The main blog headlines are …
Are humans really needed for banking?
I enjoy being around bankers who have been immersed in the industry nearly all of their lives and hearing their war stories. I heard two stories recently from a retiring banker, and thought it worth sharing to show just how far we’ve come. This friend …
The term The Internet of Things (IoT) was first used twenty years ago. Twenty years later, IoT is emerging rapidly. We have our cars and homes networked but, more than this, we have gadgets like Google Home, Siri and Alexa. Amazon has taken this even …
Silicon Valley is eating the crumbs the banks left after lunch
I saw a write-up in The Financial Times the other day on how Silicon Valley is eating the banker’s lunch. The article was written by Tom Braithwaite. Tom Braithwaite is the companies editor, managing the FT’s business coverage. Based in London, he was previously a …
The future of The City of London
As I walk around The City, I’m often finding new buildings, new developments and major erections rising around the Square Mile. On that latter note, I don’t mean Boris Johnston, but major new office blocks. Obviously, with Brexit, a lot of people would think that …
AI is not a technology change but a cultural one
I just picked up a Financial Times article talking about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change the way you deal with money. It’s actually more about the Chinese internet giant Ping An, and how they’re changing finance using AI. If you are a customer of …
And the top news headlines this week are …
Deutsche Bank clamps down on hiring amid €7.4bn restructuring - City AM
Deutsche Bank is tightening its procedures for new hires as it undergoes a major restructuring and headcount reductions. According to an internal memo seen by news agency Reuters ...
Contactless cards could get fingerprint upgrade - BBC
The technology could give a further layer of security when paying with your card in shops.
Monzo customers to receive salaries a day early under new feature from app-only bank - Independent
Monzo current account customers will receive their salaries a day early under a new service from the app-only bank. Salary payments will enter customers’ accounts at 4pm on the day before they would normally be received ...
Barclays tops list of banks with most IT shutdowns - BBC
British banks experienced more than 10 outages a month in the past year, BBC analysis of new data reveals.
IT outage leaves UK bank customers unable to pay bills - Financial Times
US payments company TSYS apologises for problems that hit RBS, Nationwide and Tesco Bank
ECB Says the Next European Bank Hack Is Just a Matter of Time - Bloomberg
A senior official at the European Central Bank warned that banks embracing external data storage and other digital technology need to face an uncomfortable truth: there’s a good chance they’ll get hacked
Is mobile banking app Monzo too good to be true? - Spectator
It comes as little wonder then that since launching in 2015, Monzo has picked-up some two million current account customers, is valued at two billion pounds, and now has its sights set on cracking America.
HSBC: Chinese headwinds threaten to blow bank off course - Financial Times
When Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador to the UK, gave an address at HSBC’s Chinese new year party in February, he was full of praise for the bank. He lauded the company for “spreading confidence in China through its concrete actions”.
Bank of England boss Mark Carney pulls out of UK-China dinner - City AM
Councillor Richard Crossan said: “The City must use this event to remind China of its responsibilities on human rights, democracy and free speech in Hong Kong ...
‘Workaholic’ Alison Rose poised to take on the ‘toughest role in banking’ to become the first female boss of RBS - The Telegraph
It wasn’t long after RBS’s £45bn bailout at the height of the financial crisis, the largest banking rescue in history, that the lender’s new chairman noticed an employee who stood out. Alison Rose, a banker in her late thirties who had joined almost two decades earlier, was starting to make her mark.
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...
