Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

I’ve blogged many times that so called free banking is a fallacy.  It’s something I have blogged about for a decade, and the recurring theme is free banking should be banned by the regulator as it’s only free as long as you don’t go overdrawn. …

Things we’re reading today include … HSBC to bring in single overdraft rate of 40% Created to democratise credit, P2P lenders are going after big money Peer-to-peer platform Landbay shuts doors to retail investors US and UK bust one of the worst cyber banking hacks …

Back in 1997, I was tasked with writing a strategy for NCR. The strategy had to review the likelihood that other industries would enter banking and what threat or opportunity this offered. I spent a long time on this and concluded that the most likely …

Things we’re reading today include … One in five consumer credit reports contains an error HSBC customers could see overdraft fees quadruple under new regime Winklevoss crypto-exchange hires Starling co-founder Metro Bank chief to step down two months after chairman Zopa backer cuts valuation almost …

I’ve noted that the bitcoin swings and roundabouts tend to often cycle around the hope and expectation of the US SEC giving approval to a bitcoin ETF … only to find that they never do and so it goes around. In an interesting article by …

Things we’re reading today include … How robust is the world’s financial plumbing? Bank gives thumbs up to innovative payment method Trump Loses Appeal on Deutsche Bank Subpoenas ING Bank spell out use cases for digital currencies Zopa gets £140m investment amid pursuit of bank …

I’ve said on a number of occasions recently that banking and finance is at the heart of the climate crisis. Banks provide the financing for fossil fuel firms who are destroying the planet. The key numbers: Coal supplies a third of all energy worldwide, with the top coal consumers …

Things we’re reading today include … Britain’s Best Bank Accounts TSB bonuses to be docked for failure to meet gender balance targets UK’s six richest people control as much wealth as poorest 13m – study Lagarde: ECB should do more to tackle climate emergency How …

Regular readers of the blog know that I’m a fanboy of Alibaba and their financial firm Ant Financial which operates Alipay, the major payments system of China. On November 11, they had their Singles Day jamboree. The equivalent in China of Black Friday, some say, …

The main blog headlines are … Are banks adapting in the right way? I picked up a few innovative changes taking place this week within banks. In fact, I should point out that banks are not static beasts, as many claim. They are changing all …

Building on my discussion yesterday about offshore tax havens and decentralisation to avoid governance in both the physical and virtual world, there’s a more fundamental issue at large here. Tax avoidance. Some people hear the words “a tax” and interpret it as “attacks”. I heard …

Things we’re reading today include … RBS takes on Monzo with standalone digital bank Bó It’s the end of the World Trade Organisation as we know it Barclays chief Jes Staley could have pension payment cut in half Loan sharks cash in on Black Friday …

People were surprised to see a headline that garnered much market shock: Markets Crash after reports that Binances Shangai Office Closed in Crypto Crackdown Argh. Crypto meltdown! I was amused to see a headline that garnered much online mirth: Markets Crash after reports that Binances …

Things we’re reading today include … Revolut marketing boss says bank is not “untouchable” Lloyds plan to cut chief executive’s pay by £220,000 Wall Street hits record high after US GDP is revised up – business live Deutsche Bank offloads assets to Goldman in restructuring Ant …

Interesting conversation about switching accounts. I’ve had a few people saying that banks don’t have loyal customers, but they have trapped customers. By way of example, an email from a friend: I am just exactly as loyal to my bank as they are to me, …

Things we’re reading today include … Major banks suffer five IT glitches a week, Which? finds Factbox: Five years of Australian finance scandals China’s bank funding pressured as confidence drops Exchanges pitch alternative to IPOs for fundraising Westpac bank chief quits amid money laundering scandal …

I picked up a few innovative changes taking place this week within banks. In fact, I should point out that banks are not static beasts, as many claim. They are changing all the time, doing things all the time, adapting all the time. The question …

Things we’re reading today include … Women savers are ‘more loyal to their bank than men’ Bank of America CEO: People still want regulation, security amid tech competition ‘Bank of Mum’ helped fund Prince Andrew’s £13m Swiss chalet Charles Schwab agrees to buy TD Ameritrade …

Really interesting interview here with Ana Botin, Executive Chair of Santander, on Bloomberg. It starts with talking about how Santander can make a difference on climate change with Ana claiming that the bank is voted the most sustainable bank in the world. But when the …

Things we’re reading today include … NatWest’s new digital bank Bó is here Totally Sardonic Bank Good company: the capitalists putting purpose ahead of profit India’s Paytm raises $1 billion in fresh funding HSBC’s top duo put futures on line with overhaul Cryptoqueen: How this …

The main blog headlines are … What would you rather talk about: sex, religion, politics or money? My blog often seems to return to the subject of sex, whether it be sexism or basic sex. It is for the reason that money and rumpy-pumpy are …

My blog often seems to return to the subject of sex, whether it be sexism or basic sex. It is for the reason that money and rumpy-pumpy are the twin engines powering everything we do, as Jeremy Clarkson so succinctly put it. However, today I’m …

Things we’re reading today include … Australia’s Westpac hit by Goldman downgrade over money-laundering scandal What is Westpac accused of, and how is this related to child exploitation? – explainer Investors pour near $400m into African fintech What next for Europe’s banking union? Charles Schwab …

I was running a fun panel on regulation this week. That kind of sounds like a lie – whatever can be fun about regulation – but hey, it was. I often reflect on the fact that regulators run with their eyes in the rear-view mirror. …

I just spent a few days in bars and restaurants in a place where everyone lives underground. It’s called Toronto. A place so cold that even Olaf from Frozen has migrated South. In fact, it gets so cold in Canada, they actually have hair freezing …

Things we’re reading today include … Could Metro Bank go bust? Terabytes of data leaked from an oligarch-friendly offshore bank PayPal’s former finance chief says Bank of America closed his account with ‘absolutely no explanation’ Australia’s Westpac accused of 23 million money laundering breaches Lloyd’s …

In the last month, there’s been a wave of announcements from Facebook, Apple, Google and Amazon about banking. We’ve seen Facebook’s major activities in trying to create a digital currency called Libra, and Apple’s move into finance with a credit card from Goldman Sachs which, …

Things we’re reading today include … How To Succeed As A Challenger Bank Ant Financial May Join Race for Singapore Virtual Bank Licenses ‘Why economists get things wrong’ Sexist and biased? How credit firms make decisions Jayne-Anne Gadhia: ‘People joke I have a way with …