As you probably can’t have escaped being told, Sibos is in Boston in the 3-year old Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. This year the conference has the potential of robust dialogue between between the US and Europe and, more this year than any other,
between banks and the many corporates encouraged to attend.
So what am I looking forward to at Sibos ?
Firstly, Sibos is always a good event to get a sense of the banking and payments industry worldwide. The conference sessions are always informative and even sometimes lively!
A vital service that Sibos provides is a genial location to meet colleagues in other parts of the banking and payments industry and, for the first time in any volume, a number of contacts from the corporate world. For those attending for the first time,
even though France Télécom, GE and a number of other SWIFT proponents have attended previously many times, Sibos was always an event for banks, and of course, their vendors.
It will be interesting to see how the feel of the event changes this year. One inescapable fact is that SEPA is right around the corner and whilst I’m sure all the European banks are well advanced in their programmes, I wonder how many of the US-focussed
banks are as well-prepared. Conversely, do we in Europe ever really hear what the issues are on the ground in the US ?
I’m looking forward to finding out how SWIFT-related business differs round the globe - if you see me wandering round the exhibition, feel free to stop me and tell me!