Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Are challenger banks doing anything different?

After the last two blogs, various comments highlight other questions, with the commonest one being: will any of these new banks make a profit? The answer to that is yes. Some already are, such as Shawbrook, OakNorth, Aldermore … the ones you hear less about. Monzo, Revolut, N26 and others are more sexy because they’re…

[Monzo + Starling + Revolut] – Pandemic = The End?

Over the past week or two, the neobank and challenger bank sector has been issuing financial reports. If you haven’t noticed: WHERE WERE YOU? Monzo got a particular hammering for warning that the coronavirus pandemic could impact the company as a going concern. Some argue this is just accounting and auditing speak to warn of…

The Finanser’s Week: 10th August 2020 – 16th August 2020

The main blog headlines are … What’s next, after digital? I was invited to do a keynote for a Canadian conference the other day, but on a subject different to my normal digital stuff. The theme was sustainable finance. I decided to take a different tack and talk about my other big passion: purpose-driven banking….

What happens when digital fails?

So, the worst thing imaginable happened today. We had a power outage. I didn’t realise what that meant until it happened. I then realised that I was only maintaining my semblance of sanity during this lockdown thanks to having an oven, a laptop, the internet, power. When the power outage occurred, it suddenly dawned on…

The end of globalisation

I’ve spent so long dealing with the world opening up, and travelling it, that I find the developments of recent times saddening. First, the globalising world started to creak and break in the 2010s thanks to the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) that began in 2008. Second, the integration of countries and economies…

What’s next, after digital?

I was invited to do a keynote for a Canadian conference the other day, but on a subject different to my normal digital stuff. The theme was sustainable finance. I decided to take a different tack and talk about my other big passion: purpose-driven banking. Here’s the presentation and transcript. Trust it makes sense ……

The FinTech Karaoke Challenge: Summertime

I keep thinking I should give this up, but people keep encouraging me to continue so I will … for the moment. This week’s challenge was given to me by Brian Caplen, Editor-in-Chief of The Banker magazine, a sister publication of The Financial Times and hugely serious and circumspect. Therefore, I was surprised when Brian said I must…

The Finanser’s Week: 3rd August 2020 – 9th August 2020

The main blog headlines are … The world after #coronavirus During this lockdown, it’s easy to get a bit down. The constant news of deaths and corona cases; the arguments between liberals and conservatives; the debate over whether the government acted early enough, fast enough, good enough; the rage over those breaking the rules and…