is still not clear exactly who – ordered that the Barclays submission be manipulated so as to make it look as if the bank was receiving more favourable funding terms than it was. Deceitful behaviour seemed to have become endemic, stretching from top to bottom.

To the extent that there is a defence for such blatant deceits, it runs something like this; everyone else was doing the same thing. Rival banks that were plainly in even worse shape than Barclays were making Libor submissions that appeared to show they were enjoying more favourable wholesale funding rates than Barclays was. On the “if you cannot beat them” principle, Barclays determined to join them.

If this version of events is correct, the whole escapade doesn’t look as bad as it first appears. It is hard to identify who exactly lost out as a result of these fictions. Since there was no interbank funding to speak of at the height of the crisis, it may not in any case have mattered very much.

Even so, it’s quite damning enough. There appears to be nothing bankers will stop at in order to feather their own nests. With tempers already at boiling point over egregious levels of pay and aggressive tax avoidance, the whole affair has now taken on a life of its own.

When the history books are written, this may be seen as a defining moment, the point at which public anger with the banks bubbled over into something much more seismic in its consequences than the general atmosphere of bank bashing we have seen to date. Despite the crisis, there has been a sense of back to business as normal for the City these past three years.

There have been few signs of behavioural change. But this may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Market and regulatory pressures are already laying waste to great tracts of previously highly lucrative banking activity. A major cull of investment banking jobs is expected over the next year, with once bumper bonuses and earnings much reduced on top. Retribution and punishingly restrictive levels of regulation won’t be far behind.

Those who believe that Britain has become too dependent on finance for its own good will no doubt welcome this humbling of an apparently out-of-control City, but they should be careful what they wish for.

Finance’s golden age may be drawing to a close; with no new industry or manufacturing renaissance coming up in the wings, it is not entirely clear what’s going to take its place as a source of British wealth, jobs and tax revenues. It is not just finance for which hard times lie ahead. - Telegraph

Friday, May 25, 2012

Malaysian banks to curb the online scams' ;Carelessness, Lease your bank account to scammers?

PETALING JAYA: Banks will introduce a new layer of security as they work closely with cyber security authorities and the police to combat the proliferation of online fraud.

Cybersecurity Malaysia said fraud cases reported to the agency had doubled from 606 in 2009 to 1,328 in 2010 and 3,142 last year.

“As of April this year, we received nearly 2,000 cases of online banking fraud,” said its CEO Lt Col (Ret) Prof Datuk Husin Jazri, who confirmed that the agency was joining forces with the Association of Banks Malaysia to combat Internet scams.

Going the extra mile: A third layer of security is to be adopted for online systems soon.
 
The agency, under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, will work with banks to carry out an intensive campaign to raise awareness of the scams.

The matter has become so serious that CIMB and Maybank recently made a concerted effort to warn of online banking scams by taking a full page advertisement in The Star, urging their customers to report immediately if they received a TAC (Transaction Authorisation Code) which had not been requested.

The TAC, which is sent by SMS to the registered mobile phone of the user, is the second layer of security. The first is the login credentials the username and password.

According to Macro Kiosk Bhd, the mobile service provider for 16 local banks, financial institutions might adopt a “third layer” of security for their online systems soon.

The “Third Factor Authentication” feature will detect attempts to hack into online banking accounts based on the location of the user's mobile.

“It will allow banks to detect the location of the computer used to log into the account and match it with the location of the user's mobile phone.

“For example, if the person accessing the account is found to be outside Malaysia, while the user's mobile phone is in this country, it is likely that something is not right,” said Macro Kiosk CEO Kenny Goh.

The user would then be sent an SMS to confirm if they wanted to continue with the transaction.

“This will alert the user if someone is trying to hack into his or her online banking account.”

By P. ARUNA aruna@thestar.com.my

Hectic lives can lead to carelessness, says cyber cop


PETALING JAYA: It is not always greed or ignorance that leads people to become victims of online scams. Sometimes, a hectic schedule could be the cause.

“Due to our busy schedules, we tend to overlook or forget to be wary of online fraud ... until it happens to us,” said Cybersecurity Malaysia CEO Lt Col (Ret) Prof Datuk Husin Jazri.

He related an incident involving a professional who ended up losing all the money in his bank account within minutes.

“He was about to go out for a meeting when he decided to quickly check his e-mail before leaving the office.

“He then saw one supposedly from his bank asking him to click on a link to update his account details.

