The main blog discussions this week include ...
Talking to the elephant in the room
Yes, we’re all doing stuff from our home offices. I don’t know what your office is like, but mine’s quite nice. I like it. Until I noticed a strange smell yesterday. Didn’t know what it was, so I had to look around the room a …
The post-COVID payments perspective [an interview with GPS]
I’ve talked about Global Processing Services, GPS, a few times now. They’re the power behind payments processing at several major start-ups like Curve, Revolut and Starling Bank. Anyway, during this crisis, I decided to have a chat with them in more depth and interviewed Shaun …
Why I’m fed up with blockchain
I’m winding people up with blockchain this week. As I was doing that, a song came back to me on regular occasion. A song about Blockheads. I went back to the song and re-read the lyrics. It’s about Essex Boys back in the 1970s. Not …
The name is Cohen … Stephanie Cohen
There have been two major announcements of women as leaders of banks in the USA in the past month. First, Citibank announced that Jane Fraser would be the new CEO and then Goldman Sachs announced that Stephanie Cohen would head up their consumer and wealth …
This House believes that companies should avoid politics
There’s an interesting debate about the corporate world: should it be apolitical or take a stance? Actually, in the form of a formal Oxford debating society version of this debate, I should say that: This House believes that companies should avoid politics Our first speaker …
It shows what a complex world we live in within our financial markets. We debate whether companies should get involved in politics, but banks cannot avoid politics. Banks are integral to governments and economies and, as such, are a political tool. Equally, banks choose to operate …
And the main news headlines are ….
IBM to split into two as it reinvents itself - BBC
The world's first big computing giant wants to focus on higher-margin businesses like the cloud and AI.
How banking giant NatWest adapted to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns - Business Live
We spoke to two key NatWest leaders in London and the South East to discuss how the bank had been changed by the pandemic - and about what comes next.
Digital bank for the well-heeled gets licence to build Monument - Sky News
A new digital lender that wants to capture a £200bn slice of Britain’s affluent savings market has secured its initial banking licence and is on the verge of closing a substantial funding round to help accelerate its rollout.
Credit Suisse apologises over black performer at party - BBC
The bank says no offence was intended, after reports that black ex-chief Tidjane Thiam walked out.
This startup is taking on big banks. And it's working. - CNN
The economic forces set off by the pandemic are crushing traditional banks. Yet Chime, a startup taking aim at big banks, is booming. And it doesn't have a single bank branch.
Credit Suisse apologises over black janitor act at chairman's party - Guardian
Bank’s former chief executive reportedly walked out of room during act at party last year A leading investment bank has apologised for “any offence caused” after it was reported that its black former chief executive left his chairman’s birthday party when a black performer dressed as a janitor danced on
Banks set for 'mass branch closures' as pandemic pushes more people online - Daily Mail
A longstanding campaigner for shared bank branches says the industry has little interest in ensuring that people have nationwide access to cash – and fears the country is facing further 'mass' branch closures.
How the Bank of England used quantitative easing to make £150bn disappear - Daily Mail
More than £150billion of free money has helped fund the Government's borrowing binge, a Mail on Sunday investigation can reveal.
Andy Haldane: the funnyman central banker who’s not great at maths – Guardian
Bank chief economist attracted attention with a quirky speech this week, but not for the first time Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage “I’m Andy, and I’m a central banker,” said Andy Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist, to a ripple of laughter as he began
Bank of England’s Andy Haldane has lost touch with reality - The Telegraph
How apt that Andy Haldane likes children’s folk stories. To listen to the Bank of England’s chief economist, you might wonder what fairy tale he’s living in at the moment. Or perhaps it was an acorn falling on his head that prompted a series of bizarre speeches from Haldane?
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...
