Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

The Finanser’s Week: 9th December – 15th December 2013

Chris Skinner Author Avatar
by
VocaLink_rgb_250x120

Our biggest stories of the past week are ...

What role for banks in a sharing economy of social capitalism?

I was struck yesterday, as I presented my themes around Digital Bank at a conference, that there’s one area I’ve discussed for a long time, but not blogged about much in-depth. That is the collision of community with commerce via...

The Future of SWIFT: a meeting with Gottfried Leibbrandt

Still busy in the Financial Services Club world with meetings in Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw and London all in the past two weeks. The interesting theme of all these meetings, and those in our future plans, is the digitisation of banking....

The Future of Money (in Denmark)

One of our partners at the Financial Services Club is CFIR, the Copenhagen Finance IT Region. CFIR is an EU-funded networking group in Denmark who produce research and events around the developments in Danish banking and payments. Over the past...

Do the issues at RBS show that Fred Goodwin's era was 1000% incompetent?

I know that it’s getting nearer to Christmas and the party season has kicked in, but yes, I’m still here blogging about banking business. There were lots of headlines about the second major RBS payments glitch last week. Here are...

Are banks ready for Cloud?

We had a lively meeting at the Financial Services Club the other day, talking about cloud computing in banking. I say lively because it is still clear to me that cloud is misunderstood in banking. I guess because cloud is...

  
The major general news stories of the past week include ...

The 12 cyber-scams of Christmas - BBC
Computer security expert Alan Woodward highlights 12 ways that cyber-scammers hope to catch you out over the festive season - and how to thwart them.


Volcker Rule: Q&A - The Telegraph
Wall Street has all but lost the battle to water down the so-called Volcker Rule, designed to de-risk banks. Here is a closer look at the legislation        


US bank wants 'Bitcoin-like' scheme - BBC
US bank JP Morgan Chase files for a US patent to develop a payment system using "virtual cash", similar to emerging currency Bitcoin.


RBS finance chief Nathan Bostock quits after just 10 weeks - The Telegraph
Nathan Bostock, who was appointed finance director at RBS on October 1, is to join Santander, as deputy chief executive        


Bankers face 'annual health check' under reforms - The Telegraph
Banks will have to submit employees to "annual health check" under new staff approval rules in Banking Reform Bill amendments        


Why HSBC is unlikely to spin off its UK business - The Telegraph
Spinning out its UK retail business would not solve any of HSBC's regulatory problems and could create several new headaches for the country's largest bank        


HSBC considers floating UK arm - The Telegraph
The bank has been reportedly sounding out investors in recent weeks to gauge support for the idea to list its £20bn UK banking operation        


Bob Diamond to return to London with African venture - The Telegraph
The former Barclays chief executive is to float a cash shell on the London stock market        


'Banks need to take on Amazon and Google or die', BBVA CEO - Financial Times
Some bankers and analysts think that Google, Facebook, Amazon or the like will not fully enter a highly regulated, low-margin business such as banking. I disagree. An opinion piece by Francisco González, CEO of BBVA.


All aboard for Europe's shrinking bank branch network - Reuters
Banks have shut about 20,000 branches across Europe in the last four years, including 5,500 last year and 7,200 in 2011, according to a Reuters analysis of European Central Bank data.

 

If you like the Finanser, check out the books of the blog: the Complete Banker Series

 

The Financial Services Club is sponsored by:

 VocaLink_rgb_250x120

For details of sponsorship email us.

Chris Skinner Author Avatar

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...

What is the future?

Learn more

Learn more about Chris

About Chris Skinner

The Past, Present And Future Of Banking, Finance And Technology

Fintech expert Chris Skinner: countries need digital transformation to remain competitive

Join me on Linkedin

Follow Me on X!

Hire Chris Skinner for dinners, workshops and more

Learn directly from from one of the most influential people in technology, gain insights from the world's most innovative companies, and build a global network.

Chris’s latest book

Chris Skinner’s ‘Digital For Good’ Book Launch Event – CFTE

Top 50 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on FinTech 2023

Chris Skinner
Commentator, CEO of The Finanser and best-selling author at The Finanser

Thinkers360 Thought Leader

Contact Me

Global Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

Global 100 - 2024 Winner

Chris Skinner - Financial Markets Advisor of the Year - The Finanser - UK 2023

Best Financial Markets Advisor of the Year 2023

30 Best Regtech Blogs and Websites 2023

Kids creating the future bank | TEDxAthens

Captain Cake and the Candy Crew

Captain Cake Winner of a Golden Mom’s Choice Award

TWO-TIME WINNER OF A MOM’S CHOICE GOLD AWARD!

Alex at the Financial Services

Gaping Void's Hugh MacLeod worked with the Finanser