Well, a lot of heavy partying last night as SunGard, Clear2Pay, Experian Payments, VocaLink and more hosted fantastic receptions at prestigious locations such as the House of Bols and the Heineken Brewery.
Of course, I only popped in to have a diet coke and a sausage ...
So, got up this afternoon and thought about a comment made by a colleague yesterday about how impressed they were with the presence of the Chinese banks at SIBOS this year.
And yes, they are here in force with ICBC ...
... the Agricultural Bank of China ...
... and the Bank of China ...
... all hosting large booths that were busy and buzzing.
Of course, the banks were at SIBOS last year, but last year was in Asia.
The point the Europeans were making is that this is the first time they’ve been to SIBOS in Europe and seen such a major turnout of the Asian, and specifically the Chinese banks.
Speaking of which, I got a true story pop into my email box this morning from FSClub friend Bryan Foss.
A coal mine owner stayed a few nights in an upmarket hotel in China.When he came to checkout, the bill was RMB200,000 (US$30,000) and he asked to pay by credit card.
The hotel refused and insisted on cash payment only, which created a heated argument between the hotel and the coal mine owner.
In order to save face, the mine owner made a phone call.
After a while two cars arrived with 200,000 1RMB notes ...
The hotel had to get all of their manpower to count the RMB 1 notes.
Whilst the coal mine owner waited patiently...
... don't you just love the way the Chinese think?
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...