The Finanser’s Week: 27th April – 3rd May 2026

This week’s main discussions include …

If people do not trust the system, they will not use it

I just got the LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) Risk Intelligence report which makes clear that we have crossed a line. Fraud is no longer something that happens at the edges of the financial system. It has become the system’s shadow twin, growing in lockstep with digital banking, instant payments and AI. The 2026 LSEG…

The problem with HSBC

I remember making a prediction twenty-five years ago that all of the biggest banks in the world would be Chinese. Unfortunately, I made this prediction at an American banking conference, when all of the biggest banks in the world were American. Twenty-five years earlier, or fifty years ago, all of the biggest banks were Japanese….

Does crypto create or destroy democracy?

The Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute (BISI) produced a document yesterday about the risk of cryptocurrency to democracy . Seriously? Cryptocurrency is a libertarian dream that gives all of us a democratic vote. What risk is there? Well, let’s dig into the detail as this is not about “innovation in payments” or “the future of…

Jamie Dimon: mine’s bigger than yours

I always remember walking into Barclays in Canary Wharf and having a Boardroom meeting. We looked over to HSBC and realised that they were bigger (200 metres versus 156). Then there was Citibank, also 200 metres. Bar stewards. But now there’s JPMorgan. The American bank is building a new tower that will be bigger than all of them …

What has made Poland so successful?

I hesitate to write this, as my Polish friends have been asking me to keep it secret – that is the Polish way, humble but hopeful – but, as a Brit who moved to Poland in 2018, I can see it: Poland is the leading country of Europe today. It is the country that supported…