The main blog headlines are …
No, I don’t mean Attention Deficit Disorder, which would be ADD, but I mean Artificially Intelligent with Dumb Data. Now, I know I moan on and on about fragmented legacy systems, but I honestly have no idea how a bank could ever be able to …
AI in banking: the pitfalls and opportunities (research paper)
Building on yesterday’s blog about reports that are useful, I just found another one from UK Finance (formerly the British Bankers Association) on how they see AI in banking, released last week. The report is in two parts that address what they see as the …
Mobile first is a no brainer, but what is digital first?
An interesting report came out this week saying that UK consumers would access mobile banking apps more often than branches in the next two years. It got covered on the BBC, Sky News and lots of other media, but I was thinking in the next …
Fintech foundations lie with both financial and technology people
I was talking to a Securitisation conference the other day. Securitisation? What’s that? Well, I could explain but if you don’t know google it and you’ll find it’s one of those areas of financial markets that destroyed economies a decade ago and left us all …
I’ve been involved in finance and technology for a long, long time. Originally, I was a technologist; then a financial technologist; and now a FinTech guy. However, I see the FinTech piece as being irrelevant. Whether it’s FinTech or TechFin, it’s all still just finance …
And the top news headlines this week are …
Japan payment systems: paper qualifications - Financial Times
Trying to wean people off cash is a huge challenge
Why Facebook's Libra currency gets the thumbs down | Joseph Stiglitz - The Guardian
Only a fool would trust Facebook with their financial wellbeing. But maybe that’s the point of the Libra currency Facebook and some of its corporate allies have decided that what the world really needs is another cryptocurrency, and that launching one is the best way to use the vast talents
EU leaders choose France's Lagarde for ECB after marathon summit - Reuters
European Union leaders agreed on Tuesday to name France's Christine Lagarde as the new head of the European Central Bank and sealed a deal on filling the EU's other top four jobs after marathon talks that have exposed deep divisions in the bloc.
Funding Circle bins the boasts as Brexit bites - The Guardian
Lending platform’s revenue growth forecasts have halved as demand for small business loans dries up Help your business fly, say the TV ads for Funding Circle. As if to show what’s possible, the online lending platform had itself valued at a remarkable £1.5bn in the flotation last year . Investors
The Guardian view on Facebook’s Libra: funny money | Editorial - Guardian
This audacious attempt to launch a privately controlled currency may come to nothing. We should hope it does Facebook’s proposed digital currency, the Libra , is the latest attempt by a big western technology firm to weaken the reach and power of national governments. The promise is that the company’s
Neil Woodford's refusal to budge over fund fees is breathtaking | Nils Pratley - Guardian
Management charges will continue even though unit holders cannot access their investments The song remains the same from Neil Woodford. The gates will remain closed on his Equity Income Fund, meaning unit holders still can’t access their investments. But management fees will continue to be charged because Woodford’s operation still
Financial regulation is costly and complex – time for a big tech solution - Guardian
Cryptocurrencies, new payment systems and digital banking all signal a financial revolution that needs better oversight Banking supervision teams at the Bank of England “now receive the equivalent of twice the entire works of Shakespeare of reading each week”. So says Huw van Steenis, the author of Future of Finance
Nick Leeson: lucrative new life of banking’s most notorious rogue - The Guardian
Twenty years after leaving jail for bringing down Barings Bank, the ex-trader has a new life in Ireland – but not everyone has forgiven him Twenty years after he emerged from jail as the world’s most notorious rogue trader, not everyone has forgiven Nick Leeson. The boy from Watford who
Mobile banking to overtake high street branch visits in two years - The Guardian
Rapid uptake means banking via an app rather than visiting your bank in person will become the mainstream by 2021 Mobile banking is set to be more popular than visiting a high street bank branch within two years, according to new forecasts, highlighting how technology is transforming the way Brits
Catch-22 and the real and immediate danger of Brexit - Guardian
The increasing absurdity of the Tory party’s march towards isolation would need Joseph Heller to do it justice ‘There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of
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...
