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So that’s the end of a week in Orlando in a Mickey Mouse conference. Lots of great stories about the banks that are surviving who all seem to have one thing in common: put the customer at the core of the business, give them a great service experience and focus upon deposits over loans. The…

So that’s the end of a week in Orlando in a Mickey Mouse conference. Lots of great stories about the banks that are surviving who all seem to have one thing in common: put the customer at the core of the business, give them a great service experience and focus upon deposits over loans. The…

At every conference you find a few highlights, and this one is no exception as I attended a plenary keynote yesterday starring Arkadi Kuhlmann, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ING Direct USA. In a few short years, ING Direct has become one of the largest Internet-based banks in America, and has earned a…

At every conference you find a few highlights, and this one is no exception as I attended a plenary keynote yesterday starring Arkadi Kuhlmann, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ING Direct USA. In a few short years, ING Direct has become one of the largest Internet-based banks in America, and has earned a…

Some friends of mine who run the European Finance Convention have lined up a great conference on 8th and 9th December in Brussels, focused upon how Europe will approach resolving the financial crisis.  Speakers include: Joaquin Almunia, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank Didier Reynders, Belgian…

The reason for my excitement yesterday about a new retail bank for Britain is because it’s a new bank, and a bank by Vernon Hill. Vernon Hill is a bit of a legend, as he’s a guy who built a bank, Commerce Bank, from nothing into one of the most successful banks in the USofA….

For quite a while now, I’ve been keeping a secret. The secret is that there is a brand new retail bank being launched in Britain next year. And it’s not an internet bank. It’s not a call centre based bank. It’s not a bank without branches. It’s a brand, new and shiny, branch-based bank.A brand…

This week I’m at a major retail banking conference in Orlando, USA, home of Disney and Universal Studios. Sure, I can hear you all saying, what’s Chris doing at such a Mickey Mouse Conference, but it’s got over 4,000 retail bankers here, so it’s worth my while. Anyways, sitting around in the sunshine yesterday, I…

This week I’m at a major retail banking conference in Orlando, USA, home of Disney and Universal Studios. Sure, I can hear you all saying, what’s Chris doing at such a Mickey Mouse Conference, but it’s got over 4,000 retail bankers here, so it’s worth my while. Anyways, sitting around in the sunshine yesterday, I…

Fascinating article sent to me in the New York Times just before the election results were announced.  According to the article, "a $10,000 investment in the S.& P. stock market index would have grown to $11,733 if invested under Republican presidents only, although that would be $51,211 if we exclude Herbert Hoover’s presidency during the…