Chris Skinner's blog

Shaping the future of finance

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Sexism in the City

This is not a new news story, but it is a news story.  Banking is a man's world.   Sounds a bit sexist doesn't it, but many of us would say that there is still active discrimination in some business sectors on the grounds of age, sex, ethnicity, religion and physical attributes.  Maybe it's human…

Indian outsourcers exposed to US sub-prime woes

    The knock-on effect of the American sub-prime crisis goes on and on. According to reports from Data Monitor, it now hits the Indian outsourcing sector. This is because firms such as First Magnus closing their doors to business and filing for bankruptcy then rolls on to impact their BPO partners, such as WNS,…

Indian outsourcers exposed to US sub-prime woes

    The knock-on effect of the American sub-prime crisis goes on and on. According to reports from Data Monitor, it now hits the Indian outsourcing sector. This is because firms such as First Magnus closing their doors to business and filing for bankruptcy then rolls on to impact their BPO partners, such as WNS,…

Numbers Part Eight: the UK Banking sector

I popped into the British Banker’s Association (BBA) last week and found that they publish a nice long list of statistics about our industry so, in yet another in the numbers series, here’s the low-down on the UK banking sector.  At the end of 2006, there were: over 325 banks in the UK; 161 UK…

Should banks use Facebook?

I noticed that the Canadian Bank TD had opened a Facebook group called TD Money Lounge.   Seems to be a pure advert for their products to me, but it’s pretty popular with Canadians with over 3,500 members in this Group which is more than any other bank group on Facebook. Why?  Well, the idea…

Should banks use Facebook?

I noticed that the Canadian Bank TD had opened a Facebook group called TD Money Lounge.   Seems to be a pure advert for their products to me, but it’s pretty popular with Canadians with over 3,500 members in this Group which is more than any other bank group on Facebook. Why?  Well, the idea…

Barclays may be offensive to the Dutch

I noted with interest this morning that Barclays Bank is rethinking its’ symbolic Eagle insignia in light of the bid to become more mainland European.  The symbol for the Bank is a spread eagle, and has been with the bank ever since it was founded in 1690. Why would they think the Eagle should go…

Barclays may be offensive to the Dutch

I noted with interest this morning that Barclays Bank is rethinking its’ symbolic Eagle insignia in light of the bid to become more mainland European.  The symbol for the Bank is a spread eagle, and has been with the bank ever since it was founded in 1690. Why would they think the Eagle should go…

Iraq Gets Its First Hedge Fund

Some of you probably read that headline and thought it may be more useful if Iraq could build a few hedges around their gardens first as, in this war-torn region, it’s hard to imagine a hedge fund being of much use.  Nevertheless, with infrastructure that is hardly working and an embryonic government, we find that…

Iraq Gets Its First Hedge Fund

Some of you probably read that headline and thought it may be more useful if Iraq could build a few hedges around their gardens first as, in this war-torn region, it’s hard to imagine a hedge fund being of much use.  Nevertheless, with infrastructure that is hardly working and an embryonic government, we find that…