60% of UK bank branches have closed in 8 years
I was reading stories over the weekend of hundreds of branch closures planned by banks. This has been forecast for years – back in the 1990s, it was clear that branch based distribution was unsustainable and costly – but it has finally hit. When I was a lad, for example, there were over 20,000 bank…

Neobanks running accounts for a tenth of the cost of old banks
I’m always looking for innovations in new banks and spent some time with MYbank, the bank created by Ant Group in 2014. My first visit was in 2017, and the bank was doing well. Focusing upon SMEs, the bank shot to massive growth volumes, making a staggering $30 billion in loans in first quarter 2022…

Why is Goldman Sachs dropping the Apple?
The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has sent Goldman Sachs a proposal to end their partnership within the next year, leaving Apple to find a new backer for its financial products. The Apple Card program was launched in 2019 to great fanfare but, within a year, Goldman Sachs was lamenting losses and costs for the partnership….

The Finanser’s Week: 27th November – 3rd December 2023
This week’s main blog discussions include … When you’ve already offended customers, is it a good idea to tell them: “go f**k yourself”? This blog often talks about Elon Musk, but then it also looks at the activities of Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson and more. They all share several things: billionaries, visionaries, autism and a…

When you’ve already offended customers, is it a good idea to tell them: “go f**k yourself”?
This blog often talks about Elon Musk, but then it also looks at the activities of Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson and more. They all share several things: billionaries, visionaries, autism and a yearning to open a bank or destroy banking. Just four months ago, I asked the question … Q: Can Elon Musk create PayPalX?…

The big four drivers of the bank of the future
At another recent conference McKinsey presented. Now it is easy to take a pop at McKinsey but they have produced some useful reports recently, specifically: McKinsey’s Global Banking Annual Review 2023 Fintechs: A new paradigm of growth So, I was interested in their presentation. One slide in particular stood out, titled: the four key drivers…

Many financial industry climate initiatives are authentic … they’re just not working
In a guest column six years ago James Vaccaro, then Director of Corporate Strategy at Triodos Bank, introduced the United Nations’ Principles of Responsible Banking to my community. Six years later, are they working? Apparently not. In a new guest column, James argues the industry efforts may be authentic, but they need better management to…

Can AI do comedy?
Being intrigued by Generative AI, I’ve spent some time studying things. In fact, a lot of time watching movies and reading columns full of how it is making us worried about the future. Therefore, in the spirit of worrying you, I asked ChatGPT to write me a scene of a bank customer dealing with their…

Digital transformation is more to do with inclusion than banking
Space … the final frontier … these are the voyages of the challenger bank Trekkie. Our mission: to boldly go where no bank has gone before. Today, we landed on planet Earth and decided to look at financial inclusion, and the role of banks in ensuring everyone has access to an account. In some countries,…

What is the future?

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