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…
I spent a bit of time reviewing ads for Australia’s banks today. Not because I’m going down under – not that way! – but because National Australia Bank (NAB) keep sending me updates on their marketing efforts. Their latest one is all about honesty … … it builds on their earlier efforts about the breakup and…
Just got an invite to an event in July that sounds amazing, www.resource2012.org, and thought it worth noting on the blog for those who can make it. Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen and film director James Cameron will join President Bill Clinton at Oxford University this summer (12-13 July) for a ground-breaking forum on resource scarcity…
In the 1970s, the UK's Midland Bank introduced a new competitive service – free banking. It wasn’t free of course, but it appeared that way. The idea being that if you stayed in credit, they wouldn’t’ charge you anything. It was a huge success. So much so that Midland acquired many customers from Barclays, NatWest…
