Shaping the future of finance
This week’s main blog discussions include … PayPal, Stripe and Adyen: three companies, three futures Back in 2021, PayPal was worth around $360 billion. Today it is worth closer to $50 billion. That’s one of the biggest destructions of market value we’ve seen in fintech, and yet it isn’t because the company stopped growing. Quite…
Things we’re reading today include … Adyen is coming for agentic payments. Can startups keep up? Stripe vet buys a bank for his fintech Cryptocurrency Trading Volumes Near Three-Year Low Lloyds reports first-half profit up 23%, outlines AI-driven cost-cutting plans Central banks slashed their gold purchases in early 2026 Increase in mortgage debt ‘doesn’t indicate…
Things we’re reading today include … Deutsche’s investment bank profit jumps 59% on dealmaking boom UBS investment bank profit more than doubles on 53% equity trading surge Standard Chartered launches $1bn buyback as bank embraces AI UK charities hit after specialist bank shuts off online services 9fin employees cashed in as FinTech became unicorn Capital…
Things we’re readng today include … Lloyds, Barclays and Halifax go DOWN with hundreds of customers ‘unable to make payments’ Denmark Readies Emergency Reserve Bank to Fight Cyberattacks Barclays investment bank jumps 32% on dealmaking and equity trading surge Why the Bank of England museum is a one-of-a-kind ‘Fintech is a threat’ to big banks…
Things we’re reading today include … City gears up for a fight on bank tax under Burnham Swiss lawmakers eye UBS rules balancing stability and competition concerns Insurers could get a green light to acquire banks under proposed EU capital fix Why some emerging-market banks are moving faster on AI Bank treasurer survey by the…
This week’s main blog discussions include … Banks exist because trust doesn’t scale Some days, the financial news seems to have nothing whatsoever in common but yesterday there were four stories where I saw a link. The first is a US senator demanding answers from Barclays over Jes Staley’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Then there…
Things we’re reading today include … Why Are Major Banks Racing to Appoint Chief AI Officers? Why Europe’s banks stay home: Regulatory fragmentation and the cost of an incomplete banking union Commission outlines measures to strengthen Europe’s banking sector and support growth 17 African fintech companies make CNBC and Statista’s 2026 world’s top 500 fintech…
Things we’re reading today include … UK fintech Revolut valuation soars to $115 bn US senator wants urgent answers from Barclays over Jes Staley’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein | Barclays UK banks increasingly restrict crypto payments, provoking cross-party inquiry Deutsche Bank headquarters raided for third time this year Wimbledon finalist loses her £31m fortune and…
Things we’re reading today include … Trump made more than $1bn from crypto in first year back in office FIA sets up cryptocurrency investigation unit Fintech Funding Surges 23% In H1 2026 As Investors Concentrate Their Bets On AI And Financial Infrastructure ‘If you’re not AI-native, you’re not getting funded’: European fintech’s H1 funding figures…
Andy Burnham’s first day in power started on Monday and, immediately, as the new Prime Minister of Britain, Jamie Dimon, CEO and Chair of JPMorgan Chase gives him an ultimatum: increase our taxes and we’re off. JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon warns of ‘consequences’ if Andy Burnham taxes banks Dimon casts doubt over JP Morgan’s London…
