The main blog headlines are …
Will you avoid companies that put profit before people?
I’ve been writing a lot about purpose-driven banking, a theme that resonates around the idea that business focus should be more than just making money. It should also focus upon doing good for society and the planet. So, I was particularly struck by this quote …
Looking through the banking clouds
I remember some years ago that Nikolas Sarkozy wanted to bring in a law that would force call centre operators to tell French citizens where they were located, due to the backlash over offshore call centres. I wonder what he would make of today’s world, …
Should retail banks be retailers?
There’s a great write-up by one of my guest contributors Alex Johnson, about the bad sales culture of most banks. Admittedly, he says it’s partly inspired by my blog of last year about challenger banks, but his write-up takes it further and has a swipe …
Building the financial ecosystem one deal at a time
I have a few favourite FinTech firms: Ripple, Prosper, Lending Club, SoFi, Zopa, Monzo, N26, TransferWise, Klarna, Stripe, Alipay, WeBank and more. A lot of it is because I knew these firms as fledglings and have enjoyed watching them grow up. One firm in this …
What are you doing during the #lockdown?
We are all stuck indoors, and I wonder what you are doing? In my case, I’m learning a new language. What are you doing? One of they key things to do, and my other hobby, is keep up with ideas as, during this lockdown, there …
And the main news headlines are ….
How deep will downturns in rich countries be? - Economist
Those in central and southern Europe seem most vulnerable
Exclusive: New York taps McKinsey to develop 'Trump-proof' economic reopening plan - Reuters
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has hired high-powered consultants to develop a science-based plan for the safe economic reopening of the region that can thwart expected pressure from President Donald Trump to move more rapidly, state government sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Remote ID checks leave retail finance sector open to fraud - Financial Times
Guidance to accept scanned documents amounts to ‘money launderer’s charter’
IMF has no experience of recession arriving with such ferocity | Larry Elliott - Guardian
Recovery will take some time as countries will exit Covid-19 lockdown only gradually Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage In 1941, Britain considered its colony of Singapore to be pretty much impregnable. But while the naval base was bristling with big guns, its defences were geared towards
Exclusive: Stay off Zoom and Google Hangouts, Standard Chartered chief tells staff - Reuters
Standard Chartered Plc is the first major global bank to tell employees not to use Zoom Video Communications Inc during the coronavirus pandemic due to cybersecurity concerns, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
A Wall Street Bank’s Hard-Driving Culture Pushes Traders Into the Office - New York Times
Some employees at Bank of America’s New York headquarters say they fear pay cuts or job loss if they don’t show up and make money.
'Banks will behave better this time than during financial crisis' - The Guardian
Former Virgin Money boss Jayne-Anne Gadhia backs sector’s response to coronavirus as she launches finance app Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage In 2008, Jayne-Anne Gadhia was braving the banking crash. While lenders started falling like dominoes, she was steering the ship of Virgin Money, having left
Millions in UK having to choose between paying rent and eating, poll suggests - Guardian
Renters’ unions call on government to suspend rents for duration of coronavirus crisis ‘We felt the financial impact immediately’: case study Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Renters’ unions are calling on the government to suspend rents for the duration of the coronavirus crisis, as research suggests
With working Americans' survival at stake, the US is bailing out the richest - Guardian
Without significant oversight, Congress’s economic relief bill will leave millions of everyday Americans in financial peril Coronavirus – live US updates Live global updates See all our coronavirus coverage Amid a humanitarian crisis compounded by mass layoffs and collapsing economic activity, the last course our legislators should be following is
UK financial services looked gloomy even before Covid-19 crisis - Guardian
Banks, insurers and fund managers reported a drop in optimism, CBI survey finds Britain’s financial services sector suffered a drop in profits and a spike in bad debts even before the coronavirus prompted a countrywide lockdown. The latest CBI/PwC financial services survey paints a disappointing picture for the sector, with
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...
