Our biggest stories of the week are ...
What do you really think about SEPA and the PSD?
For the past two years, we have performed a major survey in anticipation of the implementation of the PSD and SEPA to see how the world viewed these areas. The survey for 2011 is now live and looks at the...
How banks can beat the telco's at the mobile game
According to the latest research from Amdocs, banks and mobile carriers will be locked in a head-to-head competitive battle for transactions in the future. I disagree. Here's why and how banks can beat the telco's before they eat their lunch ...
For a long while now the Tobin Tax, or Robin Hood Tax, has been discussed. It's been heavily promoted by sympathisers such as Richard Curtis and his luvvies mob, but has yet to gain serious traction in Parliament or amongst...
Banks are from Mars, Corporates are from Venus
I’ve been in lots of meetings in the past two weeks about bank to corporate relationship and the general dialogue goes that banks don’t understand corporates' needs. Corporate: What we want is for our bank to understand our business as...
Are small firms retail or commercial propositions?
Speaking of corporates being from Venus and banks from Mars, one of the biggest dilemmas a bank seems to undergo is where to put and how to define small to medium enterprises (SMEs). I’ve seen several banks alternate between treating...
The major general news stories of the week include ...
The world's 10 richest banks: in pictures - The Telegraph
British banking may never fully recover from the financial crisis to regain its boom-time status, new research has shown. Here, we look at the world's richest banks by Tier 1 capital.
Financial firms have 'not learned' says FSA chief - The Independent
Financial services firms have learned nothing about treating customers fairly in the last eight years, according to the man who regulates the industry – Hector Sants, chief executive of the City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority.
City braces itself for Bribery Act - The Independent
The City is bracing itself for the introduction of the Bribery Act on Friday.
Fears over 'tsunami' of mortgage debt - The Independent
A "tsunami" of homeowners face falling behind on their mortgage repayments as soon as interest rates begin to rise, a leading banker has warned.
In denial? - BBC
Why the US cannot get to grips with its $14 trillion debt
Credit card use falls 13% in year - BBC
Credit card use fell last year as people turned to cash and debit cards to avoid borrowing, shopkeepers say.
Lloyds to announce £1bn cost savings - The Telegraph
Lloyds Banking Group is to cut an extra £1bn from its annual costs in a move that is expected to herald the beginning of thousands of job cuts at the high street bank.
Lloyds set to axe 15,000 more jobs - The Independent
Lloyds Banking Group is expected to signal thousands more job cuts tomorrow as part of a drive to save an extra £1 billion a year in costs.
Former Citigroup banker charged with stealing $19m from bank - The Telegraph
A former executive at Citigroup has been charged with stealing more than $19m (£12m) from the US bank in the "ultimate inside job", according to government prosecutors.
S1 Corporation and Fundtech Announce Merger Agreement - Payments News
S1 and Fundtech have announced a definitive agreement to combine businesses through a stock-for-stock merger, creating an industry leader in transaction banking solutions. Fundtech operates the world's largest SWIFT service bureau. The combined company will be headquartered at S1's headquarters in Atlanta and will be called Fundtech.
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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...
