The main blog headlines are …
Banks need to be technology giants
I got into one very interesting discussion with a digital banker. He was underscoring how important data is in banking, and referenced the fact that banking started with data. It started as a ledger system a thousand years ago so that pilgrims could travel to …
I often talk about changing core systems, and most people tell me I’m mad. It doesn’t have to happen. You can have an overlay of middleware to deal with it. You don’t need to change those old systems. It’s too risky and too costly. Blah, …
Financial literacy is the scourge of our times
One of the issues I have with financial services is that it’s frightening. You might not think so, but I grew up in a world of cushioned money. I didn’t know much about money at all. The most I knew about money is begging for …
The CEO and Chair make digital banking work
I claim that most of the banks embracing true digital transformation and not just treating digital as a channel, are led by people who understand technology. They have a leadership team who are passionate about digitalisation, and see it as a core raison d’etre of …
An important announcement about the Financial Services Club
During the second half of 2018, we were trying to work out the future of the Financial Services Club in light of one of our founders, Andy Coppell’s retirement. We have now made an agreement with Z/Yen, the long respected City research and consulting firm, …
And the top news headlines this week are …
E.C.B. Takes Reins of Italian Bank to Prevent Wider Crisis - New York Times
The European Central Bank took control of a troubled Italian bank Wednesday, an unprecedented step that spotlighted the risks to the eurozone’s financial system from political chaos in Rome and a sputtering economy.
Ripple Has Signed Up A Bank To Use XRP For Payments. So What? - Forbes
According to press reports, Ripple has finally managed to persuade a bank to adopt its XRP token. Euro Exim Bank ...
Man Quits Job At Bank And Turns Up In Spider-Man Costume On Last Day - LAD Bible
How you behave on your last day in a job depends greatly on the circumstances you are leaving under. For some, it is a day for teary farewells and reminiscing, for others ...
Metro Bank loan blunder perplexes industry - Risk.net
Bankers are struggling to understand how Metro Bank misclassified billions of pounds in commercial real estate and buy-to-let property loans for capital-allocation purposes ...
Anne Boden’s Good Bank, Bad Bank is scrapped - The Times
Good Bank, Bad Bank by Anne Boden, chief executive of Starling Bank, was to have been published by Penguin in March.
Bank of England pleaded with not to give Nicolas Maduro $1.3 billion in gold - The Telegraph
Mother’s lifesaving surgery stopped at last minute because her bank blocked payment for operation - The Independent
A British mother’s lifesaving neuro-surgery in America had to be cancelled while she was being prepped for the operation – because her bank blocked payment after an automatic fraud alert was generated.
Bank’s Refusal to Release $1.2B of Venezuelan Gold Strengthens the Case for Bitcoin - Bitcoin news
Venezuela’s economic crisis is impossible to ignore. President Nicolás Maduro’s attempt to withdraw $1.2 billion of the country’s own gold from the Bank of England (BoE) has been rejected.
Over the Hill: why Metro Bank and its founder are past it - Financial Times
When Vernon Hill left the US banking scene in 2007, a cloud hung over him: he had been forced out by regulators following a probe of the relationship between Commerce Bank, which he part-owned and headed, and his own personal business interests.
Lloyds unveils 100% mortgage for first-time buyers - Guardian
Purchasers need no deposit if family can back the loan by moving 10% of price into bank’s saver account Britain’s biggest lender is to offer 100% mortgages to first-time buyers in a return to lending last seen before the financial crash – but only if the buyer has family that
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...
