Juneteenth 2022 is a very special holiday for BIP.Monticello, as we will be celebrating this day of Freedom, and recognizing the steps still needed for equity within the African American community today. Diversity & Inclusion is one aspect in our world we embrace, alongside increased education, training and opportunities which we will continue to encourage and provide to the team and to those within our society!
Team gathering after work in NYC!
The BIP.Monticello team enjoyed gathering together after work in NYC on a beautiful evening this week, celebrating Juneteenth, Pride month, the start of the summer, and all the wonderful things June has for us to toast! Cheers to celebrating each other, diversity, and all that’s ahead for the BIP.Monticello team! Thank you Nikoleta & Kevin for organizing such a fun evening! #together #Juneteenth #cheers #Pridemonth #celebrate
Celebrate Pride Month - June 2022
Monticello's team celebrates Pride Month once again, and we encourage all our partners, friends, colleagues and family to do so as well! Diversity & Inclusion is a key element of our core firm culture - thank you to everyone who embraces our inclusive values that we share with our team and society! #loveislove #inclusion #diversity #equality
Beyond RPA: Gartner's Build Your Technology Portfolio for Hyperautomation
Monticello Consulting Group joined Gartner’s Beyond RPA: Build Your Technology Portfolio for Hyperautomation discussion, where we reviewed how organizations align and implement technology to automate, streamline, and integrate robotic process automation. The conversation provided guidance where a business-driven approach is necessary to carefully evaluate, plan, and achieve robotic process automation within a firm practice. Thanks to Gartner for hosting & to the MCG the team for joining!
Memorial Day Celebration
Today, Monticello Consulting Group honors our country’s brave fallen soldiers by celebrating Memorial Day. Across the country, we take this day to be remember the sacrifices made by men and women in our armed forces who died fighting to protect our country’s freedoms. Thankfulness fills this special day, alongside parades, BBQs, and gatherings with friends and family.
Team Yankee Outing!
Team Monticello had a blast at the Yankee game this week! Amazing weather, good food & drink, and even better company made for a wonderful evening out together. Thank you Matt Rosen & Zacc Wolf for planning such a fun group event for us…looking forward to the next time!
Girls Rock Finance NYC event!
Team Monticello was honored to support the Girls Rock Finance event co-hosted by the CFA Society NY & 100 Women in Finance last night! This happy hour in midtown celebrated the girls in the finance program and the important work that both organizations are leading to support financial education for girls in our community, specifically in the Beacon School, a public high school in NYC. Uplifting girls and women in the financial community is such a valuable initiative that we support and will continue to celebrate as a firm…cheers to all that’s ahead!
Girls Rock Finance!
MCG ladies representing!
Financial Literacy Month!
April is Financial Literacy Month and as we come close to month-end, we want to acknowledge the importance of a financial education and thank all who dedicate their time to support this vital mission! Please join us in supporting the High-Water Women’s Org, a fabulous organization Monticello Consulting Group partners with to provide youth in our community in NYC with this valuable and life-changing training.
Cheers to a brighter future ahead together! Financial Literacy Education | High Water Women
Children's Village Circle of Friends 2022 Annual Dinner!
Monticello was honored to support the Children’s Village Org. last night at their annual Circle of Friends Dinner at the Chelsea Piers in NYC! The CV manages vital community work with the never-ending mission of keeping children safe and families together. Partnering with the CV is a privilege and a joy for the Monticello team…thank you to all who continue to support the CV and all of those who joined us last night!
Silent auction & raffle time!
All dressed up for the CV!
The Monticello Table!
Jeremy Kohomban, the CEO of the CV, addressing the audience on this year’s recent success stories!
ISDA’s Benchmark Strategies Forum: A Post Libor World
The Monticello team attended ISDA’s Benchmark Strategies Forum: A Post Libor World webinar last month. The conference included a wide-ranging panel of experts from the financial services industry, hailing from firms such as ISDA, CME Group, Goldman Sachs and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, among others. The detailed discussion outlined the future of the market environment following the cessation of LIBOR, including steps that have already been taken to aid in the unwinding process itself as well as additional liquidity options for market participants around the world. The conference also detailed how various aspects of the transition of LIBOR have impacted the overall dynamic of cash products as well as derivatives. Apart from the main topic regarding the cessation of LIBOR, further analysis by the participants focused on other regional benchmarks affected by the transition, specifically swap rates. Particular emphasis among the panelists was placed on the fact that market participants would benefit from considering their existing risk management processes in the wake of the cessation as well as developing a plan of action to commit to transitioning sooner rather than later. To greater decrease risk, the speakers also demonstrated the important need for firms to educate themselves on the differences between SOFR and LIBOR in times of market stress, as trading the same instruments under either rate could potentially yield vastly different results. Overall, the panelists expressed optimism with respect to the progress made so far on a global scale during the transition but expressed caution regarding future volatility and exogenous factors as the market is still in the early stages of the cessation.
