Our biggest stories of the past week are ...
It’s better to own disruption than be eaten by it
As mentioned yesterday, banks are not sleeping ostriches but are very awake to the digital revolution. In fact, many are investing in that revolution with four incumbent banks standing out on my radar for their investments in these efforts. The first of these is Sberbank, mainly because two friends of mine are running their venture capital fund: Mircea Mihaescu and Matteo Rizzi (Mircea is our guest at the next Financial Services Club meeting in Warsaw).
Incumbent banks are not sleeping ... they're planning
I find it interesting that so many commentators write about banks being head-in-the-sand ostriches, ignoring the need to close branches and being slow to innovate. I DISAGREE! Banks are slow to change, but they are not slow to innovate.
Becoming a Digital Bank: Evolution or Revolution?
A question that comes up regularly is should the bank evolve to a new digital model, or does it need to bite the bullet and transform? Evolution or revolution? That’s a question that only the bank’s CEO and management team can answer, and needs to consider:
Four European banks you may not have heard about
There are quite a number of new bank services around Europe. Some are from insurance groups (Soon and KNAB) and some are from banks (Hello and Moneyou). It’s hard to keep up with them all, but I think these four are worth a quick review.
When bitcoin becomes mainstream, it will look just like real money
I find it interesting to see so many people believing that bitcoin is dead because MTGox died. Listen: MTGox was a flaky, insecure trading platform for Bitcoins, but it isn’t bitcoin. MTGox was killed by a couple of bots called Willy and Markus, that’s how flaky MTGox was. However, the death of MTGox along with Ripple ...
The major general news stories of the past week include ...
Operation Choke Point: To catch a thief, throttle a banker - Economist
Presley: unbanked but unbowed BY HER own admission, Ashley Erickson had such limited dealings with her bank that her greatest failing as a customer might have been the nugatory profits she generated: no credit cards, no loans, just deposits from her employers and payments for her rent and her children’s
NY bank cop Lawsky keeps $10 bn sights on France's BNP - Yahoo!
Benjamin Lawsky, the New York (Frankfurt: HX6.F - news) regulator who has rocked French bank BNP Paribas (Milan: BNP.MI - news) with the threat of a $10 billion fine, has a record making the world's largest banks pay dearly for misdoings.
Barclays cuts several hundred investment bank jobs: sources - Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays Plc has this week cut several hundred jobs in its investment bank as part of its plan to shrink the business by 7,000 staff over the next three years to save costs, people familiar with the matter said.
Mobile payments groups vie for UK wallets - Financial Times
Services offered by banks, mobile operators and technology groups aim to replace cash and cards when customers reach counters to make purchases
UBS investigated for money laundering - The Telegraph
Judge looks into 'money laundering and organised crime' at Swiss bank
France says BNP Paribas' $10 billion U.S. fine 'unreasonable' - Reuters
PARIS (Reuters) - France's foreign minister said on Tuesday his country would defend the interests of French bank BNP Paribas after it faced the prospect of a $10 billion-plus fine from the United States and called the penalty "unreasonable."
Online banking thefts hit Japan firms prompting compensation rethink - Reuters
Hackers stole nearly $2 million from the online bank accounts of Japanese businesses in April, a surge in theft that has prompted some banks to curtail online services and rethink compensation policies, executives and regulators say.
'This Company Is Not A Gigantic Legal Dept With A Bank Attached': Litigation Costs - Forbes
Are investors beginning to speak with their money when it comes to legal costs ?
BNP Paribas shares hit 8-month low on reports of $10bn fine - Financial Times
Shares in BNP Paribas fell to their lowest level in eight months after reports that the Paris-based lender faces as much as a $10bn fine from US authorities for alleged sanctions violations.
French minister criticizes United States over BNP Paribas probe - Reuters
PARIS (Reuters) - A junior minister in French President Francois Hollande's government criticized a U.S. criminal probe against BNP Paribas On Sunday, saying France would not allow itself to be pushed around by its ally.
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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...
