frontiers supplements
Islamic Finance – A new agenda
As Islamic Finance enters the next stage of its exciting development, a new agenda is being defined. Post the financial crisis old debates are increasingly irrelevant, and instead KPMG International believes that the key issues should be re-positioned to focus on continued improvement in governance, better asset and liability management and product appropriateness and transparency.
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Insights into brand management – Extracts from frontiers in finance
Over the past year, KPMG’s Financial Services Magazine, frontiers in finance, has been looking at some of the issues worth considering in managing a brand. This ranges from regaining trust to taking on new brands through mergers and acquisitions. We have collected this series of articles into one document and this collection of articles gives you a useful tool to raise a wider discussion with your our firms’ clients
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Take another look: Streamlining group structures
The crisis and subsequent recession are turning minds across all business sectors to cost reduction, efficiency and rationalization. In the financial services sector, the need to focus on the core business, simplification and divestment are increasingly common themes. In this context, many multinational groups are now scrutinizing their complex organizational structures, and coming to realize that significant savings can be secured from rationalization of the number of legal entities within the group.
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A look at inflation risk in the US Property and Casualty insurance industry
The turbulence in today's financial environment has challenged almost all corporations, but none so much as financial institutions. Banks and investment managers have been most directly affected, but many publicly held insurers have also seen significant reductions in their market capitalizations as a result of asset write downs. Recessionary pressures have reduced personal and commercial capital spending, which in turn have had direct impact on corporate profits. Management should consider carefully the mid- and long-term effects of the financial crisis and take steps to be among the winners in the coming difficult environment
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Consolidation and divestment in financial services
A range of forces are driving consolidation, divestment and corporate reconfiguration in the financial services sector. Key aspects of the financial crisis and its aftermath are accelerating these processes. However, the critical strategic decisions necessary are neither simple in principle nor easy to implement in practice. Matt McCorry, Craig Mennie and Angus Wilson discuss the implications for banking, insurance and investment management.
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Did Basel II fail? An Australian perspective on recent criticisms
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis (GFC), questions on the lips of many risk managers and regulators include one of the most obvious: "did Basel II fail?". Paul Lichtenstein and Bradley Gluck examine this from an Australian perspective
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Customer retention strategy: Important today, critical tomorrow
Many financial services companies claim that their existing customers are their most valuable assets. But they can often fail to align their operating models to protect these assets. Martin Blake and Dave Gooding of KPMG in Australia discuss how the shake out from the financial crisis is exposing the risks of organizations not prioritizing customer retention.
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Infrastructure funds: down but far from out
Have infrastructure funds had their day? To judge by the gloomy headlines of the last few months, many commentators seem to think so. Tony Rocker, Global Head of Infrastructure funds, KPMG in the UK discusses why he thinks this is a misconception, and that the sector can look forward to a sound future.
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Islamic insurance under IFRS: we need to keep talking
With significant growth outside their current major markets of the Middle East and Malaysia, a large number of Takaful businesses are reporting under IFRS, giving rise to complex accounting and reporting issues. Muhammad Tariq, Partner, KPMG in the UAE, discusses the complexity which goes back to fundamental differences between Takaful and conventional insurance models.
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