Future

Way back in March 2020 – what month is it now? – I said that lockdown would be a challenge for all. Obviously. Now, so many months later – what year is it now? – it is clear that has challenged all. Personally, I see two massive rifts: the physical and the digital. In the…

Stumbling over an interesting article about bank consolidation in Europe, reminded me of Francisco Gonzalez’s (former Chair of BBVA) prediction that there’s only enough room for a maximum of fifty banks globally. I don’t believe either. As written about yesterday, banks don’t disappear. They don’t die. For over a quarter of a century, there’s been…

Have you noticed how people talk about disruption more and more, and note the collapse of companies like Blockbuster, Kodak, Nokia and Thomas Cook? In fact, there are more companies entering and leaving the stock market lists than ever before, with the average tenancy now under two decades compared to six decades or more in…

No politics from my side here, but just reflecting on the politics of America. The US election – whatever your view of its process and outcome – leaves us with a different perspective on financial markets and, specifically, on FinTech start-ups and funding. Looking at US dollar rates, they’ve been driving down during the build-up…

I reported last week Jack Ma’s rant at the banking industry as having Basel Accords created by “an old people’s club” and that banks have a “pawnshop” mentality. I said that I agree with his sentiment – which I do – but it ain’t what you say, it’s the way that you say it and…

Yet again, I’m returning to the story of branches. There are so many reports about the branch of the future and the end of branch banking out there that you would think the world of branches had no future. The debate is pretty pointless to be honest, as there will always be some who think…

Readers of my blog may have realised that, over recent years, I’ve become a little bit passionate about saving the world. It’s our world. It’s the only one we’ve got. I’m quite keen to keep it here for that reason. Whilst coronavirus, disease and pandemics drive our thinking, we should not forget that there are…

It’s been interesting to see two major firms – admittedly FinTech firms – commit to crypto in the past month: PayPal and Square. The fact that such big processors are committing is a sign of the times and a move towards many organisations embracing the cryptocurrency world. If you didn’t see it: PayPal steps into…

Jack Ma had a rant about the financial system ahead of Ant Group’s IPO. As reported in The Financial Times, he thinks the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) who issue the Basel Accords is like “an old people’s club” … “The Basel Accords are like an old people’s club . . . we can’t use yesterday’s methods to regulate the…

I am having a debate on a regular basis about being cloud-native and digital at the core versus cloud-based and adding digital. The two are very different. Most big banks are moving to be cloud-based and adding digital, but that is not digital at the core and cloud-native. The latter has a business model born…