Our biggest stories of the week are ...
Feck me, these fecking bankers are taking the fecking mick
Just to be clear, the word 'feck' in Ireland bears no relationship with the similar swear word used liberally by Gordon Ramsay. So why am I using this as a headline?
Why mobile is critical to the future bank
It’s the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this week. It’s a big deal as the mobile operators and manufacturers announce their major news items for the year, such as Microsoft acquiring Nokia. That’s why Steve Ballmer is down...
An explosion of payday loan firms
There’s this new phenomena emerging of high interest loans. For some people they are shocked by such developments. For me, it’s a natural thing. What am I talking about? Wonga, Quick Quid, Pay Day Bank, Wage Day Advance and more...
Back on the Good Ship Lollipop
Banks are showing major profits again, bad debts are reducing fast, emerging markets are growing fast and bonuses are good, so all things are back to normal on the Good Ship Lollipop. Or are they? Not quite. Certainly profits are...
A friend of mine in Australia sent me a link to a story that’s creating quite a stir over there. It’s National Australia Bank’s (NAB) new advertising which goes for their competitor's jugular and is already being tipped as the marketing campaign of the year ...
The major general news stories of the week include ...
Wonga raises £73m to feed loan appetite - Financial Times
The online loans company has made more than a million loans in less than three years of trading, but has also attracted criticism for encouraging people to take unsecured debt
Single rule book' for Europe's banks - The Telegraph
Europe's banks will be subject to more "top-down" regulation, with a single set of rules governing their oversight, according to the head of the European Union's new banking authority.
Diamond to slash costs and cut laggards adrift - The Independent
Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond yesterday pledged to slash £1bn of costs from Barclays and sell off or close a string of underperforming businesses as the bank said investment bankers' bonuses had been cut by 12 per cent to £2.6bn.
Two-speed Europe emerges from recession - The Independent
The eurozone yesterday revealed a more modest than expected 0.3 per cent expansion in activity in the last quarter of 2010, with more evidence of a two-speed Europe emerging from the recession.
Welcome to Barclays' 'bobtimistic' new world - The Telegraph
Standing at the centre of the stage with a remote microphone attached to his tie, Bob Diamond gave the impression more of a motivational speaker than the chief executive of one of Britain's largest banks as he made his first Barclays results presentation since taking over the running of the
Could women have halted the financial crisis? - The Telegraph
Banker bashing and women in the boardroom are linked - and we should not be afraid to say so.
Sweden Sets a Model Merkel Wants to Emulate - Business Week
Sweden’s krona is appreciating more than any major currency, providing a model for German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she fights to maintain Europe’s monetary union.
Who is trying to sabotage Mervyn King? - The Independent
The gossip in the corridors of the Bank of England last week was about just who is behind the whispering campaign against Mervyn King.
Banks' hidden subsidies worth £32bn a year - The Independent
Britain's banks, which are preparing to announce multi-million pound annual bonuses to senior staff, are pocketing hidden subsidies worth more than £32.5 billion a year from the taxpayer, it was disclosed last night.
Fury as anti-Semitic banker is invited to speak at LSE - The Independent
A German banker who has said "all Jews share a certain gene" and described Muslims as "dunces" will speak tonight at the London School of Economics amid a row over free speech.
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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...
