Things we’re reading today include … A top banker’s defection from Credit Suisse to UBS is roiling Swiss banking Number of bank transfer scams in UK rises by 40% in a year ABN Amro under investigation for money laundering Banker’s wife who spent £16m in Harrods escapes extradition to Azerbaijan on …

It’s a weird world. I know lots of grumpy old men like me lament that, when we were growing up, we were left outside to run about as we felt, find our own way to and from school, were encouraged to read more and exercise, and such like. It seems …

Things we’re reading today include … A third of bank branches closed in less than five years Credit Suisse: watching the detectives Danske Bank: Ex-chief caught up in fraud probe found dead You never go to Pret … and 24 other signs you’ve reached financial maturity Monzo closes premium packaged …

I’m going to write the last of my blogs at this point on being purpose-driven to reference something that irks me a lot. Exclusivity. We have exclusivity a lot in life. The idea is that it creates ambition, hope, focus, hunger, direction and reward. We want the next airmile to …

Things we’re reading today include … Future of Fintech Why robots see no logic in betting against central bankers China’s shadow banking industry roars back The future of the global economy hinges on four games of chicken | Nouriel Roubini Can a computer fool you into thinking it is human? …

During my writing about a purpose-driven bank, I tried to find good examples of what purpose-driven actually means. Googling the question the number one result is from the Plato Project, who outline eight great purpose-driven organisations. The list is: Whole Foods “With great courage, integrity and love,” reads the higher …

Things we’re reading today include … The $100 Trillion Opportunity: The Race To Provide Banking To The World’s Poor Ex-Wall Street banker Sean Stewart guilty in second insider trading trial Why the index fund ‘bubble’ should be applauded Setback for Metro Bank as investors snub £250m bond sale Shaky start …

Building on my recent updates on sustainable finance and such like, it is interesting the word purpose consistently appears throughout the sub-text. Banks need a sense of purpose to attract talent; banks need to shift from shareholder focus to purpose focus; banks must no longer be socially useless but socially useful, …

Things we’re reading today include … Lloyds Bank’s fraud detection system ‘the Rat’ sniffs out scammers A bank you might like: apps’ unlikely pitch out to disrupt Australian habits Helena Morrissey tipped to succeed Carney at Bank of England A watershed moment for women as Alison Rose takes charge at …

The main blog headlines are … The two big issues bank CEOs have with FinTech For all the talk about how well FinTech start-ups are doing, I hear two regular laments from bank CEOs. First, why aren’t we valued like FinTechs? and second, why aren’t FinTechs regulated like us. On …

I was a bit agog and aghast at the recent announcement from 192 US CEOs, who said that stakeholders are now more important than shareholders. This focus upon stakeholders has been an emerging trend for over the past quarter century and here’s what these great US leaders said: Statement on …

Things we’re reading today include … Changing weather could put insurance firms out of business Brexit/City jobs: iffy on the Liffey U.S. stock exchange competition to heat up in 2020 with new entrants FCA attacked by research houses over Mifid II reforms Two British bankers are on trial in Germany’s …

There’s a comment that has stayed with me for a long time. It goes along the lines of if you’re earning $10 million a year then spending $10,000 is only the same as someone who earns $100,000 a year spending $100. It’s just relative. This often strikes me as I …

Things we’re reading today include … Cash strapped students targeted as money mules U.S. bankers seize on repo-market stress to push for softer liquidity rules Challenger bank Metro may be challenged on capital Why the Fed was forced to intervene in short-term money markets Consumers’ credit card spending ‘overtakes cash’ …

I saw a list on Facebook the other day about being old. It was a note that said: “How to tell when you’re an adult: you gain 30lbs overnight you’d rather sleep in than go out everything hurts comfort comes before style everything feels like a chore you’re always annoyed” …