Finextra's top ten news stories for 2006 reflect the pre-occupations of the financial technology industry over the past year.
PayPal seeks mobile recruitsTop of the pile this year with over 10,000 page views was Finextra's scoop that person-to-person payments outfit PayPal had started recruiting business and product heads for a new mobile payments 'start-up' unit.
PayPal to roll out virtual debit cardPayPal also slipped into the top ten in June when it announced that it was planning to introduce a virtual debit card for online shopping. The product, part of an initiative by PayPal to extend use of its payment system beyond its core Ebay markets, will use authentication technology supplied by Dublin-based Orbiscom.
Misys banking systems boss quits after just one monthBanking systems vendor Misys also filed two entries in our top ten this year. The shock departure of new banking systems boss Steve Vaughan after just one month in the hot seat led the way.
Misys restructures banking systems businessThe restructuring of the banking systems division after falling profits in January set the tone for a turbulent year at the vendor.
US banks fall victim to large-scale hacking and skimming fraudRetail banking security on both sides of the Atlantic commanded attention. The move by US banks to re-issue debit and credit cards after a security breach at a large online retailer, drew over 7000 page views.
UK banks rocked by £1 million Chip & PIN card cloning fraudIn the UK, meanwhile, the banking industry's massive investment in Chip & PIN payment cards was brought into question by revelations that fraudsters had stolen more than £1 million from customers by implanting skimming devices in retailer PIN pads.
Credit Suisse looks to shift 5000 jobs offshoreJob security was another key theme for 2006. Credit Suisse's plans to move around 5000 IT, back office and administrative jobs to cheap offshore centres in eastern Europe, Singapore and India, topped the page count on the offshoring front.
City trading jobs to fall by 90% as banks take up algorithmic technologyA report by IBM suggesting that the number of traders employed in the City of London would fall by a massive 90% by 2015 as more banks move towards all-electronic algorithmic trading operations, appeared to confirm the worst fears of the dealing community.
JPMorgan Chase leads open source messaging pushOn the pure technology innovation front, JPMorgan Chase's push to develop an open source message queuing middleware protocol proved the most popular of our stories for 2006.
Morgan Stanley fires four after strip club tripAnd finally, the top ten wouldn't be the same without a tabloid-style sex scandal. This year, it's hats off to Morgan Stanley, which sacked four staff from its institutional stock division after they accompanied clients on a visit to a strip club.