Our biggest stories of the
past week are ...
Jesus Christ Superstar, and the Occupy Movement
I recently went to
see the latest revival of Andrew Lloyd-Weber’s Jesus Christ, Superstar. The new
version of the musical toured the UK’s largest Arenas, with an all-star cast
and a lengthy TV audition show to select the man to...
Bank's biggest weakness: drowning in data
I recently met Big Data in person. In real life. THE BIG DATA. Yes, I did. And
here he is ...
Virtual currencies will explode thanks to mobile games
The European Central Bank (ECB) has just issued a report on Virtual Currency
Schemes, with case studies on Second Life and Bitcoin (both previously covered
in depth here). In the report, the ECB calls Bitcoin “the most successful —
and...
Hurricane Sandy: a good time to
create some good PR
It surprises me that banks rarely get lauded and applauded, as it is far easier
to critique and blast. A good example is the post Hurricane Sandy fallout,
where banks in the USA are doing everything they can to support...
What is an acceptable level of fraud?
Derek Wylde, Group Head of Fraud at HSBC, presented at the Financial Services
Club last week. He talked about many aspects of fraud and risk, and presented
quite a few numbers related to the issue. One of the charts raised...
The major general news stories of the past week
include ...
Credit-card companies: War of the virtual wallets
- The Economist
ANOTHER milestone on the journey towards digital cash was passed on November
13th. That date marked the emergence from beta-testing in America of V.me, a
“digital wallet” that holds multiple payment cards in a virtual repository.
Instead of providing their personal details and card numbers to pay for stuff
online,
RBS 'could quit an independent Scotland' - The Telegraph
Royal Bank of Scotland's chairman has suggested the lender could consider
moving from its Edinburgh headquarters.
What the banker should have said to the bishop
- The Telegraph
God met Mammon at the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, set up in
the wake of the Libor-rigging scandal, and the result was much heat but very
little light.
Barclays swamped with demand for 'CoCo'
- The Telegraph
Barclays is set become only the second bank to sell contingent capital that
would be used to rescue the firm if it gets into trouble in future.
RBS chief warns of 'moral hazard' in ringfencing retail
banks
- The Independent
Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive, Stephen Hester, last night warned
members of the Parliamentary Commission into Banking Standards that plans to
force banks to "ringfence" retail banking could create a "moral
hazard" as a result of them expecting a bailout.
BofA takes on mobile payment start-ups
- Financial Times
Using technology and a ‘secret sauce’ underwriting model, bank has struck at
Square’s strongest competitive point by offering an even lower fee
Citi 'Price Rewind' Price Protection Program
- Payments News
Cit has announced a new price protection program called Citi Price Rewind.
Here's how it works. After a Citi cardmember purchases and registers an
eligible item, Price Rewind will search hundreds of retailers’ sites for 30
days after the purchase to find a lower price. If a price is at
'FSA action saved HBOS from speculators' - The Independent
City speculators almost tipped HBOS over the edge months before its
government-brokered rescue by Lloyds Banking Group, members of the
Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standard were told yesterday.
Hong Kong set to overtake shrinking City
- The Telegraph
Hong Kong's finance workers will outnumber those employed in London within
three years as City job cuts shrink London to third place in the global rankings
of financial centres.
RBS begins branch sale
- The Telegraph
Royal Bank of Scotland has kick-started the process to dispose of the
316-branch business rejected by Santander, formally appointing investment bank
UBS to run the sale.
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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...
