Opinion

I know that this will cause an argument, as I was having this very argument myself, but I cannot let the opportunity pass to report a conversation I was having about City bonuses. The media have a blast every time there’s a rumour of a bonus being paid in a bank, but here’s the rub:…

Back in November 2007, when Alan Greenspan was running around promoting his book, the Age of Turbulence, his kudos was high and standing was great.  It was just a year after leaving office and subprime had hit, but folks thought it was just a $300 billion hole … a mere drop in the ocean. I…

Back in November 2007, when Alan Greenspan was running around promoting his book, the Age of Turbulence, his kudos was high and standing was great.  It was just a year after leaving office and subprime had hit, but folks thought it was just a $300 billion hole … a mere drop in the ocean. I…

Two weeks ago, I posted two items about why Banking will be free (Part One and Part Two), and this is Part Three in that series.  Banking as a Service (BaaS) is the new version of Banking using the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model.  You’re probably all familiar with SaaS – it’s basically…

Two weeks ago, I posted two items about why Banking will be free (Part One and Part Two), and this is Part Three in that series. Banking as a Service (BaaS) is the new version of Banking using the Software as a Service (SaaS) business model. You’re probably all familiar with SaaS – it’s basically…

Speaking of Jamie Dimon’s appearance at Davos, he called upon a rethink of the Central Clearing System for OTC Derivatives that everyone wants to see in play. The clearing and settlement area is the plumbing of financial service, where all risks of sellers or buyers defaulting are managed by the clearer acting as the buyer…

As most banks see the brown stuff hitting the fan, they must be really jealous that JPMorgan seem so clean.  JPM’s CEO Jamie Dimon was one of the few bank chiefs willing to stick his head above the parapets this week at Davos, saying things like:“We gave them (customers) weapons of mass destruction to borrow…

Over the past few months, the liquidity crisis storms have hit Germany as hard as any market. The German government had to bail out HypoReal Estate (HRE) and pumped €500 billion into the banks, a figure that is about to double. The question this raises in my mind is whether there are some more surprises…

Over the past few months, the liquidity crisis storms have hit Germany as hard as any market. The German government had to bail out HypoReal Estate (HRE) and pumped €500 billion into the banks, a figure that is about to double. The question this raises in my mind is whether there are some more surprises…

It’s been a week and a half again, but without many bank scare headlines thank goodness. Instead, we have lots of headlines of politicians and business leaders attacking the banking industry.  It all starts in Davos, with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao blaming America’s “unsustainable model of development characterised by prolonged low savings and high consumption”,…