Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

Regulation

Europe lacks a Leader

I don’t write about politics, because I am not a political creature. However, I felt compelled to write about this subject after Europe’s soul-searching over its identity since the Irish threw out the EU Treaty. The fact that the Constitution and the Treaty are unwanted does not de-stabilise our banking efforts under the Payment Services…

Exchanges fight over speeds and feeds misses the point

It is fascinating to watch the fight that is going on between the traditional exchanges – Deutsche Bourse, Euronext and London Stock Exchange (LSE) – and the new guys – Chi-x, BAT, virt-x, PLUSMarkets, Boat, Turquoise, NYFix Millennium, NASDAQ OMX, Equiduct … The fight is over liquidity, trading, order execution, pricing, clearing and settlement. In…

Exchanges fight over speeds and feeds misses the point

It is fascinating to watch the fight that is going on between the traditional exchanges – Deutsche Bourse, Euronext and London Stock Exchange (LSE) – and the new guys – Chi-x, BAT, virt-x, PLUSMarkets, Boat, Turquoise, NYFix Millennium, NASDAQ OMX, Equiduct … The fight is over liquidity, trading, order execution, pricing, clearing and settlement. In…

Exchanges fight over speeds and feeds misses the point

It is fascinating to watch the fight that is going on between the traditional exchanges – Deutsche Bourse, Euronext and London Stock Exchange (LSE) – and the new guys – Chi-x, BAT, virt-x, PLUSMarkets, Boat, Turquoise, NYFix Millennium, NASDAQ OMX, Equiduct … The fight is over liquidity, trading, order execution, pricing, clearing and settlement. In…

Exchanges fight over speeds and feeds misses the point

It is fascinating to watch the fight that is going on between the traditional exchanges – Deutsche Bourse, Euronext and London Stock Exchange (LSE) – and the new guys – Chi-x, BAT, virt-x, PLUSMarkets, Boat, Turquoise, NYFix Millennium, NASDAQ OMX, Equiduct … The fight is over liquidity, trading, order execution, pricing, clearing and settlement. In…

Can regulators really make markets more stable?

I found myself sceptically smiling when reading that the Financial Stability Forum is going to make the banking world safer by: Strengthening prudential oversight of capital, liquidity and risk management; Enhancing transparency and valuation; Changing the role and uses of credit ratings; Strengthening the authorities’ responsiveness to risks; and Ensuring there are robust arrangements for…

Can regulators really make markets more stable?

I found myself sceptically smiling when reading that the Financial Stability Forum is going to make the banking world safer by: Strengthening prudential oversight of capital, liquidity and risk management; Enhancing transparency and valuation; Changing the role and uses of credit ratings; Strengthening the authorities’ responsiveness to risks; and Ensuring there are robust arrangements for…

Can regulators really make markets more stable?

I found myself sceptically smiling when reading that the Financial Stability Forum is going to make the banking world safer by: Strengthening prudential oversight of capital, liquidity and risk management; Enhancing transparency and valuation; Changing the role and uses of credit ratings; Strengthening the authorities’ responsiveness to risks; and Ensuring there are robust arrangements for…

I wish banks had never invented the one thing they give us for free

This was a comment I made during a panel at the ACT Conference in Edinburgh, where I joined esteemed speakers in a BBC Question Time style debate, chaired by Andrew Neil, the political journalist and writer. The other speakers on the panel were: Angela Knight CBE, CEO, British Bankers’ Association;  Robert Waugh, Head of UK…

Mind the GAAP? No, scrap the GAAP

The Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) used across the USA for financial reporting appear to be fatally flawed. As a result, America is scrapping GAAP to move towards the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) used around the rest of the world. The question is how fast can this be achieved? Part of the reason for…