The main blog discussions this week include …
Happy New Year 2021! Here’s what’s going to happen …
After a year where every day felt like Groundhog day – same shit, different day (SSDD) – I’m hoping that 2021 will be different – different shit, every day (DSED). I’m not complaining, but 2020 was pretty awful. Some loved it – more time at …
The outlook for banking in 2021
There are lots and lots and lots of reports and predictions for 2021 in banking. The one I liked the best is the report from Standard & Poor’s (S&P, see end of blog) about the impact of the crisis in 2020 and the outlook for …
As regular readers will know, I quite like Global Processing Services (GPS), the payments processing firm behind many of the leading FinTechs I deal with. So, when they sent me their views of 2021 trends for FinTech and payments, how could I resist? Enjoy! Four …
Five 2021 technology predictions
I was looking for any decent reports on the big tech trends for 2021 and first of all stumbled upon an interesting report from 2017. This was for the World Economic Forum, who surveyed 800 experts on their views of the key technologies for the …
What will happen to bitcoin and crypto this year?
Andreesson Horowitz’s Chris Dixon shared a presentation about crypto and blockchain during the holiday break. What are blockchains good for? from Chris Skinner It’s very good, but I’m not going to make big predictions about tokenisation, regulation and the price of bitcoin in January …
The 2020 Fintech Year in Review
I said I was on holiday, which I am, but noticed a very nice round up of 2020’s biggest Fintech news stories by Abraham A. Tachjian, who writes at ATonFinTech.com. I felt it was a good way to end the year and Abraham kindly said …
Happy holidays and all that, see you in 2021
These are my favourite seasonal ecards to wish you a happy holidays, and here’s to a great next year (where was 2020? did it happen?) … From Tom Fishburne, The Marketoonist From Matt Cartoons From Dave Birch From George Lucas
2021: things can only get better
This is my last blog of 2020, so I thought I would look back at the year with a personal view. A terrible year. A year of locked down loneliness for many. In my case, it’s been hard. I am used to being in a …
I was chatting with a friend the other day, who pointed out my predictions. I don’t like to talk about them, as I’ve made so many, but he focused upon how accurate most of them have been. I was one of the first to talk …
These are the top 11 most read blogs of 2020 … unsurprisingly, they are mainly about digital transformation and the biggest challengers out there: Monzo, Starling, Revolut, Ant and company; although this year’s #1 will surprise you as it’s nothing to do with finance and …
And the main news headlines are ….
Elon Musk's six secrets to business success - BBC
Six principles that have helped Elon Musk become the richest person on the planet.
“Evil mobile emulator farms” used to steal millions from US and EU banks - Ars Technica
Researchers from IBM Trusteer say they’ve uncovered a massive fraud operation that used a network of mobile device emulators to drain millions of dollars from online bank accounts in a matter of days. The scale of the operation was unlike anything the researchers have seen before.
Trump's private bankers resign from Deutsche Bank - CNN
The private bankers responsible for lending to President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner have resigned from Deutsche Bank, the bank said.
How UK finance can thrive after Brexit - Financial Times
City of London needs robust but pragmatic regulation to spur new growth
Data-hungry fintech firms urge FCA to ‘break’ banks this year - City AM
A coalition of London startups is calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to end the dominance of banking institutions over the use of consumer data this year. The firms argue it would increase competition in the savings, credit, mortgages and pensions markets.
How four of this year's Transformers helped the world's biggest banks survive —and thrive—in the pandemic - Business Insider
In traditional investment banking, UBS' head of investment bank technology, Zoe Evans, is leading a new way of working through the bank's "hybrid pod" model — a cross-functional business model designed to enhance collaboration.
EU share trading flees London on first day after full Brexit - Financial Times
Nearly €6bn of dealing rerouted to newly created European hubs and primary exchanges
Why Your 2021 Resolution Should Be to Buy More Bank Stocks - Motley Fool
On the surface, banks did not fare very well in 2020. Most bank indexes are down year to date, while the S&P 500 is up more than 14%. But considering the gravity of the situation presented by the coronavirus pandemic, banks held up pretty well in an economic scenario that was unimaginable not too long ago.
UK banks to launch wave of green products - Financial Times
British banks are launching a wave of climate-change products and tightening lending standards amid criticism over their slow response to global warming.
The best (and the worst) that could happen to your money this year - Guardian
As we bid farewell to 2020, with its gains for those who could keep working, and losses for those who were furloughed or put out of work, what could 2021 hold? The past year was a strange one for household finances: while savings rates plummeted to new lows , and
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...
