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

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by
Invest Northern Ireland

Our main stories this week include ...

Greece is the word

I receive a few infographics and don't publish all of them, but found this one very interesting.  It portrays the current situation in Greece, which we all know has been suffering badly from the Sovereign Debt crisis and subsequent economic fallout.  Key headlines include:

The complexity of correspondent banking

I love the idea of money without government but, having sat through a regulatory discussion of correspondent banking, I think this hope is possibly false placed.  However, for my banking fraternity, I think they’ll be very interested in two reports recently produced on correspondent banking by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) for the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) for the G20.

Why banks need to be more social

It’s interesting that I’ve noticed a number of banks investing heavily in social media over the past five years, but not in countries you would expect.  Turkey, India, China, Brazil and Poland come to mind as social financial leaders, whilst America and most of Europe are still way behind.  What’s the difference between nations, and why are US and European banks falling behind?

Why Banks Are Failing The Innovation Test (and how they could do better)

So at one of my meetings last week, someone tells me to checkout The Disruption House, an advisory firm that includes SWIFT Innotribe friend Haydn Shaughnessy.  The firm has produced a report as to why banks fail to grasp innovation.  The report is the conclusion of a study of over 150 financial institutions, focusing on their commercial and wholesale arms, along with a few retail financial services companies and technology firms that now provide financial services. They focused in on 65 for detailed study and interviewed 20 in order to uncover information about their innovation capability. Some of the key findings are:

How will Banks organise themselves to manage APIs built for PSD2 / XS2A?

The PSD2 is here.  For those who don't know what that is, it's the European update to the Payment Services Directive (PSD) of December 2007.  The original PSD aimed to harmonise the European payments markets and make the Eurozone behave as a Single Market.  It achieved some of those objectives, but the update goes much further and was adopted in October for implementation in 2017. 

 

This week’s major news headlines include … 

Saudi Arabia to sell debt in the first sign the oil producer may be running out of cash - The Independent
The kingdom may increase public debt to as much as 50 per cent of GDP within five years

Dirty money: At least 19 UK firms under investigation for an alleged conspiracy to make $20bn seem legitimate - The Independent
Exclusive - the great British money launderette: criminals and corrupt officials from around the globe take advantage of Britain’s lax corporate rules

HSBC: Blockchain Tech Could Complement Central Bank Policies - Coindesk
UK banking group HSBC has outlined how it believes the blockchain could be used to facilitate or enhance unconventional central bank policies.

Canada's 'Bank of No Surprises' Turns Heads With Risk Surge - Bloomberg
Dubbed by some investors "Bank of No Surprises" for its consistency and low-risk profile, Scotiabank -- Canada’s second-highest rated lender -- was put on review for downgrade on Nov. 2 by Moody’s Investors Service.

Deutsche Bank's Fine For Breaking Sanctions Is By No Means Its Biggest Problem - Forbes
Deutsche Bank has joined an ever-growing list of global financial institutions that have been found guilty and fined for breaking US sanctions on a variety of unsavory regimes.

EU financial market reform faces IT bugs - Financial Times
Complexity of systems to govern new market rules to cause delays

Five ways you'll be 'sacked' by your bank – and it's only getting worse - The Telegraph
Each week five bank customers are told to withdraw their money and leave, often without notice, but they have no right to an explanation

Why did the Bank of China terrorism finance case tank? - Jerusalem Post
Why did the terrorism financing case against the Bank of China, possibly the most significant and contentious of its kind, tank? The case involved more than 20 families of American victims of attacks in Israel from 2003-2008, with allegations that the bank served as a conduit for Iran and Syria to funnel funds to Hamas and Islamic Jihad related to those attacks.

Bank of Ireland bans counter withdrawals of less than 700 euros - BBC
Bank of Ireland is to ban its customers from withdrawing less than 700 euros (£500) over the counter in the Republic of Ireland, saying they must use ATMs.

I've got 1million more TalkTalk account details to sell on web, says hacker - Daily Mail
Insider reveals how Gang ran scam like a 'bank heist' as picture emerges of 16-year-old who is fourth person to be arrested

 

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The Financial Services Club is sponsored by:

Invest Northern Ireland 

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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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