Brussels.
1998.
A small, windowless room, in
the lower halls of the European Parliament.
The euro is almost here and
the European Central Bank has just been inaugurated.
High
value settlement systems are in play and central banks can process euro’s across
the Eurozone therefore.
Phew!
This meeting has been called to find
out what to do next.
“I think we need a plan”, says one bright
spark.
“What a good idea”, says the eurocrat. Then his brow furrows and
he looks at the young, pin-stripe suited proposer and asks, “And exactly what
sort of plan are you thinking of?”
“Well”, says the nervous tick, “maybe
one with some action in it. Some action for the banks, of course. Not us, I
mean.” You can see the first signs of a cold sweat forming on the
forehead.
“Ah”, says the eurocrat. “An Action Plan. An Action Plan for
banks. I like it.” A thin smile forms on the veneer of the administrator’s lips.
“But, you know, it’s far more than banks so I think we should call it: The
Financial Services Action Plan.”
A round of applause. Everyone is happy
and the young proposer breathes a sigh of relief.
“And what should be in this plan, I wonder?” says the
eurocrat.
You could cut the atmosphere with a knife as everything goes
silent and a small dim of gloom illuminates the room.
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...
