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Building on my recent updates on sustainable finance and such like, it is interesting the word purpose consistently appears throughout the sub-text. Banks need a sense of purpose to attract talent; banks need to shift from shareholder focus to purpose focus; banks must no longer be socially useless but socially useful, a new sense of purpose;…

The main blog headlines are … The two big issues bank CEOs have with FinTech For all the talk about how well FinTech start-ups are doing, I hear two regular laments from bank CEOs. First, why aren’t we valued like FinTechs? and second, why aren’t FinTechs regulated like us. On the first point, it’s quite…

I was a bit agog and aghast at the recent announcement from 192 US CEOs, who said that stakeholders are now more important than shareholders. This focus upon stakeholders has been an emerging trend for over the past quarter century and here’s what these great US leaders said: Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation…

There’s a comment that has stayed with me for a long time. It goes along the lines of if you’re earning $10 million a year then spending $10,000 is only the same as someone who earns $100,000 a year spending $100. It’s just relative. This often strikes me as I travel around different luxury locations….

I saw a list on Facebook the other day about being old. It was a note that said: “How to tell when you’re an adult: you gain 30lbs overnight you’d rather sleep in than go out everything hurts comfort comes before style everything feels like a chore you’re always annoyed” It kind of hit home…

I was recently asked by Volante Technologies to consider what being a digital bank means, specifically for a commercial bank and, even more specifically, the bank’s payments and treasury services. After all most of the focus on digital banking and digital payments has been in the retail sector, where consumers are already accustomed to seamless…

For all the talk about how well FinTech start-ups are doing, I hear two regular laments from bank CEOs. First, why aren’t we valued like FinTechs? and second, why aren’t FinTechs regulated like us. On the first point, it’s quite clear that FinTech start-ups are being valued on potential and not reality. When a Stripe…

The main blog headlines are … Elvis seen opening a bank account in Hawaii As it’s Friday, a slightly more whimsical post. I was amused to see a story floating around the internet yesterday that read like this: ‘Missing’ woman mystery solved A group of tourists spent hours Saturday night looking for a missing woman…

As it’s Friday, a slightly more whimsical post. I was amused to see a story floating around the internet yesterday that read like this: ‘Missing’ woman mystery solved A group of tourists spent hours Saturday night looking for a missing woman near Iceland’s Eldgja canyon, only to find her among the search party. The group…

I hear this a lot, and don’t like it. Many banks say it these days, and they say it to be cool. To be like a start-up. To be like a Silicon Valley angel investment firm. To be like a young, FinTech unicorn. However, there is a massive difference between Amazon, Alibaba and Bank of…