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Shaping the future of finance

The Finanser’s Week: 14th May 2018 – 20th May 2018

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The main blog headlines are …

Big bank thinking and the danger of the technology testing hole

Building on Friday’s blog about small bank thinking, there’s another anomaly that occurs with big banks which is their usual response to technology is to test it. The problem with testing technology is that it is just a test. A false implementation. It is not …

Suits you sir!

It’s very confusing these days. I turned up at a conference recently in a suit and tie and no one, literally no one, was wearing a suit or tie. No one had told me the dress code either, so I grinned and bared it. Then …

What is the preference: human or digital relationships?

I’ve often been hired to run a workshop or presentation at a bank’s boardroom meeting. Usually, I’m hired by the frustrated digital guy who wants to convince the rest of the leadership team that it’s important. They don’t get digital, he or she will tell …

It will be all right

I don’t know how generations think. I only know how my generation thinks, and they call my generation baby boomers. It’s a massive net that catches me, even though I feel like I’m Generation X – a punk and new romancer – but hey, marketing …

Why investment banks have the digital edge

For some years, I’ve been heavily involved in high frequency trading and quantitative trading, areas that are highly automated and pretty complex. I don’t blog about it much here, as it’s not appealing to the everyday person. It involves too much dialogue explaining acronyms used …

 

This week’s main news headlines are …

TSB customers complain about fraud alert failures - BBC
TSB customers who have had money taken from their accounts say they have not received alerts warning them of fraudulent activity.

Banks abandon interest-only home loans amid FCA scrutiny of 'mortgage prisoners' - The Telegraph

Are Apple, Amazon and Facebook the future of banking? - CNN
Watch out, big banks. Silicon Valley is targeting finance as the next industry ripe for disruption. In the not-too-distant-future, Amazon (AMZN) could let customers zap each other cash with Alexa, and then deposit the money in an Amazon-branded checking account.

TSB accused of 'dreadful response' to meltdown - BBC
Some customers are still struggling to make payments nearly four weeks after the bank's IT crisis began.

TSB rejected help from Lloyds at start of IT meltdown - The Guardian
Bank accused of ‘playing fast and loose’, as some users still report problems accessing accounts TSB turned down an offer of help from Lloyds Banking Group, its former owner, in the early stages of an IT meltdown that left up to 1.9 million online customers unable to access their accounts.

Singapore's Biggest Bank Takes on China Giants in Fintech Battle - Bloomberg
Piyush Gupta sees himself as uncomfortably close to the action in the battle between traditional banks and China’s insurgent fintech giants.

Banks are already bumping up against the limits of AI in lending decisions - Quartz
While big tech companies might not face regulation of their artificial-intelligence efforts in the US, banks trying to use AI still have to contend with reams of industry-specific rules, including laws ensuring equal treatment of customers.

Santander Will Roll Out New Online Bank In UK - PYMNTS.com
Santander, the Spanish banking giant and lender, is gearing up to launch a digital bank in the U.K. that is a standalone operation.

The UK economy’s slowdown is clear to all. Except the Bank of England - The Guardian
Mark Carney is not so much an unreliable boyfriend as a schoolboy who keeps getting his homework wrong. The Bank of England governor gave his quarterly review of the economy last week and yet again confounded earlier expectations that he would increase the cost of borrowing.

HSBC says performs first trade finance transaction using blockchain - Reuters
HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc said on Monday it had performed the world's first trade finance transaction using blockchain technology, a major step in boosting efficiency and reducing errors in the multi-trillion-dollar funding of international trade.

 

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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...

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