“As he was in a hurry, he clicked on the link without much thought and followed the instructions as he was eager to proceed to his meeting.

“It was only much later that he remembered what he had done with the e-mail.

“Suddenly, it occurred to him that it was a hoax because he had heard about such a scam before.”

Husin said that although the victim contacted the agency, it was already too late.

He said Cybersecurity Malaysia had a two-minute video on how to avoid becoming a victim of banking scams that could be downloaded for free from its website http://www.cybersafe.my/video/banking/Banking.wmv.

He said scammers were always “up-to-date” and took advantage of the latest banking trends and offers.

“When a bank launches a mobile banking service, the scammer will also launch a new trick to cheat mobile banking users.

“This year, several new malware known as mobile banking trojans that mimic mobile banking applications have emerged,” he said.

He advised users to pay close attention to security messages posted on online banking websites.

“These initiatives are to help you, they are for your benefit,” said Husin

It doesn’t pay to lease your bank account to scammers


GEORGE TOWN: Two civil servants were nabbed for their alleged involvement in a ‘Macau-scam’ where the victims were cheated of millions of ringgit here.

Both of them were among three people arrested by the police on the mainland.

Penang Commercial Crime Department chief Asst Comm Roslee Chik said the suspects, in their 20s and 30s, had allowed the syndicate members to use their bank accounts for ‘illicit’ money to be deposited.

He said initial investigations showed that the suspects were given commissions by the syndicate for leasing out their accounts.

ACP Roslee said the syndicate members would impersonate personnel from the Home Ministry, Bukit Aman and Bank Negara.

“They use the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, to replicate phone numbers of the police, Bank Negara and other govern­ment agencies to call family members of those implicated in criminal activities overseas.

“The family members would then be told to transfer their money into an account given by the syndicate members, so that the family would not have their assets or bank accounts frozen by the authorities,” he said yesterday.

ACP Roslee said during a press conference at the state police headquarters here that police were still tracking the mastermind behind the scam.

He also said the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.

He added that police were looking for Nazarime Siran, 29, to help in investigation into cheating cases involving the sale of second-hand cars.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

UK bank governor warns of eurozone debt crisis 'storm'; Eurozone 'very close to collapse'!

The Bank of England has cut its growth forecast for this year to 0.8% from 1.2%, saying the eurozone "storm" is still the main threat to UK recovery.
The eurozone was "tearing itself apart" and the UK would not be "unscathed", said its governor Sir Mervyn King.

He also confirmed that the Bank has been making contingency plans for the break-up of the euro.

The rate of inflation will remain above the government's 2% target "for the next year or so", the Bank said.

Sir Mervyn was presenting the Bank's quarterly inflation report.

He told a news conference that the euro area posed the greatest threat to the UK recovery, and there was a "risk of a storm heading our way from the continent".

"We have been through a big global financial crisis, the biggest downturn in world output since the 1930s, the biggest banking crisis in this country's history, the biggest fiscal deficit in our peacetime history, and our biggest trading partner, the euro area, is tearing itself apart without any obvious solution.

"The idea that we could reasonably hope to sail serenely through this with growth close to the long-run average and inflation at 2% strikes me as wholly unrealistic," Sir Mervyn said.

“Start Quote

European policymakers, I suspect, will not rush to thank him for his kind and timely advice”
A 'mess'

Andrew Balls, the managing director in London of global investment firm Pimco, said it was reasonable for Sir Mervyn and other policymakers to plan for a Greek exit.

"Yes, maybe they should plan for an exit, but the thing is, speculating about it can make the event more likely, so the Europeans really do have a mess there," he told the BBC.

"If Greece is to slide out of the euro and collapse, how are they going to protect Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy?"

Separately, Prime Minister David Cameron also spoke of the financial storm clouds across Europe, warning that eurozone leaders must act swiftly to solve its debt crisis or face the consequences of a potential break up.

He said during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons: "The eurozone has to make a choice. If the eurozone wants to continue as it is, then it has got to build a proper firewall, it has got to take steps to secure the weakest members of the eurozone, or it's going to have to work out it has to go in a different direction,

"It either has to make up or it is looking at a potential break up. That is the choice they have to make, and it is a choice they cannot long put off."

The Bank's report said, however, that the eurozone crisis was not the only issue weighing on the UK economy, with volatile energy and commodity costs, and the squeeze on household earnings also having an impact.

