Things we’re reading today include … HSBC to bring in single overdraft rate of 40% Created to democratise credit, P2P lenders are going after big money Peer-to-peer platform Landbay shuts doors to retail investors US and UK bust one of the worst cyber banking hacks in a decade, charging Russians …

Back in 1997, I was tasked with writing a strategy for NCR. The strategy had to review the likelihood that other industries would enter banking and what threat or opportunity this offered. I spent a long time on this and concluded that the most likely outcome would be that telecommunications …

Things we’re reading today include … One in five consumer credit reports contains an error HSBC customers could see overdraft fees quadruple under new regime Winklevoss crypto-exchange hires Starling co-founder Metro Bank chief to step down two months after chairman Zopa backer cuts valuation almost in half Wall Street power …

I’ve noted that the bitcoin swings and roundabouts tend to often cycle around the hope and expectation of the US SEC giving approval to a bitcoin ETF … only to find that they never do and so it goes around. In an interesting article by Dave Weisberger on Coindesk, there …

Things we’re reading today include … How robust is the world’s financial plumbing? Bank gives thumbs up to innovative payment method Trump Loses Appeal on Deutsche Bank Subpoenas ING Bank spell out use cases for digital currencies Zopa gets £140m investment amid pursuit of bank licence TSB fails to meet …

I’ve said on a number of occasions recently that banking and finance is at the heart of the climate crisis. Banks provide the financing for fossil fuel firms who are destroying the planet. The key numbers: Coal supplies a third of all energy worldwide, with the top coal consumers and producers in 2018 being China, …

Things we’re reading today include … Britain’s Best Bank Accounts TSB bonuses to be docked for failure to meet gender balance targets UK’s six richest people control as much wealth as poorest 13m – study Lagarde: ECB should do more to tackle climate emergency How big tech is dragging us …

Regular readers of the blog know that I’m a fanboy of Alibaba and their financial firm Ant Financial which operates Alipay, the major payments system of China. On November 11, they had their Singles Day jamboree. The equivalent in China of Black Friday, some say, but more than five times …

The main blog headlines are … Are banks adapting in the right way? I picked up a few innovative changes taking place this week within banks. In fact, I should point out that banks are not static beasts, as many claim. They are changing all the time, doing things all …

Building on my discussion yesterday about offshore tax havens and decentralisation to avoid governance in both the physical and virtual world, there’s a more fundamental issue at large here. Tax avoidance. Some people hear the words “a tax” and interpret it as “attacks”. I heard a figure the other day …

Things we’re reading today include … RBS takes on Monzo with standalone digital bank Bó It’s the end of the World Trade Organisation as we know it Barclays chief Jes Staley could have pension payment cut in half Loan sharks cash in on Black Friday spending spree Antony Jenkins and …

People were surprised to see a headline that garnered much market shock: Markets Crash after reports that Binances Shangai Office Closed in Crypto Crackdown Argh. Crypto meltdown! I was amused to see a headline that garnered much online mirth: Markets Crash after reports that Binances Shangai Office Closed in Crypto …

Things we’re reading today include … Revolut marketing boss says bank is not “untouchable” Lloyds plan to cut chief executive’s pay by £220,000 Wall Street hits record high after US GDP is revised up – business live Deutsche Bank offloads assets to Goldman in restructuring Ant Financial builds $1bn start-up investment …

Interesting conversation about switching accounts. I’ve had a few people saying that banks don’t have loyal customers, but they have trapped customers. By way of example, an email from a friend: I am just exactly as loyal to my bank as they are to me, which is to say not …

Things we’re reading today include … Major banks suffer five IT glitches a week, Which? finds Factbox: Five years of Australian finance scandals China’s bank funding pressured as confidence drops Exchanges pitch alternative to IPOs for fundraising Westpac bank chief quits amid money laundering scandal Citigroup fined £44m by Bank …