Due to various connections, I was asked to deliver the opening keynote speech at the United Nations High Level Political Forum last week (some coverage here). It was one of those rare occasions where I got nervous, looking out at the faces of dignitaries from nations all over the world. …

Things we’re reading today include … French financial regulator wants more flexible market rules U.S. proposes barring big tech companies from offering financial services, digital currencies City regulator fines balloon to £320m in six months Will Mark Carney and George Osborne vie for the top IMF job? Partial ECM exit …

The main blog headlines are … Two weeks to pay someone? Luxury! Being raised on Monty Python, an old sketch popped into my head (The Four Yorkshire Men) and led to a thought. A grandfather and grandson are at the dinner table … Grandfather: Ah, when I was a lad, life …

A lot of discussion at the United Nations, where I’ve been all week (blogging about that next week), has raised the question of Libra, the Facebook digital currency. I’m avoiding calling it a cryptocurrency, as it’s more a stablecoin that is focused upon transactions, which is why it has Visa, …

A few years ago, I posted a guest article from Philippe Gelis, co-founder and CEO of FX firm Kantox, on Why FinTech Banks will rule the world. It was very popular and made my top ten posts of 2015, and Philippe has been kind enough to let me share another …

Things we’re reading today include … Digital banks seek to turn popularity into profits At a Grim Moment for Banking Jobs, Citigroup Says It’s Hiring HSBC urged to apologise after boss praised Chinese regime Kids empty their parents’ bank account trying to buy Lionel Messi on FIFA 19 Making banking …

I often talk about the world changing thanks to young people who can code. My examples include John and Patrick Collison, Stripe, who were 19 and 21 when they started their business; Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail, who were in their mid-20’s when they created Venmo; Nicolay Storonsky, who was …

Things we’re reading today include … What’s the point of a bank if it won’t accept cash? Piper Jaffray buys rival investment bank Sandler O’Neill for $485m Critics round on Deutsche Bank for golden parachutes Deutsche Bank bosses fitted for £1,200 suits as thousands lose their jobs Christine Lagarde’s arrival …

The next day, the grandson came to visit his grandfather again, and immediately returned to the conversation of yesterday. Grandson: Granddad, you know you were talking about how money and banking used to be. Well, I think it’s a lot better today. Granddad: How so, lad? Grandson: Well, a good …

Things we’re reading today include … Big ax falls as Deutsche Bank to lay off 18,000 in $8.3 billion ‘reinvention’ What went wrong at Deutsche Bank? Deutsche Bank shares rise as 18,000 global job cuts begin One-fifth of sole traders close down within a year – study Half of UK …

Being raised on Monty Python, an old sketch popped into my head (The Four Yorkshire Men) and led to a thought. A grandfather and grandson are at the dinner table … Grandfather: Ah, when I was a lad, life was very different. Grandson: In what way, grandad? Grandfather: Well, we used …

The main blog headlines are … How can you be AI with DD? No, I don’t mean Attention Deficit Disorder, which would be ADD, but I mean Artificially Intelligent with Dumb Data. Now, I know I moan on and on about fragmented legacy systems, but I honestly have no idea …

No, I don’t mean Attention Deficit Disorder, which would be ADD, but I mean Artificially Intelligent with Dumb Data. Now, I know I moan on and on about fragmented legacy systems, but I honestly have no idea how a bank could ever be able to compete with an Apple or …

Things we’re reading today include … In Brexit Britain, battling home lenders chase risk and pensioners Nearly half of global wages received by top 10%, survey finds Osborne thinks he could run the IMF. Maybe gaslighting a country is a useful skill | Faiza Shaheen European financial services leads charge …

Building on yesterday’s blog about reports that are useful, I just found another one from UK Finance (formerly the British Bankers Association) on how they see AI in banking, released last week. The report is in two parts that address what they see as the two key issues banks face …