Andrew Balls, of global investment firm Pimco says, "a disorderly outcome for Greece is going to be bad for the global economy". 


It all meant that the UK economy would not return to pre-financial crisis levels before 2014, Sir Mervyn said.

Nevertheless, he remained optimistic about the longer term. "We don't know when the storm clouds will move away. But there are good reasons to believe that growth will recover and inflation will fall back," he said.

On quantitative easing, he said that no decisions had been made whether or not to continue pumping money into the economy. The last stimulus programme was still "working its way through the system".

'Outlook is probably better'
 
Sir Mervyn's comments came on the day that official unemployment figures showed a fall in the jobless rate, underlining recent surveys that the private sector had become more confident about hiring labour.

He said the fall in joblessness was consistent with the expected gradual recovery in the UK economy.

But Graeme Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said of the Bank's report: "Talk about kicking an economy when it's down.

"On top of the euro crisis and a double-dip recession, the Bank of England is now saying inflation may not fall fast enough to permit more quantitative easing.

"Actually we think the inflation outlook is probably better than the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) thinks, with the impact of the euro crisis, declining real incomes and weak money supply growth suggesting inflationary pressures may recede later this year and into 2013.

"After many years of underestimating inflationary pressure let's hope the MPC is now making the opposite mistake by overestimating it".

Ed Balls, Labour's shadow chancellor, said: "The Bank of England has once again slashed its growth forecast for Britain, but despite this the government says it will just plough on regardless with policies that are hurting but not working.

"The governor is right to warn of a coming storm from Europe. That is why we warned George Osborne not to rip up the foundations of the house and choke off Britain's recovery with spending cuts and tax rises that go too far and too fast.

"What happens in the eurozone in the coming weeks and months will have an impact on our weakened economy," Mr Balls added.-  BBC

Eurozone was 'very close to collapse'

Eurozone was 'very close to collapse'

A European Central Bank board member has conceded the ECB may have "saved" the eurozone banking system and eurozone economy in Autumn 2011 by providing one trillion euros of emergency loans to hundreds of European banks at an interest rate of just 1%.

ECB Executive Board member, Benoit Coeure, told Robert Peston: "We were very close to a collapse in the banking system in the euro area, which in itself would have also led to a collapse in the economy and deflation, And this is something that the ECB could not accept."

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Reining in household debt by Bank Negara Malaysia

The responsible lending guidelines, among the pre-emptive measures by Bank Negara to contain surging household debt, have made a strong impact on most people. Will the guidelines be effective to control the alarming levels of household debt and put the brakes on loan growth? 

THE responsible lending guidelines, which came into effect on Jan 1, created quite a stir in the banking industry with leading indicators signalling further signs of loan growth slowing in the coming months.

There is some discontent among consumers in terms of having their loans approved based on net income compared with gross income previously, in addition to which is the need for more documentation.

Some automotive players and property developers are not too happy either as they feel the move will be a dampener to their business moving forward. Loan growth for January was lower at 12.1% year-on-year (y-o-y), probably the slowest since 2010, compared with 13.6% y-o-y in December last year mainly due to slower growth in the household and business segments.


Total application and approval for loans in January was down almost 3% from a year ago although those disbursed rose by 5.6% y-o-y.

Loans in the household sector, which has a high level of indebtedness, was dragged down by slower growth in auto, mortgage and personal loans. But some quarters argue that this could be attributed to shorter working days in January due to the Lunar New Year break and other holidays.

Officials say that a loan growth in the region of 12% appears to be fine and much stronger growth may be a problem if left unchecked.

Indications are that loan growth to households, which was lower in 2011 than 2010, will normalise in February this year after the dip in January.

Whatever the arguments are, this trend, if it does continue, can be seen by some quarters as worrisome. Will loan growth then continue to slide? Some industry observers and analysts think so.

Loan growth mixed signals

Under the guidelines, banks are, among others, required to apply the net-income calculation method instead of gross income when computing the debt-service ratio for potential borrowers. The lending guidelines cover housing, personal and car loans, credit cards, receivables and loans for the purchase of securities.

Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd chief economist Nor Zahidi Alias says based on indicators, the rating agency feel that loan growth will likely moderate this year to a single-digit figure compared with a 13.6% growth recorded last year.

Nor Zahidi says the stricter guidelines is a step in the right direction.

This is due to the fact that some potential borrowers will no longer be eligible for certain types of loans, he says. This, he adds, is evidenced by a steep drop in the volume of passenger cars sold in January by 25% compared with the same period last year following stricter hire-purchase loan processes.

