Blog Index

The main discussions on the blog this week include … Why old banks should be worried I had an interesting comment the other day from a friend who said that he had worked with incumbents and start-ups. The big difference is that the incumbent views digital as a cost-cutting exercise, whilst the start-up sees it…

This week’s main blog discussions include … What if cancel culture leads to being financially cancelled? I saw an interesting letter in Metro the other day: A world where you can be financially cancelled A thought on what is described as ‘cancel culture’. Once all money is digital, the ability will exist to cancel people…

This week’s main blog discussions include … The metaverse will be worth trillions I stumbled across an interesting white paper from Citi the other day saying that the metaverse is an $8 to $13 TRILLION opportunity: “The total addressable market for the Metaverse could be between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030, with total…

This week’s main blog discussions included: Banks are funding $750 billion worth of fossil fuel projects EVERY YEAR The new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III report has just come out. The report looks into the progress made in limiting global emissions and the available mitigation options across systems and sectors in…

This week’s main headlines include … Is technology making life better or worse? We had a big debate in our NFI group the other day about whether technology is improving our lives or making things much more complicated. It used to be that you could walk around without a mobile or laptop and life wasn’t…

This week’s main blog discussions include … How Facebook failed at finance I haven’t written much about Facebook’s digital currency Diem, as there’s not much to write about. A dead duck from day one, it would never succeed. I said so back when it launched in 2019: The bottom-line is that Facebook may have developed…

This week’s main blog discussions included … Financial sanctions: a reality check Some friends were applauding Visa and MasterCard’s decision to throw Russia off their payments networks over the weekend. Both companies handle 90% of all debit and credit card payments outside of China – and their announcements will deal another significant blow to the Russian…

The main blog discussions this week include … A SWIFT slap on the wrist During the weekend, there was some real action against Russia and specifically Vladimir Putin. The aim is to freeze Russia’s assets, worth around $630 billion, around the world. ‘A global financial pariah’: how central bank sanctions could hobble Russia The ban…

This week’s main blog discussions include … The last thing we need is for banks to innovate I stumbled across an interesting report by Clarivate who, using a statistical analysis, have identified the 100 most innovative companies in the world. Technology advancement is a complex composition of talent, of competition and of need. New ideas…

This week’s main blog discussions include … Should you have ‘bank’ in your brand? The Financial Brand published an interesting piece challenging the use of the word bank in a brand. It got me thinking, and agreeing with their summation, which is yes. Sure, you can have Chime, Chase, Citizens and Truist, but is that…