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Digital Bank

What do banks need to do to deal with FinTech?

I picked up an article talking about 16 Ways Banks Will Need To Change To Survive Advances In Fintech in Forbes. It’s a survey of an expert panel that cites that banks must do the following action points: Become Nimble And Decentralized Incentivize Culture Change Combine Security With Blockchain Technology Lean Into People-Centric Customer Service Provide…

Banking: am I bothered?

I am sometimes a Luddite. Today is that day. I woke up and found that a payment was made via a direct debit for a service I no longer use. It’s an annual payment, and I’d forgotten to cancel it. It was for $500. I was irritated, to say the least. I then realised I…

What are Stablecoins?

The Federal Reserve issued a paper about stablecoins at the end of January. There’s lots of good content there, but I particularly liked the way in which they opened the discussion which I have copied here (for full report click here). The basics of stablecoins Stablecoins are digital currencies recorded on distributed ledger technologies (DLTs),…

Does the regulator think that banks are clouding the issues?

During the lockdown, banks moved rapidly to sign cloud contracts. Thing is they were signing with the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft, but these are all American firms. Where are the European ones? I raised this issue two years ago, but it is now coming to a head as new rules require banks to…

On the trail of the lonesome bank …

Banks are loners. They do it all internally. They don’t want outsiders stepping in. Too much risk. Leave us alone. Thing is, that doesn’t work anymore. Today, banks are just a component on the network of finance. They are just part of an ecosystem on a platform. Do they understand this? I don’t think so…

Have big banks lost the plot?

I’ve said for some years that digital challenger banks will not break the stranglehold of the big banks on the retail banking space. Am I wrong? According to a new report by the UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FSA), things are changing fast. Around one in 12 (8%) personal current accounts are now held…

What would you spend $12 billion on?

I was intrigued by the announcement by JPMorgan Chase that they’re spending $12 billion on technology this year. Admittedly, I’ve been tracking this and it seems to go up by around a billion year-on-year. Although this is up 25% on 2020, the bank had said they were investing $11 billion in 2019. And they’re not…

A great list of central bank thinking about digital currencies (#CBDC)

Madhvi Mavadiya, Head of Content at Finextra, just posted a great list of developments in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). She promises to keep it updated and the link is here. It covers every country from Antigua to Curaçao to Iran. 80 countries in all. As my main interests are in the leading financial centres,…

The End Of Digital Transformation In Banking

Ron Shevlin, now Chief Research Officer at Cornerstone Advisors, a US research and consulting firm, posted a fascinating article based on his research the other day. Supposedly, banks and credit unions in America think they’re are doing digital transformation. Interestingly, less think they’re doing it today than a few years ago. Here are Ron’s thoughts:…

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