Total vehicle sales, however, rebounded by 9% in February with industry sales hitting 44,013 units from 40,387 units in February 2011.

Going forward, Zahidi says he foresees further decline in the banking sector loan growth as banks continue to be extra prudent in their lending practices, adding that there are also declines in loan applications for cars, credit card and residential properties based on latest indicators.

Loan applications for purchases of passenger cars contracted by 15.5% in January from 7.8% growth in December 2011. Another significant drop was the application for the amount given to the credit card segment which fell by 50.9% in January from a decline of 10.2% in December 2011. Applications for loans for the purpose of purchasing residential properties contracted 6.3% from a growth of 11.3% in December 2011.

Approvals for loans categorised for “personal uses” declined by 29.8% compared with a 42.4% growth in December 2011 while the amount of loans approved for the purchase of passenger cars and residential properties contracted by 18.4% and 20.9% respectively in January (December 2011: 0.3% and 1.8% respectively).

The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) says the implementation of the guidelines will not have a direct relation to its member banks' loan growth. Factors like global economic conditions and its impact on the regional economy as well as developments on the external and domestic front will be the more pertinent factors that will have an effect on loan growth, it says.

“The guidelines merely set out to better define the expectations of banks to act responsibly and transparently when lending. The policies and practices envisaged are not entirely new as they underscore the existing approach taken by our members. While it will ensure that the debt commitments of individuals and households are within their repayment capabilities, customers who can afford to repay will not be denied access to financing,” it says.

A robust retail finance market, ABM says, cannot be measured by loan growth alone as the obligations (financial and contractual) to repay, sound personal financial management skills and responsible financing practices are more important to the stability and sustainability of the market in the long run.


Weaker numbers

The occurance of non-performing loans and loans in arrears appear to be falling, and they are what bankers and regulators are paying close attention to. That will indicate that the responsible lending guidelines, even though they may crimp the longer-term trend, is not having an impact on the quality of existing loans.

Wong expects loan growth to taper to 8%-9% after clocking in a strong 14% last year.
 
CIMB Research says in one of its notes that it expects a slowdown in loan growth this year due to weaker numbers from all major loan segments including residential mortgages and auto loans.

RHB Research Institute considers that on the whole, the new guidelines will have some impact on household loan growth, but the extent of the impact remains to be seen.

As for demand for loans from the household segment, the research outfit does not think the growth will fall off the cliff, but rather will be at a more moderate pace relative to recent years.

Jupiter Securities head of research Pong Teng Siew feels that with the strict adherence to the lending guidelines, loan growth may hit 8% or less sometime later in the year but may pick up in some months.

OSK Research is maintaining its loan growth projection for this year at 9% despite the guidelines which it says will play a part in slowing loan growth. The projection was underpinned by Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) projects.

RAM Ratings head of financial institution ratings Wong Yin Ching expects loan growth to taper to 8%-9% after clocking in a strong 14% last year.

This, she says, will be supported by expectations of a real gross domestic product growth of 4.6% in 2012 (2011: 5.1%) and a more moderate household loan growth due to various prudential measures introduced since late-2010. Loans growth is said to be correleated to economic growth and with the Government seeing growth to come in at 4%-5% this year, expectations are that the pace of loans given out will accelerate at a slower pace.

Wong says the loan growth will be partly balanced by stronger financing demand from the corporate and commercial sector in anticipation of the rollout of projects under the ETP and 10th Malaysia Plan gaining momentum.

Meanwhile, Maybank IB Research, with a neutral call on the banking sector, says it expects domestic loan growth of 10.5% this year, up from its previous forecast of 9.4%, adding that mortgage lending is expected to hold up better than anticipated.

According to Bank Negara's Financial Stability and Payment Systems Report 2011, the growth of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) increased last year but the pace was slower with outstanding household debts expanding by 12.5% to 76.6% for the year compared to 2010 when debt grew 13.7% to 75.8%.

It adds that signs of stabilisation in household debt relative to GDP was seen from the second half of last year after a continued upward quarterly trend observed since 2009 with borrowing continuing to be concentrated on residential properties and motor vehicles, which together account for 64% of total household debt.

The report states that bank lending to individuals earning more than RM3,000 per month accounted for about 80% of total loans to households by the banking system.

