Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

With 2009 starting on a bit of a downbeat note, after the crisis of 2008, the Financial Services Club thought: what should we do to cheer everyone up? You guessed it, we decided to throw a party. But what's the point of starting the New …

With 2009 starting on a bit of a downbeat note, after the crisis of 2008, the Financial Services Club thought: what should we do to cheer everyone up? You guessed it, we decided to throw a party. But what's the point of starting the New …

In a classic story of police being caught out, they recently rushed to a branch of PNC Bank in Montgomery, New Jersey, USA, to respond to an alarm that had been tripped at the bank branch. On arrival, they looked through the branch window and …

In a classic story of police being caught out, they recently rushed to a branch of PNC Bank in Montgomery, New Jersey, USA, to respond to an alarm that had been tripped at the bank branch. On arrival, they looked through the branch window and …

TIME Magazine has published a long range of Top 10 lists for 2008. This includes the Top 10 Financial Moves: 1. Postpone your losses. 2. Accelerate income. 3. Identify hidden income.4. Defer expenses.5. Get invested for the times.6. Look for bargains.7. Think green.8. Claim your …

TIME Magazine has published a long range of Top 10 lists for 2008. This includes the Top 10 Financial Moves: 1. Postpone your losses. 2. Accelerate income. 3. Identify hidden income.4. Defer expenses.5. Get invested for the times.6. Look for bargains.7. Think green.8. Claim your …

TIME Magazine has published a long range of Top 10 lists for 2008. This includes the Top 10 Financial Moves: 1. Postpone your losses. 2. Accelerate income. 3. Identify hidden income.4. Defer expenses.5. Get invested for the times.6. Look for bargains.7. Think green.8. Claim your …

Breaking news today of the arrest of Bernard Madoff in the USA for defrauding investors of $50 billion … $50,000,000,000 … in a ponzi scheme.  Ponzi schemes are like pyramid sales, where you pay the top of the pyramid loads from the investments of people …

Breaking news today of the arrest of Bernard Madoff in the USA for defrauding investors of $50 billion … $50,000,000,000 … in a ponzi scheme.  Ponzi schemes are like pyramid sales, where you pay the top of the pyramid loads from the investments of people …

It must be the silly season now, as there are so many silly stories around. For example, the one and only Paris Hilton has come up with a cure for the credit crunch.  "Wear happy colours", she said.  That wasn't the quote that was widely …

Barack Obama decimated John McCain in part thanks to the wonders of the internet age and social networking. Barack’s team included the co-founders and CEOs of Google and Facebook. Could the same sort of understanding delineate the winners in payments in the future? Could the …

In an elaborate hoax, pranksters have launched a spoof version of The New York Times .  There was a print version and this fascinating website, which is a mockup of the newspaper for July 4th 2009. In the business section is this future advert for …

Couple of interesting notes on Lloyds TSB's merger with HBOS, which gained legal clearance from the courts yesterday when the last protests by the Merger Action Group (MAG) were rejected. In City A.M., there was a one page interview with Sir Victor Blank, Chairman of …

Couple of interesting notes on Lloyds TSB's merger with HBOS, which gained legal clearance from the courts yesterday when the last protests by the Merger Action Group (MAG) were rejected. In City A.M., there was a one page interview with Sir Victor Blank, Chairman of …

Couple of interesting notes on Lloyds TSB's merger with HBOS, which gained legal clearance from the courts yesterday when the last protests by the Merger Action Group (MAG) were rejected. In City A.M., there was a one page interview with Sir Victor Blank, Chairman of …

I’m at a conference focused upon the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), the Payment Services Directive (PSD) and e-invoicing all of this week, and what a strained affair it has proven to be so far. All day yesterday we had discussions about whether we need …

I spotted this story in tonight's newspapers about the exclusive 'posh' builders to the stars, Robin Ellis Construction Services, who went bankrupt today.  Yep, it's another of those cheerful credit crunch stories.  This firm worked with the likes of David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Vanessa …

Yesterday was one of my ‘futurism’ days, where I spend time with bankers envisioning what the future of banking might look like. We talked about all sorts of stuff, including chips inside people for payments and video banking … some of my favourite themes. Then …

Yesterday was one of my ‘futurism’ days, where I spend time with bankers envisioning what the future of banking might look like. We talked about all sorts of stuff, including chips inside people for payments and video banking … some of my favourite themes. Then …

Yesterday was one of my ‘futurism’ days, where I spend time with bankers envisioning what the future of banking might look like. We talked about all sorts of stuff, including chips inside people for payments and video banking … some of my favourite themes. Then …

In the final part of discussions of social networks, media, banking and money, I thought I would turn attention to the use of mobile devices as access media to these networks. Mobile usage in banking has grown to a crescendo in the past year, after …

In the final part of discussions of social networks, media, banking and money, I thought I would turn attention to the use of mobile devices as access media to these networks. Mobile usage in banking has grown to a crescendo in the past year, after …

I was amused to read today that two banks are bigging up British Airways by supporting their good intentions. First, Citigroup has created a consortia to buy Gatwick Airport and persuaded former BA CEO, Bob Ayling, to join them. Second, Caja Madrid is a major …

I was amused to read today that two banks are bigging up British Airways by supporting their good intentions. First, Citigroup has created a consortia to buy Gatwick Airport and persuaded former BA CEO, Bob Ayling, to join them. Second, Caja Madrid is a major …

I was amused to read today that two banks are bigging up British Airways by supporting their good intentions. First, Citigroup has created a consortia to buy Gatwick Airport and persuaded former BA CEO, Bob Ayling, to join them. Second, Caja Madrid is a major …

For those of you who have found things confusing of late with the Blog, apologies.  We are revamping the Blog to reflect the Financial Services Club, but the homepage is still theFinanser (although we’ve been redirecting the last couple of days to try some new …

For those of you who have found things confusing of late with the Blog, apologies.  We are revamping the Blog to reflect the Financial Services Club, but the homepage is still theFinanser (although we’ve been redirecting the last couple of days to try some new …

There were two stories in yesterday’s news that caught my eye. The first has been bubbling for a while, but came to a conclusion yesterday, with HSBC repurchasing their London Head Office Building back from the man they sold it to a year ago. April …