Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

This week’s main blog headlines include: Is new banking ten times (10x) better? Investment banking, Corporate banking, Commercial banking, Private banking and Retail banking are all very different. Too often, commentators just talk about ‘banking’. It’s not all the same. In fact, an awful lot …

Building on yesterday’s blog where I mentioned Monzo’s issues of client onboarding, I mentioned that, for the past few months, I’ve noticed many tweets from Monzo customers about accounts being closed suddenly, with no explanation. Each time, I’ve shared the information and copied Monzo and …

Things we’re reading today include … Woman took friend’s bank card, withdrew £300 and bought a McDonalds… four hours after finding her dead The World’s Largest Banks 2021: Banks Grew Larger During The Pandemic, With U.S. And Chinese Banks Dominant Southeast Asia’s Largest Bank DBS …

Investment banking, Corporate banking, Commercial banking, Private banking and Retail banking are all very different. Too often, commentators just talk about ‘banking’. It’s not all the same. In fact, an awful lot of retail banking is propped up by investment and commercial banking. That’s where …

Things we’re reading today include … Central banks get serious on digital currencies German Regulator Orders Digital Bank N26 to Improve Money-Laundering Controls Silvergate Bank to issue Diem stablecoin Metro Bank faces investor anger over new chief’s £500,000 bonus Greensill, Archegos point to tougher ‘non-bank’ …

Worried I’m becoming a tree-hugger as this blog seems to return to how banks put profits before people more and more often. Nevertheless, here are the facts: Banks have invested $3.8 trillion into fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement came into force on 4 November …

Things we’re reading today include … ‘Monzo stole our money’: Why an online bank is facing the fury of a Facebook group eBay takes on banks and PayPal with loans to businesses Banks See Wealth Management As A Growth Engine, But They Aren’t Very Good …

I am taken aback by the rise of ETH, BTC, DOGE and other currencies. What’s going on? Well, some of it is related to hype, notably Elon Musk; some to loss of confidence in fiat currencies, as governments failed during the crisis; some is related …

Things we’re reading today include … US digital banking users will surpass 200 million in 2022 UBS Explores Offering Crypto Investments to Rich Clients Citi weighs launching cryptocurrency services after surge in client interest Monzo bank to offer employees paid leave after pregnancy loss If …

My bank shocks me. I know what’s going on, but even then, they still shock me. What’s going on? My bank depended upon offshore services for customer services. Those offshore services were based in India. India locked-down with four hours notice and, as you may …

Things we’re reading today include … Cryptocurrency Has ‘No Intrinsic Value’ And Investors Will ‘Lose All Your Money’, Says Bank Of England Chief Big banks move into crypto services Dogecoin’s value tumbles after Elon Musk calls the virtual currency a ‘hustle’ Greensill Bank collapse pits …

This week’s main blog discussions include … You are ALL no better than the cleaner I watch the world and comment. Maybe I shouldn’t. This blog began as a blog about finance and technology and I rarely want to leave that space. But lockdown, the …

I watch the world and comment. Maybe I shouldn’t. This blog began as a blog about finance and technology and I rarely want to leave that space. But lockdown, the pandemic and more has made it more of a commentary on life and the world …

Things we’re reading today include … Little market-wide agreement on DLT use in capital markets Sotheby’s introduces cryptocurrency sales with a famous Banksy work Dogecoin creator sold all his coins in 2015 to buy a Honda Civic, DOGE is now bigger than Honda Citi weighs …

I don’t know how your life has changed in the last year, but I realised how much mine had when I woke up this morning and thought must go and buy dog food. A year ago, I didn’t have a dog and my first thought …

Things we’re reading today include … Dogecoin is now worth more than the Ford motor company, BP or Tesco European Central Bank CBDC Survey Finds Privacy Is The Number One Concern For Digital Euro HSBC issues urgent warning as criminals try to get bank details …

The climate activists of Extinction Rebellion expanded recently into a Money Rebellion, as I blogged about last Friday. Targetting the banks that pollute the planet – specifically Barclays and HSBC in the UK – they will hold a range of protests today, gluing themselves with …

Things we’re reading today include … World’s Best Banks 2021 City urges the Bank of England to bring on the ‘Britcoin’ revolution An anonymous crypto advocate projected messages championing bitcoin on the walls of the Bank of England and the UK Parliament Blockchain technology could …

I wrote two years ago about the BS that Blackrock talk about the climate. I mentioned this issue again in my update on the Money Rebellion last week and what really makes me angry is that  financial firms like Blackrock sign up to global agreements …

Things we’re reading today include … Ethereum punches through $3,000 with market cap bigger than Bank of America Central Bank-Issued Digital Coins Seen Co-Existing With Bitcoin Digital Dollar Project to launch five U.S. central bank digital currency pilots UK banks’ support for coal industry has …

It’s a bank holiday weekend, and I would normally switch off. But no. Like so many of us, I’m still watching the news, keeping up-to-speed on twitter and facebook, scanning my emails and getting links. One link led me to a documentary on YouTube. It …

Things we’re reading today include … Why is a bank holiday called a bank holiday? Does the Monzo generation need private banking? Bank of England: Britain’s economy is recovering from Covid recession faster than expected Europe’s largest banks plan joint attack on US payments giants …

This week’s main blog discussions include … The tectonic movement from paper to data The Cryptowolf is here … or is it a cryptodog? April 20 was Dogecoin day. Did you notice? Retweet if you are ready for #DogeDay pic.twitter.com/z00Wm7pE96 — DogeCoinResearch (@dogeresearch) April 19, …

Money Rebellion I’m finding the world a bit surreal – is it just me? Locked down for a year; totalitarian states; governments attacking people; governments killing people; black lives matter; wars rising; tensions rising; demonstrations on the streets; no concerts, entertainment or hospitality … the …

Things we’re reading today include … Which banks are winning the current account switching war? Deutsche Bank’s work from home rule has a serious loophole All charges dropped against Danske Bank chiefs NatWest reports bumper profits – but money laundering scandal casts cloud over costs …

I found this article from The Asia Times interesting. It discusses the idea that China is trying to displace the US dollar as a reserve currency. Difficult. The US dollar represents over 60 percent of all currency reserves around the world. For more, check Wikipedia The …

Things we’re reading today include: European Investment Bank Issues $121M Digital Notes Using Ethereum Bank loans create 700 times more emissions than offices: Study High street bank starting 43 pop-up branches across the UK Covid-19 security challenges leave bank customers at risk Deutsche Bank outshines …

I find it interesting to watch behaviours online. For example, I sometimes get an email saying, “please take John Doe off your subscriber list”. I’m sitting there saying just unsubscribe. There’s a link on the distribution email clearly saying unsubscribe here. How come they don’t …