The converse of KYC and AML is identity management. If we had effective identity management where everyone could be identified as a unique person with certainty and securely, we would not have the issue of AML and KYC given to the banking system. The issue with identity is that no-one wants to own the problem….
The real challenge for the banking system is how to protect their firewalls from attack by hacktivists, goverworms and cybercriminals and, conversely, how to deliver easy access to online banking for their clients and customers. It’s a real dilemma. On the one hand, everyone wants mobile access to his or her account balances and to…
Whilst consumers are electing the next major political leader via crowdsourced populism, governments and companies begin developing cyberarms. This cyberwarfare is already rife, with a host of malware targeting middle eastern nations (see end of blog entry). What is obvious from these developments is that cyberattacks are the new form of warfare that evades direct…
Standard Chartered paid off the new Sheriff of New York City, Benjamin Lawsky, to the tune of $340 million to get rid of the pest. As Investec's commentator Ian Gordon said yesterday, they “acted with pragmatism and integrity in the face of extreme provocation”. What really gets me here is the whole USA versus the rest…
So, unlike my prediction of just yesterday, the Diamond geezer has gone. Like a revolving door Marcus Agius, the Chair of Barclays Bank, resigned on Monday. Now, two days later, Bob Diamond has resigned and Agius is back. What is going on? Well, first there has been a massive public and political backlash against Barclays…
A short while ago, I mentioned that the Financial Services Club were to debate: This house believes that The City is full of greed and corruption. We had the debate last week, and it was excellent with Ian Fraser and Nick Kochan, two enigmatic investigative journalists of our time, proposing the motion. Ian Fraser (left) is an…
Just been reading this month’s Bloomberg Markets, with the lead story: “Woman Who Couldn’t Be Intimidated By Citigroup Wins $31 Million”. The story proves to be an intriguing in-depth analysis (4,000 words) and is not an indictment of Citigroup per se, but of the corporate mentality of any global business today. You may disagree with…
So I just had a meeting with a couple of heavyweights in the cybersecurity field. These guys are bank defenders, and very good at their jobs. Their mission: to keep cyberattacks to an acceptable level. Acceptable is a few basis points of total credit, let’s say under 0.7%. Fine. But it’s getting harder every day,…
