Standard Chartered paid off the new Sheriff of New York City, Benjamin Lawsky, to the tune of $340 million to get rid of the pest. As Investec's commentator Ian Gordon said yesterday, they “acted with pragmatism and integrity in the face of extreme provocation”. What really gets me here is the whole USA versus the rest…
We had a great meeting at the Financial Services Club Clearing & Settlement Working Group (CAS-WG) plenary this month. The CAS-WG is rocking and rolling forward, with four subject groups meeting regularly between the plenary meetings. The four subject groups focus upon the challenges of clearing and settlement to deal with risk, regulations, standards and…
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,…
I thought this press release was quite interesting, so here it is in its entirety: A new inquiry into reform of the EU banking sector has been announced today by the House of Lords EU Sub Committee responsible for looking into economic and financial affairs. The Committee will look at the sector in the context…
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…
More interesting dialogue about banking yesterday, and this time about financial inclusion. The fact that mobile phone ubiquity is creating a wirelessly connected planet, is a key part of changing our world for more inclusion. First, six billion people now have 1:1, P2P connections. You only need to look at mobile densities by continent to realise…
So there are two big stories in the UK media right now – the RBS/NatWest glitch and the Barclays LIBOR fine. There are two others: the PPI scandal that rolls on and on, and the new generation SWAPS scandal which is just starting. Then there are the ones that are constant: the fact that free banking is going to…
Just been reading this month’s Bloomberg Markets, with the lead story: “Woman Who Couldn’t Be Intimidated By Citigroup Wins $31 Million”. The story proves to be an intriguing in-depth analysis (4,000 words) and is not an indictment of Citigroup per se, but of the corporate mentality of any global business today. You may disagree with…
Yesterday marked another milestone in the progress of the Clearing & Settlement Working Group (CAS-WG), with our second plenary meeting. This time it was held at the London Stock Exchange … … and discussed the progress of the four Subject Groups that were created after our first meeting at the beginning of March. Since then,…
