Which? Magazine stirred up the old debate about free banking yesterday, by publishing a report which shattered the image of free banking being free. They asked over 2,000 consumers how they felt about banks and more than 60% of those surveyed said they had paid a bank charge that they thought was "unfair, hidden or disproportionate"….
One of the reoccurring conversations in banking is trust. I’ve blogged about it many times, and it’s a point that arises in almost every conversation about how banks prosper. There are two sorts of trust here however. Trust in banks to do the right thing, and trust in banks to manage our money with accuracy….
The Olympic Games have ended. What will we do now? Back to reality? Back to LIBOR fixes, money laundering scandals and selling products you weren’t supposed to sell to muppets who weren’t meant to buy them? Or keeping the good cheer and positive moment and moving onwards and upwards? This is the theme of most…
I was amused to read the story about Barclays Bank making all of their staff watch a video about how not to rig interest rates recently. This followed the LIBOR scandal, and is a 12 minute piece to camera starring interim Barclays CEO Rich Ricci, Bob Diamond’s other right hand man at the bank after…
As you can see from this morning’s headlines, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is being investigated for supporting Iranian banks and businesses, much to the irritation of the US Authorities. The newly formed New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) – note, this is not a Federal Institution but the New York equivalent of the…
This is a guest post by Financial Services Club alumni Professor Michael Mainelli: One of the most famous security posters of the Second World War read “Loose Lips Sink Ships”. The idea was to curtail careless talk and prevent giving away information to the enemy. The Libor scandal has featured a different problem: too little…
So it’s getting towards the stage where London winds down or up for the Olympics, dependent upon your point of view. London is certainly getting more and more confused about the Olympics, with signs all over the underground and on the roads about the Games, with an equal number of drivers and travellers confused about…
I just got a press release from HM Treasury which makes for interesting reading: The National Audit Office has today given an update on the financial support provided by the Treasury to the UK banking sector – how much support has been provided, how much is still outstanding and how much it is costing the…
In case you have not noticed, there are loads of free events taking place this weekend across the City, as part of the Celebrate the City weekend. Here's the lowdown: On behalf of the City of London Corporation and the Diocese of London, we are delighted to invite you to Celebrate the City! Together with…
