Lars Thunell, CEO SE-Banken
How has IT changed banking during your years?
- IT has changed banking in many ways. The Internet is nowadays a necessary prerequisite for doing business. It's also an integrated part of business. And IT has contributed to better service (shorter processing time and greater availability) through increased automatic processing.

What are the most important IT questions on the horizon?
- For us at SEB it's about consolidating IT operations within the company, regarding both operation and application. We continually speed up IT operations. We work strategically with directing IT investment, increasing our performance Two important questions are those regarding safety and acquiring a standardized infrastructure.

How much time does management spend on IT questions?
Around 20% of our time is spent on direct and indirect IT issues. Many IT questions today are integrated in business questions.

When do you think ebills will be more common than paper invoices?
- Already today, 1/3 of our invoices are ebills. In a few years, they will be completely dominant. Development is quick. Ebills involve such large profits in effectiveness and processing for the companies.

Lars O Grönstedt, CEO Handelsbanken
How has IT changed banking during your years?
- In 1990, four transactions out of five came through our systems from a bank office. We could shut down our systems every night for maintenance. Today, 90% of all transactions originate from one of our personal services and the systems have to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What are the most important IT questions on the horizon?
- For us, it's about maintaining operating stability and economy in an increasingly complex system. For clients, there must be effective virus, spam and spyware protection, so the huge advantages of the Internet and email can be kept intact. Also, it's about handling the continual transition towards mobile platforms.

How much time does management spend on IT questions?
- IT issues in a broad definition take up five to ten percent of my time. When do you think ebills will be more common than paper invoices? - There are so many factors at play. I can't really say.

Timo Ritakallio , First Executive Vice President, Member of the Executive Board OKO Osuuspankkien Keskuspankki Oyj
OKO Bank
How has IT changed banking during my years?
- I see that IT has changed banking business dramatically during the last 10-15 years. Today our customers can use our banking services through the internet 24 hours a day and seven days a week. And more than 90 % of all transactions are nowadays electronic transactions. It means that today the internet is an integrated part of banking business.

What are the most important questions on the horizon?
- There is still a room to increase a share of digitalizing processes in banking business, espcially in back office side. I see also that communications security will be more and more important issue in internet banking.

How much time does management spend on IT questions?
- I see that IT issues are more and more often integrated in other business issues. Therefore it is quite difficult to say exactly how much time does our management spend on IT questions. My estimation is 10-15 % of our time is spent on direct or indirect IT questions.

When do you think ebills will be more common than paper invoices?
- I think that in Finland during the next 3-4 years the most part of invoices will be ebills. It means that development will be very rapid. Using of ebills is a very good way to improve a company´s effectiveness.

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