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I talk a lot about libertarian versus statist views in the context of cryptocurrencies. We talk a lot about decentralised finance versus central bank finance in the context of CBDCs and such like. In general, many are discussing democratisation through decentralisation versus centralisation through control. Who wins and who loses? When the network does not…

The Financial Brand published an interesting piece challenging the use of the word bank in a brand. It got me thinking, and agreeing with their summation, which is yes. Sure, you can have Chime, Chase, Citizens and Truist, but is that the right thing. In fact, on the last point, the use of the word…

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…

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…

This week’s main blog discussions are … A banker responds to Extinction Rebillion’s call I had quite a lot of response to Gail Bradbrook’s post on February 1. It would be too much to share all, but this particular email from a friend (former CxO at a Big Bank) was the most detailed and illuminating,…

I have waste in my life. I have a lot of things I could throw away. Old toys, broken computers, screens with cracks, lawnmowers that don’t work, Lego with bits missing, cables that I cannot remember what they’re for … the list goes on. This is my debt. My debt of waste. A house full…

I had quite a lot of response to Gail Bradbrook’s post on February 1. It would be too much to share all, but this particular email from a friend (former CxO at a Big Bank) was the most detailed and illuminating, so I’m sharing it here. I’m sure Gail will respond to such critique in…

I’ve talked a little bit about a K-shaped economy. The upside of the K is digital; the downside is physical. This really struck home with me when I saw the latest retail sales developments in the UK. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), Brits now order a third of their shopping on apps…

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),…

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…