Our biggest stories of the past week are ...
March 31, 2014
Basel III: a mess of regulatory conflicts?
I chaired a meeting recently between counterparty banks. The focus of the discussions was Basel III and, specifically, three new regulatory ratios required for banks to manage:
April 01, 2014
Alibaba acquires China Union Pay in $100 billion deal
I was amazed to see the news this morning that Alibaba, the Chinese equivalent of eBay and PayPal, has acquired China Union Pay. This is fantastical news and builds upon the recent announcement that Alibaba will get into banking.
April 02, 2014
Digital Banks have a completely different culture to Physical Banks
Another day, another challenge. Again, it’s to do with the move from the physical distribution of paper to the digital distribution of data (my favourite mantra of the moment) and the way in which things change. Think of it this way, I’m talking to a company about relationship management.
April 03, 2014
Banks are more worried whilst Google is NOT a bank
I received one interesting comment about Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon (GAFA) and co getting into banking from one bank: why would they? His response was based upon the fact that he’s more worried about Google when they’re not a bank than when they are one. “If they bought a bank – let’s say they acquired Citibank – then this would be good news”, he said, “because that would kill them.”
April 04, 2014
At current growth rate, Zopa will dominate >10% of UK consumer lending by 2017
A week before Zopa launched in Britain in 2005 one of the co-founders, the now late and much missed Richard Duvall, presented the concept to the Financial Services Club. No-one really understood it at the time although now, it makes great sense. An eBay for money. Those who have money get higher interest whilst those who need money pay lower interest, and Zopa manages the risk.
The major general news stories of the past week include ...
Australian bank boss resigns 'to spend time with family' - The Independent
Leaving to "spend more time with one's family" is usually what politicians say after being forced out.
Challenger bank Aldermore's profits rise more than 1,000pc - The Telegraph
Private equity-backed lender Aldermore has seen the chances of a stock market flotation rise after reporting a 1,393pc year-on-year rise in pre-tax profits
High frequency trading: the TV debate that brought Wall Street to a halt - The Telegraph
The heads of two stock exchanges battle in a TV debate that had traders gripped
George Osborne vents fury over FCA leak fiasco - The Independent
The Chancellor ratcheted up the pressure on the UK's financial watchdog yesterday as he declared himself "profoundly concerned" over the damaging leaks that wiped billions off the value of insurance companies.
HSBC has 'much work' to do on anti-laundering fixes, U.S. says - Reuters
(Reuters) - HSBC has made some progress in improving its anti-money laundering program as required by a 2012 deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, but there remains "much work to be done," federal prosecutors said in a Tuesday court filing.
Insurers push back with clamour for resignation of FCA chief - The Independent
The head of Britain’s financial regulator admitted that leaking market-sensitive information to a national newspaper was not its “finest hour” as calls for his resignation grew yesterday.
UK sees mobile banking 'revolution' - BBC
A "revolution" in mobile banking use is under way in the UK, with customers now making 5.7 million mobile transactions a day, according to BBA figures.
Banking technology brings 'seismic decline' in branch transactions - The Telegraph
Most comprehensive study of customer habits undertaken to date says daily usage of mobile banking apps had doubled in 12 months
Vatican halts 'trillion euro fraud' - BBC
Italian police arrest two men who were allegedly trying to deposit trillions of euros in fake bonds in the Vatican bank.
Insurers urge Osborne to rebuke head of regulator - The Telegraph
A number of Association of British Insurers members are said to have been "apoplectic" over FCA's announcement of industry review
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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...
