The main blog headlines are …
It’s a big week of FinTech in Asia with Money 2020 China and the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) all taking place in the same week. One of the headlines emerging from SFF was an interview with Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple. The headline is from …
Banks and Telcos? Two become one!
Twenty years ago, I worked on a strategy for the future of banking. My conclusion was that banks would merge with telecommunications firms and become hybrid institutions. Twenty years later, it hasn’t happened. But will it? It was interesting because way back then I worked …
Account opening? Oh, 1-2-3. Easy as A-B-C. Not!
There’s nothing like a true story to bring a point home, so here’s my latest one. I’m starting a new venture. It’s a philanthropic thing, nothing to do with banking, but because we are seeking sponsorship, we need to open a bank account. I choose …
Legacy vendors are more of an issue than legacy systems
I often find myself in weird or frustrating situations that I don’t know how to break. For example, dealing with clients who require a Government Tax Residency Letter and multiple hurdles to be cleared before they can make payment; or dealing with American clients who want to pay me …
Direct Line: innovating InsurTech
At the conference I attended the other day, one speaker highlighted some InsurTech I’d not seen before but thought pretty cool. It’s a prototype service from Direct Line called Fleetlights. Fleetlights is an army of drones that light up the night skies and are designed …
This week’s top news headlines are …
IMF says governments could set up their own cryptocurrencies - The Guardian
Christine Lagarde praises rebel technology as ‘safe, cheap, and potentially semi-anonymous’ Governments should consider offering their own cryptocurrencies to prevent the systems becoming havens for fraudsters and money launderers , Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund said referring to the fast-growing fintech industry. Lagarde said central banks had
Australian court rejects regulator's record fine against Westpac - Reuters
An Australian court refused on Tuesday to approve a record A$35 million ($25 million) fine imposed on Westpac Banking Corp by the corporate regulator for using inappropriate calculations to determine if customers could afford home loans.
Top law firm linked to subject of UK's first unexplained wealth order - The Guardian
Mishcon de Reya advised British Virgin Islands company owned by Zamira Hajiyeva One of London’s most prestigious law firms and the Swiss arm of Barclays Bank provided services to an offshore company owned by a woman who has recently been named as the subject of the UK’s first unexplained wealth
The scandal of Goldman’s secret agent - Financial Times
Banks and consultants are tarnished by doing deals for foreign governments they should avoid
Goldman Sachs bankers 'cheated' Malaysia over 1MDB: PM Mahathir - Reuters
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said bankers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc "cheated" the country in dealings with state fund 1MDB and that U.S. authorities have promised to help return the fees the Wall Street bank earned from the fund.
Global share markets tumble amid fears the rise of big tech is over - Guardian
Apple shares were down 5% after suppliers cut their forecasts, causing the tech-heavy Nasdaq and other tech stocks to fall Stock markets in Asia have tumbled after a sharp selloff on Wall Street hit leading companies including Apple, Goldman Sachs and General Electric. With Monday’s losses, all three major Wall
EU regulators monitor big tech’s financial services foray - Financial Times
Move welcomed by bankers who complain of uneven playing field
Big banks respond to the fintech threat - Financial Times
Acquisitions, partnerships and ‘digital attacker’ approach are among the defences
Bank by bank, here's where the hiring and firing will happen next - eFinancial Careers
The redundancies have begun. As we reported yesterday, Berenberg has suddenly pulled the plug on its expansion plans and is dumping up to 20% of its staff in London. BNP Paribas has been at it too. Others will almost certainly follow. So who will survive until 2019?
Would you bank with Google, Amazon, Facebook or Apple? - Choice
Soon, going into a bank branch to speak to the manager about getting a loan will be as outdated as driving to Blockbuster to rent a VHS cassette.
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...
