As it’s almost holiday time, I’m going to stop blogging for a while, so here’s the final blog post of 2015 and it’s the ten most read blog posts of 2015. In at number 10:
#10: After the glitch, RBS closes GTS (or how a global bank becomes a national one)
I was surprised to see friend of the Financial Services Club Carole Berndt leave Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for Australian shores in January (actually Hong Kong with ANZ). The surprise was that Carole had only moved to RBS to shake up their Global Transaction Services (GTS) business the year before, having been specifically poached from Bank of America Merrill Lynch for the role.
#9: The Finanser Interviews: Mark Mullen, CEO of Atom Bank
I’ve recently been interviewing a series of innovators and challengers in the banking system, and will publish an interview here on a regular basis with these visionaries. In the first of The Finanser Interviews we talk to Mark Mullen, CEO and Co-Founder of Atom Bank and former CEO of First Direct.
#8: Why would a digital bank have branches? (CheBanca! case study)
I just visited with Roberto Ferrari at CheBanca! in Italy. For those who don’t know CheBanca!, it is the digital first bank launched in 2008 by Mediobanca. Mediobanca provides merchant bank services in Italy and had never had a retail bank before. Therefore, it made sense in the post-meltdown digital age to implement a fintech bank fit for Italy, andCheBanca! claims to be that bank.
#7: What are the biggest challenges in banking today?
Sometimes social media kicks off great discussions about banking. In fact, most of what I learn, collaborate, corroborate, develop, gain, understand and envisage comes primarily through my social network. The latest dialogue that spawns its own blog entry is from the Facebook Group Next Bank …
I had a fascinating discussion about fintech yesterday, and was intrigued with the briefing note for the meeting which said the following: “Fintech is the R&D function of financial services in the digital age….less to do with technology more to do with business model reinvention and customer centric design. Fintech can be categorised as …
#5: The most innovative banks of 2015
I just attended the Global Banking Innovation Awards at the BAI Retail Delivery Show, an annual event that has gained traction and represents banks from all regions of the world. Interestingly, Poland, Spain and Turkey regularly appear, which reflects my view that these are the most innovative Euorpean countries for finance, although France got a shout out thanks to Hello Bank! as did Germany thanks to Fidor.
#4: Do you work for a monkey tree organisation?
I’m often asked about how to implement a digital bank? My response is that every company is different, with no two banks the same. Some are evolutionary and try to tinker with the current company structure; some are revolutionary, like mBank, and radically reorganise the current structure; whilst some are transformational, like BNP Paribas and Hello!, where the only way to create the new structure is through the launch of a new bank.
#3: Four big bank tech trends for 2015
I’m wrapping up predictions for 2015 with a touch on technology in banking, as that’s my space. Although most people are talking about the internet of things and wearables as hot, hot, hot, they’re not. In fact, I was reflecting upon the fact that the biggest game of 2014 was Candy Crush. Before that was Angry Birds. Before that was the Crazy Frog.
#2: Why Fintech Banks Will Rule The World
Whilst debating whether new fintech startups would eat the banker's lunch yesterday, I stumbled across a really interesting read by Philippe Gelis, co-founder and CEO of FX firm Kantox. It was so good that I asked Philippe if I could put it on the blog and he kindly agreed. Read and enjoy ...
#1: The fintech scene is so hot, it's boiling
I just picked up Silicon Valley Bank’s latest report on Fintech, and it makes fascinating reading. Here are the headlines: the fourth quarter of 2014 was the busiest time in fintech history, with 214 deals taking place globally …
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...
