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The Finanser’s Week: 9th February 2015 – 15th February 2015

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Our biggest stories of the past week are ...

The Finanser Interviews: Mark Mullen, CEO of Atom Bank

In the first of The Finanser Interviews we talk to Mark Mullen, CEO and Co-Founder of Atom Bank and former CEO of First Direct.  Atom Bank is a major new digital bank due to launch in the UK later this year.

In the age of the internet, is it the poor who will be poorer?

Here’s a good question for you: if cars self-drive, what happens to motor insurance?  The reason I ask the question is that I saw this really cool app in Ukraine from Privatbank last year that allows me to drive into the gas station and refuel my car, without having to open the door.

What does 'too big to fail' really mean? [Infographic]

I just received this fantastic infographic from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, discussing developments since 2008 and the financial crisis. 

Do vision, mission and value statements matter?

There’s one bank I regularly visit, which have their values emblazoned over their reception.  These values are: Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship or RISES for short.  It’s nice, but I always have this cynical little buddy on my shoulder, shouting in my ear: “do you think they mean it?”

Another bank scandal [HSBC], another day

Is it just me, or is it the media that makes out bankers are a slime pool swirling cesspit of scum?  The reason I ask is that there seems to be non-stop headlines of fiddling bankers doing dirty deeds.

  
The major general news stories of the past week include ... 

JPMorgan’s new approach to probing suspect transactions sparks internal friction - Reuters
ST. LOUIS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Clashes over strategy within JPMorgan Chase & Co’s compliance operations have led to the departure of a series of managers in the past year, according to three of those who have left.


ICICI Bank launches 'Pockets' digital banking service - Economic Times
ICICI Bank today launched 'Pockets', a digital banking service, enabling users to instantly send money to any e-mail id, mobile number, friends on Facebook and bank account.


Would it matter to the world - or Europe - if Greece left the euro? - The Independent
It is, we are told, crunch time today. The finance ministers of the eurozone meet to see whether a deal can be thrashed out with Greece. The aim will be to ease its debt obligations sufficiently for the new Greek government to sell the deal to an angry electorate, but


German fans label Greek finance minister 'poor but sexy' - The Independent
It is not a love-affair you’d expect. But some Germans have proved remarkably happy about the newly appointed Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.


James Moore: 'Ready for Brexit?' deserves a wide readership – before it's too late - The Independent
Reports by economists are usually read by few people other than economists, or perhaps a handful executives looking for a change of pace from boardroom papers while their drivers negotiate the London traffic. Ready for Brexit?, by ING’s James Knightley, deserves a rather wider audience, because it offers something largely


HSBC leaks Q&A: A global scandal or a storm in a Swiss tea-cup? - The Independent
It has been described as the “biggest banking leak in history” – not least by the various European media outlets, including the BBC, that have been publishing some of the details this week. But where have the hundreds of thousands of files, which apparently detail industrial-scale tax evasion, come from?


A society without cash is a society in trouble - The Telegraph
The trouble with contactless payments is they make it all too easy to forget the true value of things, worries Bryony Gordon


Danish Bank Takes Hard Line on Clients’ Currency Losses - Wall Street Journal
Saxo Bank Says Losses Are Customers’ Fault


Fraudsters make bank as exec wires $17 million to China - The Register
Scammers have swindled commodities trader Scoular out of US$17.2 million (A$22.1 million, £11.3 million) in a targeted phishing exercise.


City financiers fear ‘Brexit’ from EU - Financial Times
Concerns include uncertainty and loss of access and influence

 

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Chris Skinner Author Avatar

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...

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