The epicenter of the financial services crisis that hit us was clearly in North America. Although there were major ripple effects felt amongst the European banks and pockets of Asia, with repercussions from sociopolitical shifts, higher cost of capital, tightening credit conditions and regulatory changes impacting the regions, these are all almost behind us now, and financial institutions in Asia are once again getting back into a growth trajectory.

Illustrating positive improvements is a recent poll conducted by IDC Financial Insights indicating that a substantial 44% of the CXOs surveyed believed the recession to be already over, with an additional 12% saying recovery may be just another quarter away. This positivism is further endorsed by the fact that 4 in 5 CXOs cited intentions to increase (or at the very least sustain) the year-on-year technology and operational spending for 2010!

The financial services world is never static but continues to evolve, with changes even more dramatic in the light of the crisis. As financial institution leaders increasingly understand that there are no sacred cows, they are internally revisiting and reassessing all internal processes, policies and procedures ? from those for basic loan origination solutions to the more complex data warehousing and core-banking systems ? to determine how best to rein in cost, make the most out of limited resources, and stay several steps ahead of competition. Technology and operational innovation, we believe, will pave the way for all of these ambitions over the new year.

Why you must partner and attend:

• Asian Financial Services Congress has grown significantly from strength-to-strength on a tried and tested platform, and is successfully into its sixth year,
• Some of the world's most influential economists, practitioners, and regulators will address the current crisis and rapidly changing landscape within the financial services sector,
• The only Financial Technology event in Asia/Pacific that CXOs participate in to gain and share strategic insights on the industry direction,
• The Congress boasts an agenda with more than 50 industry practitioners speaking and participating in panel discussions,
• The 2009 event was endorsed by several regional Banking Associations, 35 regional and global case-studies, 11 regional press and media companies and as many as 500 financial services practitioners. AFS Congress 2010 promises to be bigger, bolder and more thought-provoking!

For more details, visit Asian Financial Services Congress.