Our biggest stories of the week are ...
Should a bank be called a bank
After Richard Branson's Virgin Money successfully acquired Northern Rock, loads has been written about the takeover. Much has been negative, saying that the Chancellor did a bad deal and ‘gifting’ the bank to Virgin, losing £400 million in the process....
Risk is not a discipline, it's an attitude
One of the panels at the trading technologies show that I chaired was all about pre- and post- trade risk, and the impact of real-time risk management. We were meant to talk about real-time risk, what it would mean, the...
FPGA – the next trading revolution?
This week is a trading technology week, chairing panels at two trading technology events. The first is focused upon trading architectures and I’m surrounded by engineers. Forget strategists, technologists, programmers or developers. Engineers. The reason is that it’s all about...
The future competitive battleground for banks
I blog a lot about the disruptions of new technologies on bank structures, but only in the last few weeks had the chance to reflect upon what this means overall to a bank’s strategy. A bank is a digital business,...
There’s still lots of debate about the euro and Eurozone, with Greece imploding and now Italy et al all going up the Furka Pass, so to speak. Now I’ve been purposefully avoiding getting into the fray, until now ...
The major general news stories of the week include ...
Lloyds Considers Two Bids for U.K. Branches - Business Week
Lloyds Banking Group Plc said it will “take forward” discussions from two bidders for the 632 branches it is selling to comply with European Union state-aid rules.
RBS chief Stephen Hester says 'casino' banking unit could be sold - The Telegraph
Stephen Hester, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, has conceded for the first time that the state-backed lender could sell its investment banking division.
Insight: Fidelity's expensive debt raises eyebrows - Reuters
BOSTON (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments gives a select group of employees an unusual perk. It lets them make unsecured loans to the company at annual interest rates that have paid them nearly 20 percent in recent years.
UK at greatest risk of financial crisis since Lehman Brothers collapse - The Telegraph
Britain is more at risk of a major financial crisis than it was in the months before the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the country's banks, insurers and hedge funds believe.
Debt crisis sweeps towards heart of Europe - Reuters
BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) - The euro zone's debt crisis swept closer to the heart of Europe despite a clear-cut election victory in Spain for conservatives committed to austerity, adding to pressure on the European Central Bank to act more decisively.
Lloyds announces leadership plan - BBC
Lloyds announces contingency plans in case chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio extends his stress-related sick leave.
Critics of credit default swaps have got it wrong - Financial Times
Critics of the product have misunderstood the fundamental difference between CDS and insurance
Risk expert Nathan Bostock decides to steer clear of the riderless Black Horse - The Telegraph
Nathan Bostock knows a thing or two about risk and restructuring. Or at least you hope he does, given he's head of both at Royal Bank of Scotland, a fine practitioner of the two Rs, if ever.
Virgin Money sees no loss to taxpayer from N Rock deal - The Telegraph
The Government will not make a loss on Northern Rock, despite the gap between Virgin Money's £747m takeover and the £1.4bn the taxpayer has invested in the bank, Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia has insisted.
George Osborne reveals Northern Rock sale forced on him by secret Labour agreement with Brussels - The Telegraph
George Osborne has defended the timing of the Government's sale of Northern Rock, claiming his hand was forced by a secret agreement Labour made with Brussels when the lender was nationalised in 2008.
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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...
