Our biggest stories of the week are ...
Banking evolutions create revolutions
I’m working on a technology in banking conference with a client that’s had me chair their meetings for some years now. As they discussed the program for this year, they asked me for the theme and what sort of topics we need to cover. I immediately thought …
The best of innovation in finance
The Financial Services Club is one of the major partners with Finovate Europe, which took place last week. Last year I chaired the event, but my slightly too Ricky Gervais edginess proved too much for the American organisers at...
Football: far more important than trading
This is so good, I had to extract if for the blog in its own right. Yesterday, I spotted a headline in the Daily Telegraph: “UK traders less distracted than German counterparts during World Cup”. The article discusses a report...
Studies prove that trading turns you into an arsehole
For the past few weeks, the daily headlines have included report after report of insider dealings, trades that were rigged, interest rate setting practices where banks fix things to make a buck and worse. Here are three examples from just...
TEDx Wall Street, March 30 2012
I’ve been a fan of TED for some time. Most of you should be familiar with TED but, just in case you’re not, it’s the world’s largest open sourced educational campus created by Richard Wurman in 1984. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design …
SEPA end date set for 1st February 2014
The European Parliament agreed the SEPA end-date today, making it legally binding for banks to offer SEPA payment processes from 1st February 2014. Here's the Parliament's press release: Cross-border bank transfers should become faster, cheaper and safer for EU citizens...
On Valentine's Day, do you love your bank?
Well, it’s Valentine’s Day and most of the Valentine’s Day headlines are about giving gifts that won’t break the bank. That’s not surprising when, in the US alone, total jewellery spending is expected to top a staggering $4 billion …
My Blackberry is not working ...
I know that this has been around a while, but I was talking about this Ronnie Corbett sketch the other day and it still makes me laugh. Oh, and in case you can’t play this in the office, here’s the script courtesy of Lybio.net …
The major general news stories of the week include ...
Terry Smith in call for UK bank break-up - The Telegraph
A leading City figure has called for Britain's banks to be broken up, for securitisation to be banned, and for shareholders to overhaul the way bonuses are calculated, as he described the "Big Bang" reforms of the financial sector of the 1980s as a "colossal mistake".
'Last bank' adverts 'misleading' - BBC
The advertising watchdog upholds complaints against Royal Bank of Scotland for making "misleading" promises to be the "last bank in town".
Hedge fund boss whose explosive emails finally caught up with him - The Telegraph
"Poor souls, working past cookie and milk time...for once in your lives, you can work like real men and do a proper day's work. (You really are a bunch of women of the first order)."
Paul Volcker: Foreign critics should not worry about ‘my’ rule - Financial Times
I confess total surprise about the complaints by some European and other foreign officials about the restrictions on proprietary trading by American banks embedded in the Dodd-Frank Act – now dubbed the “Volcker” Rule.
Whitehall goodwill is running dry in the City - The Telegraph
Mumblings, if not rumblings, of discontent reach me from the board rooms of our Government departments.
Dangers of Greek Euro Exit Underestimated, Says UBS - Business Week
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Matteo Cominetta, a European economist at UBS AG, talks about the potential risks associated with Greece leaving the euro. He speaks with Maryam Nemazee on Bloomberg Television's "The Pulse."
What if Greece had to get a new currency? - BBC
What if Greece has to get a new currency?
Job losses in City hit rental market - The Independent
Thousands of City job losses are hitting London's top-end rental market as bonuses are slashed and banks cut back on accommodation budgets, according to the estate agency Knight Frank.
EU agrees to overhaul regulation of derivatives - The Telegraph
European politicians have agreed on plans to overhaul the $700 trillion (£444 trillion) derivatives market.
Financial Transaction Tax is unworkable: the letter in full - The Telegraph
An alliance of bankers and city trade associations have attacks "flawed" European Commission analysis of the merits of a financial transactions tax and highlighted an apparent contradiction in the stance on derivatives trading. Here is the letter:
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Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