At Monticello, our consultants continue to participate in industry conferences and events to ensure our clients are advised on emerging trends and risks their organizations may face. We look forward to working with our clients to support their post LIBOR needs in 2022 and beyond.
Knicks Game for our team!
A mid-week Knicks Game at MSG was such a treat for our team! Cheers to another fun Monticello Group outing and thanks to Matt Rosen for organizing this small group event for us.
Monticello Ladies Gathering in NYC to Celebrate Women's Month!
Monticello Ladies gathered in NYC to Celebrate Women's Month! We enjoyed great conversations together, catching up about our families and travels, and discussing the exciting progress women in our field have made thanks to both our male and female supporters. Cheers to all that’s ahead for women in finance and professional women across the globe for uplifting each other to promote real change!
Monticello Joins Conversation on New Rules to Maximize Growth in Banking
The Monticello team joined Gartner’s New Rules to Maximize Growth in Banking discussion last week. The conversation highlighted that what has been successful in the banking industry is now being disrupted by major technological and societal forces as FinTech becomes a force in both retail and commercial banking. Additionally, Decentralized Finance is becoming more popular and technologies such as Data & Analytics and Artificial Intelligence are redefining customer-centricity and customer interaction.
In a recent Gartner survey, 74% of financial services leaders expect “substantial” or “significant” industry transformation by 2026. This trend and its impact will force many banks to change existing and introduce new products & services, value propositions, sales & service channels, customer experiences, technologies, and talent management practices. Customers are now empowered to change to their bank of choice and enroll in innovative banking products and services in a quickly evolving market.
Recently, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is gaining popularity. DeFi has the potential to transform finance, enabling a wide array of banking functions on the blockchain. It solves some of the problems associated with traditional finance, such as a lack of inclusion, interoperability, inefficiency, opacity, and high transaction fees. According to a recent Gartner survey, 13% of U.S. adults in last 12 months purchased or traded cryptocurrency; however, only 2% received information about cryptocurrency from a broker or advisor. Banks are monitoring this development by evaluating the opportunities and risks associated with entering the market via in-house capabilities or pursuing vertical integration with DeFi solution providers under a scaled ecosystem framework. A few banks plan to introduce new products, services, and infrastructure to accept or send cryptocurrency and stable coin payments in the next few years. Some of them are accelerating their plans to build new revenue streams through the issuance, custody, and trading of cryptocurrencies and similar assets.
Technologies such as Data & Analytics and AI (Artificial Intelligence) enabled Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) applications to radically redefine customer-centric interactions in banking. During the pandemic, Bank of America’s AI augmented virtual assistant, Erica, exploded in popularity and saw a 476% increase in the number of interactions compared to 2019, driving customer engagement and retail banking revenue growth. The same holds true for Bank of America’s CashPro digital cash management and payment platform. The digital transformation and transition to a customer journey-centric engagement trend also played out at other banks in the U.S. and abroad in the last few years.
At Monticello, our consultants continue to participate in industry thought leadership events to ensure our clients are advised on the emerging trends, impact of these disruptions, leading practices on how best to execute transformation journeys and facilitate organizational changes necessary to compete. Monticello has recently published an Insight on Financial Services Industry Leading Blockchain Adoption and a Case Study on Using NLP to Mitigate Compliance Risks and Improve Internal Controls. We look forward to working with our Banking and Capital Market clients and partners to support their transformation initiatives in 2022 and beyond.
Big East Tournament in NYC - Team Outing!
Cheers to a really fun evening out in NYC with the team to watch the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden! Thank you to everyone who planned the event, joined us, and made for an enjoyable night at the Garden! #teambuilding #outings
Monticello Joins Discussion on Physical Risk Assessments
The Monticello team attended GARP’s Physical Risk Assessment: Technical Deep Dive and Regulatory Outlook webinar last week. This informative event highlighted the key inputs and outputs of a successful physical risk assessment across multiple asset types in different countries around globe. Attendees discussed complexities of interconnected risk as risk managers conduct physical risk assessments across different climate change hazards such as extreme heat, soil movement, and forest fires to name a few. In addition, the presenters discussed the current regulatory expectations for the assessment and disclosure of physical risks, and how they could evolve moving forward. Organizations such as the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) are vital to providing a framework which helps organizations disclose climate related risks, which promote informed investment, credit, and insurance underwriting decisions.
