The Finanser’s Week: 7th December 2020 – 13th December 2020

The main blog discussions this week include …

The Omniaccess Future (Free Research Report)

The new word of focus, as proven by research, is omniaccess. Forget omnichannel. We just performed a short survey about the views of banks and FinTechs regarding the pandemic, sponsored by Oracle. The results are out today and here’s the summary: 48% believe the change from …

We need some Zoom etiquette

Do you switch video on or not? 2020 has seen the big switch to video conferencing. Why didn’t we do it before? We’ve had video conferencing available on our phones and PC’s for years. Why is it we only switched this year? Because we are …

The People’s Republic of the Network

I’ve talked a lot about GloLo – the integration of local with global. This is where physical and digital come together, and has clearly been demonstrated during the pandemic. I’m local – locked in and not going anywhere – but I’m global – I’m video-calling …

Facebook’s Diem is a shadow of Libra

I guess that Facebook caused many central banks to realise that if they didn’t issue digital currencies then others would. Hence, why most central banks are issuing them. But it’s not an either-or scenario. “We will see in the not-too-distant future a sovereign digital currency …

Stripe: the Amazon of finance?

I hadn’t realised the significance of Stripe’s recent press release until I stumbled over the Stratechery write-up over the weekend. Stratechery points out that Stripe has gone from a simple merchant checkout API to a platform of platforms. The significance of that? Well, think of …

 

And the main news headlines are ….

Money expert Martin Lewis urges regulation of buy now, pay later firms - Guardian
Klarna is biggest of BNPL firms including ClearPay and LayBuy Money guru Martin Lewis has warned of an “explosion” of buy-now, pay-later companies which he said were targeting the under-30s and getting them into debt. Lewis told MPs in a House of Commons select committee hearing that regulation was urgently

Leading cybersecurity firm is hacked - NPR
When governments or companies around the world get hacked, the cyber-security firm FireEye often gets called to come in and investigate. But the California-based company said Tuesday that its own cyber defenses suffered a major breach by what it believes was a "state-sponsored attack."

Economic cost of Covid crisis prompts call for one-off UK wealth tax - Guardian
Tax experts and economists outline ‘fairest, most efficient’ way to repair public finances and quickly raise £260bn The government has been urged to launch a one-off wealth tax on millionaire households to raise up to £260bn in response to the coronavirus pandemic, as the crisis damages Britain’s public finances and

Future of the City: how London’s reach will shrink after Brexit - Financial Times
In the first of a series, Jonathan Ford explores the history of a financial powerhouse and the potential impact of leaving the EU

Deutsche Bank head of accounting steps aside over Wirecard allegations - Financial Times
German lender temporarily replaces former EY partner Andreas Loetscher as probe into accounting scandal escalates

Revolut on track for profits as regulators and investors switch focus - Financial Times
Chairman Martin Gilbert says cryptocurrency revenue has grown as foreign exchange has shrunk

Next generation behind family offices’ ESG push - Financial Times
Transfer of wealth will place trillions of dollars under the control of millennials in the coming decades

Bank of England economist Andy Haldane says Britons have saved bundles of cash during the pandemic - Daily Mail
Families built up £100billion of 'excess savings' in lockdown and are already spending it, a senior Bank of England official has claimed. A nationwide spending spree could help the economy to recover more quickly than forecasters have predicted, the Bank's chief economist Andy Haldane said.

BBVA-Sabadell merger talks cap decade of forced consolidation for Spanish banks - El Pais
Spain’s BBVA bank and the smaller Sabadell are in talks for a potential merger that would create a lender with €860 billion in global assets, deducting the upcoming sale of BBVA’s US division.

Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek took bank lending decision - Financial Times
Former chief operating officer took crucial credit decision without having formal role at Bafin-regulated lender