MERRILL Lynch hopes to redefine private banking by using the Internet to help clients move their wealth between currencies and countries at the click of a mouse, a top bank official says.
Michael Giles, chairman of Merrill Lynch International Banks London, said his bank was positioning itself to make greater use of the information technology revolution which would play a major role in private banking in coming years.
'I see utilising the Internet in some capacity to deliver information to our private clients, to communicate with them real-time and to allow them high-level security access to their own accounts,' Mr Giles said.
'We do not have a time-frame yet, but we have plans to start doing this.' Mr Giles said the United States prohibition on exporting high-level encryption technology was the only obstacle to using the Internet for private banking.
He expected amendments to the law this year to allow banks to use encryption technology, which was needed for protection against computer hackers.
Merrill Lynch would invest a total of US$60 million in a new computer system to help private banking managers offer better personal service and improve database management and also productivity.
