2009 has been a year that has seen a lot of hate, fuelled by anger towards banks that have taken taxpayer's bailouts and then paid big bonuses. It's also a year that has seen a lot of sharing, thanks to the success of Twitter and social networks like Facebook.
So it's no wonder that the top ten new words for 2009, according to my own recollection of the year, are:
#10 BAB
A City acronym for “Bonuses Are Back”.
#9 Taxodus
The threatened exodus of financiers scared of higher taxes on their multimillion pound bonuses.
#8 Unfriend
To drop someone from your social network.
#7 Hashtag
The new twitter phenomena to categorise stuff.
#6 Tweet
Sure it was around in 2008 but, in 2009, tweets became part of our lingo
#5 The Funemployed
Those out-of-work and enjoying it.
#4 Staycation
The idea we were going to have a glorious summer so we vacationed at home.
#3 Vampire Squid
The new nickname for Goldman Sachs.
#2 Zombie Bank
A bank that is no more. It has ceased to be. It is a former bank.
#1 Bankster
A combination of banker and gangster.
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...