Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

For years, we’ve talked about banks having a spaghetti systems structure aligned to a line of business product-centric organisation, that focuses upon the internal sales process rather than the customer. It’s true, but it’s due to the longevity of many banks. Some banks are over …

Things we’re reading today include … Britcoin’ not bitcoin? UK considers new digital currency The Bank of 2030: a revolution for customers Starling Bank Valued at £1.4billion Following Goldman Sachs Investment This Under The Radar California Crypto Bank Just Reported Record Earnings China to require …

I’ve recently contributed to an Oracle report, providing the foreword – the report can be downloaded here – and highlights how data is changing the financial services landscape, and how banks can: thrive in the face of ravenous competition from digital banks, fintechs and tech …

Things we’re reading today include … The Coming Bank-Bitcoin Boom: Americans Want Cryptocurrency From Their Banks Wall Street banks brace for digital dollars as the next big disruptive force Bank of England to consider digital money plan If the Bank of England launched its own …

I got a bit itchy during the weekend and ended up sitting and writing about bitcoin, dogecoin, crypto and more. It all started when I caused a twitter debate by posting this tweet: Highly recommended for central banks and governments pic.twitter.com/K880JWavCD — Chris Skinner (@Chris_Skinner) …

Things we’re reading today include … How a typo wiped £3billion from banking giant Barclays Idea of central bank digital currency gains traction among more countries China to expand digital yuan experiments HSBC Top Staff to Hot Desk at HQ as Bank Scraps Executive Floor …

This week’s main blog stories include … Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google … Coinbase? I was reflecting, which is dangerous. I was reflecting on my antipathy towards bitcoin as, like most bankers, it appeared to be a bit of a scam with no asset behind it. …

I was reflecting, which is dangerous. I was reflecting on my antipathy towards bitcoin as, like most bankers, it appeared to be a bit of a scam with no asset behind it. Then I woke up to what the libertarians have been saying to me …

Things we’re reading today include … Profits at America’s banks are sky-high Challenger bank N26 to offer insurance products Fintech Wise in talks with regulators over direct UK listing From PensionBee to Darktrace, women are making a fortune in a male-dominated world – the Queens …

OK, I’m a Victor Meldrew and have several pet hates. In particular, people who use corporate-speak … Source: Forbes In banking, there are two terms I hate: channel (and all of its derivatives like omnichannel and mulitchannel) and, more recently, embedded. Folks who regularly read the …

Things we’re reading today include … Good and Exciting Times for Banks … also Coinbase, Archegos and Citi’s $900 million JPMorgan Profit Soars to Record After Bank Releases Reserves for Bad Loans Trading and investment banking drive jump in Goldman revenues Coinbase Floats All Crypto …

I just rang my pension fund. I realised that I’ve paid £1000’s into the fund, but hadn’t had a statement recently. I also realised I couldn’t login online, as I’d forgotten the details. Once someone picked up the phone, which took a while, they took …

Things we’re reading today include … Bank of America plans to raise $1 trillion for climate action by 2030 Credit and Climate Top Mike Mayo’s Bank Earnings Watchlist The World’s Best Banks 2021: Financiers To The Looming Economic Recovery Bigger Not Always Better for Bank …

Following on from why startups will fail if they compete head-to-head with a bank, I got this headline the other day saying that smaller banks have the happiest customers. The latest analysis of feedback and complaints data conducted by consumer website Fairer Finance shows that big …

Things we’re reading today include … The war against money-laundering is being lost Why banks are closing their high street branches Deutsche Bank dodges bullets and goes mainstream Security vulnerabilities are common in bank mobile apps Bank of England tops private investors as biggest holder …

WARNING: THIS IS WOKE (whatever that is) We talk a lot about diversity and LBTG+ and equality, but it’s still a long way off. In fact, I get annoyed when I see online forms with gender and title choices designed for the last century. Why …

Things we’re reading today include … Woman arrested for refusing to return $1.2million deposited in her bank account by mistake Atom Bank mulls listing via Spac ahead of IPO plans Monetarists fear inflation spiral as Bank of England stokes an economic boom Bank of America …

This week’s main blogs include … Another view: any start-up that challenges a bank will fail We talk a lot these days about neobanks, challenger banks, bank disrupters, bank disintermediation, banks will fail and such like. I have a contrarian view, for a change, and …

I’ve not talked much about bitcoin on the blog lately*, but I have tweeted a lot about it. The key take-away? It’s not going away. People have said bitcoin is dead thousands of times. In fact, there’s a website dedicated to the subject, tracking and …

Things we’re reading today include … Prince William: Banks must do more to protect environment Banks should invest in nature to fight climate crisis, says Prince William Extinction Rebellion smash windows of Barclays Bank HQ JP Morgan chief predicts shift to non-bank lending OneSavings Bank …

I read Jamie Dimon’s shareholder letter with interest this week. His message does not read like a shareholder letter from a banker …   Banks “are facing extensive competition from Silicon Valley, both in the form of fintechs and Big Tech companies (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, …

Things we’re reading today include … Credit Suisse removes senior executives after $4.7bn Archegos losses Credit Suisses’s woes are a contrast to Deutsche Bank’s heavy hiring Banks pledge to fight climate crisis – but their boards have deep links with fossil fuels British Challenger Bank …

We talk a lot these days about neobanks, challenger banks, bank disrupters, bank disintermediation, banks will fail and such like. I have a contrarian view, for a change, and believe that any start-up that challenges a bank will fail. As I say, it’s a contrarian …

Things we’re reading today include … Nine-in-ten bank boards lack professional technology experience Danske Bank reprimanded by UK competition watchdog Lloyds chief Horta-Osorio has his work cut out as he prepares for one of banking’s toughest jobs The unsolved £26.5 million bank job that traumatised …

Welcome to the World of Next A few years ago, a friend of mine had an idea. It was to create a digital exchange between anything that anyone believed was of value. You may value USD, €, CN¥ or other currencies. Equally you may value …

Things we’re reading today include …. Extinction Rebellion to step up campaign against banking system Central banks should turn green Five things you need to know about open banking EU banking system ‘teetering on collapse’ Has the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) failed Australians? Credit …

I blogged the other day about a $3 trillion spending spree, that I just didn’t see happening. The points I made were: it is the higher income families who have been most comfortable during this lockdown, along with essential workers who have seen no change …

Last year, I blogged about the view of Deutsche Bank regarding the future of payments. They produced three reports: Part I: Cash: The Dinosaur Will Survive… For Now Part II: Moving To Digital Wallets And The Extinction Of Plastic Cards Part III: Digital Currencies: The …