Opinion

Jul 31, 2012

Data not only measures progress, it inspires it

I liked what Hillary Clinton said about data in yesterday's blog: “Data not only measures progress, it inspires it.” The reason I liked it is that it brought me back to the basics of what I do in banking: data leverage. There’s an old chart we used to knock around about data creating power: The…

Jul 25, 2012

Forget about rebuilding trust … it won’t wash

Rebuilding trust. A phrase that is used regularly throughout the banking industry since the crisis began. I particularly remember it being used as a theme at SIBOS two years ago; it was a theme that ran through Bob Diamond’s Today Lecture in 2011; and it is a theme that is running throughout the City still,…

Jul 12, 2012

Who’s going to be at your funeral?

A dreadful question I know, but one that comes up regularly in discussions about work/life balance and, more importantly, money/happiness debates. The question is at the heart of where you prioritise: family and community or work and wealth. It came up again during the last few weeks of scandal in the City, and the conversation…

World-connect-people-community-international

Jul 11, 2012

Crowdfunding: a clear alternative to banks

I’ve talked a lot on this blog about P2P or social lending, mainly because I’ve been involved with Zopa since its launch and followed its siblings: Boober, Smava, Prosper, Lending Club, Ratesetter, Cashare, Loanio … Suffice to say there is a world of direct social lending out there and it’s now big business (Zopa recently gained…

Jul 6, 2012

Back to banking basics is nice, but not realistic

With all this talk of greed and corruption in the City (more on that later too), everyone is demanding a return to basic banking. I’ve heard this several times in the past week and over the past few years. Just yesterday, over lunch, my colleague was recalling the days when you needed credit from the…

May 30, 2012

Russia’s greatest challenge is still to come

Just spent a few days in Moscow. It’s my third visit here, and each time I find the country intriguing, enlightening, engaging and frustrating. By way of example, the society is still very rules-based but everyone ignores the rules because no-one enforces them properly. The traffic is jammed all day on the freeways, and cars…

May 17, 2012

‘Whiner Dimon’, and why consumers are just as important as regulators

Talking with a friend this week, they said that they had found my blog entries a little over the top lately. “Calm down”, she said, “and stop being a rebel without a cause.” But that’s where she’s wrong. I am a rebel (?) with a cause: the disruption of banking as we know it. Now…

May 16, 2012

Mobile carriers are just banks

We talk a lot about the threat of mobile carriers and telecom firms moving into banking and eating our lunch. We cite examples such as NTT DoCoMo buying a credit card firm or Safaricom becoming the biggest financial transactor in Kenya, and what that will mean to banking in the future. We see O2 and…

May 9, 2012

Banks and corporates live in the twentieth century

I was surprised or not to have a long discussion with some bankers and corporates about personalisation last night. My contention was that a bank should know that they have an influential corporate treasurer decision maker as a business client, and be able to use that knowledge to deliver better service to that individual as…

May 3, 2012

CRD 4, Basel 3 – does that mean CRD wins?

I’ve been getting around a bit this week. Having had long conversations with cybersecurity experts, I’ve also been having long conversations with treasurers. Many of them. Many of them, mainly with the world’s largest corporations. And it’s been interesting, as they all share one over-riding common concern. Regulations. Now I thought bankers were the only…