At Monticello, our consultants continue to participate in industry conferences and events to ensure our clients are advised on emerging trends and risks their organizations may face. We look forward to working with our clients to support their climate risk reporting initiatives in 2022 and beyond.
Children's Village Educational Spring Event - Instagram Live!
This year’s Inwood House/Children’s Village Spring Educational Event will be virtual in a live Instagram format, please join us on March 15th to learn more about all the efforts underway at the Village for 2022 across their vital programs! Our partnership with the Children’s Village/Inwood House is a commitment we value and cherish, so thank you all for your continued support…#partnership!
Celebrating Int'l Women's Day with Trickle Up Org!
Today (and everyday) we celebrate Int’l Women’s Day! To dive into important women focused issues, we joined the Trickle Up Organization’s conversation around building Women’s resiliency. Trickle UP is an amazing organization whose mission is to partner with women in extreme poverty to build economic opportunity and to drive inclusion. Fundamental to Trickle Ups work, is the belief that women are the agent of change for their families and communities. Cheers to all the strong women in our firm, our community, our families, and across the globe who are driving change today!
Support to the Ukraine Crisis - UNICEF
As Monticello Consulting Groups remains committed as ever to our community partners in support of children and those in need in our city, we cannot ignore the current crisis occurring in the Ukraine today. Please join us in donating to help provide resources, medical attention, and care today for the children and civilians in the Ukraine…Monticello undoubtedly sends our support and prayers.
Children Are Bearing Brunt Of Intensifying Crisis Ukraine | UNICEF USA
Monticello Joins Discussion on Blockchain in Action
The Monticello team attended SIFMA’s Blockchain/DLT in Action: Settlement Unleashed last week. The conversation with several panelists from Broadridge Financial Solutions and UBS Securities highlighted the operating model and an industry trend of market participants and infrastructure players pioneering a technology and operational transition from handling traditional assets such as cash currency to tokenized Crypto-currencies native to Blockchain.
Based on a survey conducted during the event, over 57% of participants would anticipate benefits being realized by adopting Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) using Blockchain technology to better facilitate Settlement and Payment processing functions. Over 35% of the participants reported that their organizational are actively developing and testing DLT solutions to streamline Trading and Settlement functions for some financial products. Many financial institutions, that do not have right talent and capabilities in-house to build out the technology and operations infrastructure, may choose to partner with a market player or solution provider, to gain access to a Blockchain/ DLT platform and accelerate their service/product offerings. The panelists also spoke about the success story of leveraging a Blockchain/ DLT platform to facilitate “repo” transactions. transforming the manually intensive repurchase agreement workflow, enabling better asset-ownership tracking, reducing operational risks, and increasing intra-day collateral liquidity.
The panelists did not see any major hurdles in willingness from financial institutions or market participants to adopt a Blockchain/Distributed Ledger Technology platform; nor did they see any limitations in technologies being used. Regulations; however, are still the major unknowns, or they are yet to be defined like OTC derivatives. The market will continue to see early adopters leveraging Blockchain/DLT to better facilitate security insurance, trading and settlement for fixed income, equity, commodity, and FX products in the next few years.
At Monticello, our consultants continue to participate in industry thought leadership events to ensure our clients are advised on emerging digital trends and leading practices on how best to design their digital journeys. Monticello recently published an insight on Financial Services Industry Leading Blockchain Adoption in January. We look forward to working with our clients to support their digital enablement, optimization and transformation initiatives in 2022 and beyond.
DeFi and the Future of Finance
Monticello Consulting Group participated in a Duke University virtual learning program - Decentralized Finance (DeFi): The Future of Financial Specialization last week. Decentralized Finance can be thought of as a new financial infrastructure whereby users interact with cryptocurrencies, algorithms, and smart contracts rather than conducting financial transactions through traditional intermediaries such as banks, brokerages, or insurance companies. DeFi infrastructure has the potential to transform finance, enabling a wide array of banking functions on the blockchain. It solves some of the problems associated with traditional finance such as a lack of inclusion, interoperability, inefficiency, opacity, and high transaction fees. The Monticello team looks forward to working with our clients to support their DeFi initiatives and adoption of emerging technologies.