Chris Skinner's blog Shaping the future of finance

As you walk the streets of Rome, you find modern and ancient intertwined. The streets are full of gorgeous clothes from designers ranging from Salvatore Ferragano to Versace, Louis Vuitton to Gucci, Prada to Armani. All the names are here in beautifully presented shops that …

As you walk the streets of Rome, you find modern and ancient intertwined. The streets are full of gorgeous clothes from designers ranging from Salvatore Ferragano to Versace, Louis Vuitton to Gucci, Prada to Armani. All the names are here in beautifully presented shops that …

John Cleese: And yes, all right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us? Chris: Gave us banking? John: Oh, banking – shut up! Read more …

John Cleese: And yes, all right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us? Chris: Gave us banking? John: Oh, banking – shut up! Read more …

In the eight years since George W Bush came to office, America has suffered 9/11, a costly war in Iraq, a period of economic growth that has come to a plateau and surprisingly speedy end, and a business climate where the next wave of growth …

The Faster Payments project goes live today after over three years in the planning, $300 million investment in new systems and some delay – it was meant to go live in November but required such significant systems redevelopment that it took six months longer. It …

The European Commission is running a conference this week about financial inclusion and the unbanked. According to the Commission, almost half of all of the citizens of the EU10 – Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and other recent joiners, but not Bulgaria and Romania – …

It shows how bad times are when even hedge fund guru’s have to sell their home. Read more …

I’m always intrigued by adverts and how they create viral campaigns and brands.  The last one that blew me away and I now use in lots of presentations is this Dove campaign: Campaigning for truth in beauty such that customers become advocates of the campaign …

I’m always intrigued by adverts and how they create viral campaigns and brands.  The last one that blew me away and I now use in lots of presentations is this Dove campaign: Campaigning for truth in beauty such that customers become advocates of the campaign …

LSE reported a 52% rise in annual operating profits today, primarily related to trading which, thanks to bulk discounting to market makers, has doubled in the past year. Combine this with their acquisition of the Milan Borsa Italiana and LSE’s Earnings Before Interest and Tax …

I’ve said for a while now that Robots would eventually look after all my banking needs, and with the Semantic Web and Artificial Agents, we’re almost there.  But then I see these developments coming out of Japan: and I realise that the future is real …

I’ve said for a while now that Robots would eventually look after all my banking needs, and with the Semantic Web and Artificial Agents, we’re almost there.  But then I see these developments coming out of Japan: and I realise that the future is real …

I’ve said for a while now that Robots would eventually look after all my banking needs, and with the Semantic Web and Artificial Agents, we’re almost there.  But then I see these developments coming out of Japan: and I realise that the future is real …

I’ve said for a while now that Robots would eventually look after all my banking needs, and with the Semantic Web and Artificial Agents, we’re almost there.  But then I see these developments coming out of Japan: and I realise that the future is real …

Another excellent collection of folks at the annual Gateway conference, a meeting of British American Business leaders. Sir Wim Bischoff, Chairman of Citigroup, gave the keynote speech all about the impact of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF). Although they have been around for decades, it has …

The papers have been filled with fascinating stories about banking over the past 24 hours, including a call for balance sheets and core capital ratios to be a minimum 6%; the Eurozone asking for a single seat at the IMF, rather than the current 10; better …

The papers have been filled with fascinating stories about banking over the past 24 hours, including a call for balance sheets and core capital ratios to be a minimum 6%; the Eurozone asking for a single seat at the IMF, rather than the current 10; better …

The papers have been filled with fascinating stories about banking over the past 24 hours, including a call for balance sheets and core capital ratios to be a minimum 6%; the Eurozone asking for a single seat at the IMF, rather than the current 10; better …

Whether it be watches or Windows, Louis Vuitton or Lagerfeld, Bangkok’s street markets have them all. In the alleys and markets you can find every brand for a fraction of its price. The sheer audacity of the stores in the flea markets, selling any branded …

Whether it be watches or Windows, Louis Vuitton or Lagerfeld, Bangkok’s street markets have them all. In the alleys and markets you can find every brand for a fraction of its price. The sheer audacity of the stores in the flea markets, selling any branded …

We had a great conversation today about bank brands at the Asian Banker’s Retail Excellence Program (I’m an advisor to the program and sit on the judging panel for their Awards). It started with Nielsen sharing some data about a branding analysis project they ran …

We had a great conversation today about bank brands at the Asian Banker’s Retail Excellence Program (I’m an advisor to the program and sit on the judging panel for their Awards). It started with Nielsen sharing some data about a branding analysis project they ran …

We had a great conversation today about bank brands at the Asian Banker’s Retail Excellence Program (I’m an advisor to the program and sit on the judging panel for their Awards). It started with Nielsen sharing some data about a branding analysis project they ran …

It’s a question that came up yesterday in discussion with a group of bankers and I often find myself challenged to discuss ‘world class technology’ with folks. This is because they want to be leading edge, innovative, seeking new ways of doing business and driving …

It’s a question that came up yesterday in discussion with a group of bankers and I often find myself challenged to discuss ‘world class technology’ with folks. This is because they want to be leading edge, innovative, seeking new ways of doing business and driving …

The Financial Times has been writing about the end of the credit crisis this week, saying that BlackRock’s $15 billion deal to buy a portfolio of distressed subprime mortgage debt from UBS, for 75 cents on the dollar, shows things are picking up. Also, Deutsche …

The SWIFT Annual Report came out last Friday (download it here, 3.4 Megabytes) and makes for some interesting reading, especially as I like numbers.  Yes, it does include lots of numbers: there are 8,332 institutions connected to SWIFT (note: institutions, not banks) across 208 countries …