Choo says the guidelines will not have any adverse impact on those with genuine capacity to repay.
It adds that bank exposure to borrowers with monthly incomes of RM3,00 or less was relatively low representing less than 13% of total banking system loans. “Based on historical experience on the level of impairment and provisioning, any impairment losses to banks are not likely to exceed RM2bil or less than 8% of pre-tax profits of commercial and Islamic banks,” it notes.

The growth in household debts had also been accompanied by a corresponding expansion in household financial assets, it says, adding that stronger growth in household deposits which expanded by 12.2% balanced the slower increase in financial assets.

Timely move?

Despite the brouhaha surrounding the pre-emptive measure, many feel the introduction of the guidelines is timely and justifiable.

RAM's Wong views it as one of the many measures to contain the growth of household debt.

The banking system's household financing has been rising steadily over the last five years and currently constitutes about 55% of the system's total financing, she says, noting that the growth has stemmed mainly from home and personal loans.

As a result, she says, Malaysia's household debt-to-GDP ratio has trended upwards from 69% in 2006 to 77% in 2011. Compared to other countries in the region, this figure is considered high especially when looked at in relation to GDP per capita, she adds.

Some of the other pre-emptive measures which Bank Negara had earlier imposed to control rising household debt include tighter criteria for residential property financing, such as a 70% loan-to-value (LTV) cap on a borrower's third housing loan and beyond, as well as raising the income eligibility criteria for credit cards.

Some analysts concur that the lending guidelines are vital to ensure quality loan growth and some form of control is necessary. With ringgit deposits slowing, analysts expect banks to start pulling back on lending even in the absence of the guidelines.

Zahidi says the guidelines are introduced to ensure that the consumer segment will not be overstretched for too long. While it will take a few years before Malaysia's household debt can be reduced to below 60% of GDP, the stricter guidelines is a step in the right direction, he says.

However, he adds that this will have some adverse effects on the banking sector's loan growth as well as on private consumption.

OCBC Bank (M) Bhd country chief risk officer Choo Yee Kwan says credit assessments under the guidelines are done holistically by taking into account the total debt obligations of an individual borrower and will not have any adverse impact on those with genuine capacity to repay.

At the same time, he says, it will help to deter borrowings for speculative purposes and align debt burden more closely with repayment capacity.

 
Cavale says the long-term impact on banks is yet to be determined.
“While the guidelines are relatively prescriptive on the lending approach, they are really complementary when viewed from the vantage of a bank with more advanced risk assessment tools and portfolio screening and early warning triggers for sustainable loan portfolio health,” Choo explains.

A banking analyst from MIDF Research, on the other hand, thinks that while the guidelines on the whole are good, some details are vague and not properly spelt out. For example, there is no mention of specific details on liability as well as on debt servicing ratio, and is left to individual banks to assess the risk appetite of loan applicants.

Citibank Bhd managing director for cards and consumer lending Anand Cavale feels that while the guidelines will strengthen the control for lending, the long-term impact on banks is yet to be determined.

Although it will help reduce the level of household debt, this will depend on the state of the economy, as household debt is directly linked to the performance of the country's economy, he says.

While the guidelines will strengthen the overall ability to lend prudently, Cavale believes there should be proper infrastructure in place. For example, banks having accessible ways to the customer income information will help the process to implement the guidelines more smoothly, he points out.

Other areas of focus

Some analysts feel the stringent lending guidelines may cause banks to shift their focus to other areas to boost their bottomlines.

The MIDF Research analyst says banks may, for example, look to increase high net worth individuals or affluent customers for their credit cards as in the case of Malayan Banking Bhd. This, he adds, will include cross selling of cards to this segment.

For the mortgage side, banks may look into issuing more financing for landed properties in selected locations and for the auto business, they may source for stronger dealership, the analyst says.


Choo says OCBC Bank's objective is to derive 30% of its income from non-interest income sources, noting that it is keen to diversify and strengthen its deposit base to ensure it is not overly concentrated in any one specific segment.

According to Cavale, it is likely that banks will add other products or services that will support additional streams of income to mitigate potential reductions in the lending area.

Another area which banks are aggressively pursuing currently is the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment. This segment, according to an analyst with an investment bank, will provide better margins and probably make up for the shortfall in slower loan growth from the stringent guidelines.

Those banks which were not focusing on the SME segment will now have to employ strategies to capture this growing segment, he adds.
  
By DALJIT DHESI daljit@thestar.com.my

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